In the book of 2 Corinthians
chapter 2, the Apostle Paul gives one all-conclusive mark of false
preachers, and then he gives four marks of true preachers. Now, I realize we say much about
false preachers on this program, and that is because Scripture
says very much about them. because there are so many. Scripture
warns us over and over, all of the prophets and the apostles,
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Peter, John, Paul, they all gave many
warnings about false preachers. In 2 Corinthians chapter 2, the
apostle Paul in verse 17 says, We are not as many which corrupt the word of God. He says, we are not as many. We, the apostles and all true
preachers who preach and conduct themselves as the apostle. He
says, we are not as many. And I quote several verses of
scripture which say many false prophets are gone out into the
world. anti-Christ, John said. Many deceivers, many false prophets
shall arise and deceive many, our Lord Himself said. And so
Paul says we are not as many. And then he gives this all-conclusive
mark of these many false preachers. He says we are not as many which
corrupt the Word of God. many who corrupt the Word of
God. Now, this is the conclusive mark.
They corrupt God's Word several ways. They corrupt God's Word
by either adding to it or taking away from it. Adding to it, or
that is, saying more than it says, or not saying what it does
say, taking away from it, or not saying what it does say. They corrupt God's Word by applying
God's Word to everyone. When the Word of God is clearly
written to certain individuals or certain types of people that
are clearly defined in the book that is being read. And then
they corrupt God's Word by changing it or perverting it. Listen to
The prophet Isaiah in chapter 8 of Isaiah, verse 20, he says,
To the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to
this word, it is because there is no light in them. Listen to
Jeremiah in Jeremiah, chapter 23, verse 16. The Lord speaks
and says, Thus saith the Lord of hosts,
hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto
you. They make you vain. They speak
a vision of their own heart and not out of the mouth of the Lord."
Verse 25, he says, I have heard what the prophets said, that
prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. I continue to read in Jeremiah
23, verse 31. He says, I am against the prophets,
saith the Lord, that use their tongues and say, He saith, or
God saith. I am against them that prophesy
false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my
people to err by their lies and by their lightness, or that is,
their flippancy or their irreverence and their foolishness. He says,
I didn't send them and they won't profit this people at all. Well,
so Paul says we are not as many which corrupt the Word of God. All of them across the board,
he says, corrupt the Word of God, adding to it, taking away
from it, applying it to everyone without exception, by changing
it, perverting it, by telling their dreams and visions and
so forth, by saying what God did not say. All right. And now Paul gives four marks
of a true preacher sent by God. And this is how you may know
the true preacher. It behooves every one of us to
listen very carefully to what the Apostle Paul says about true
preachers. He says, we, in verse 17 of 2
Corinthians 2, we are not as many which corrupt or deal deceitfully
with the word of God, but, here is mark number one, as of sincerity. or that is, we are truly sincere. True preachers of the gospel,
like the Apostle Paul, are sincere, or that is, they are sincerely
in this thing of preaching, in this ministry, for one reason. Their sincere or one singular
reason for preaching is, number one, the glory of God. The glory
of God. The glory of His person. The
glory of His word. Or that is, to glorify God. Who He is. To glorify His word. And they are not in it for fame
or fortune. Listen, all of the prophets and
all of the apostles but one were killed because of what they preached. That tells me they weren't in
it for fame or fortune. They were not famous, but were
infamous. They did not become rich for
preaching, but rather they lost everything. They didn't make
a name for themselves by preaching, but rather they were the off-scouring
of the earth, Paul said. But they were in it for the glory
of God. They came preaching for the glory of God, whether anyone
believed or not. Many, if not most, say that preaching
or that we do what we do that men might be saved, that people
might be converted, that souls might be won. Well, we do want
men and women to believe. We do want God to save souls. However, the conversion of souls
is not the primary goal of a true preacher. Now, listen very carefully
to me. The conversion of souls is not
the goal, the primary reason. A true preacher preaches because
if it is, then he will be more interested in results than in
the truth. And he may change his methods
in order to bring in numbers. Numbers rather than the glory
of God. No, a true preacher preaches
the truth whether anyone believes or not. Whether it's one or one
thousand, he tells the same thing. Because as of sincerity, Paul
said, as of sincerity, we are sincerely in this thing for the
glory of God. And sincerely wanting to tell
the truth, seeking to tell the truth, sincerely interested in
the spiritual welfare of the people. good, their spiritual good. And
Paul said to one group of people, have I become your enemy because
I tell you the truth? A man who is true or sincere
will tell the truth no matter what it may cost him. All right,
the second thing Paul says in verse 17 of 2 Corinthians 2,
the second mark of a true preacher, he says, as of sincerity, And
as of God, as of God. Paul said in another place, as
though God did beseech you by us. As though God did beseech
you by us. As the oracles of God, he said
in another place. If any man speak, let him speak
as the oracles of God. Any man, not woman, man. Let him speak as the oracles
of God, as an ambassador of Christ, Paul said, as of God. Let me ask you something about
an ambassador to a foreign country. Are ambassadors of foreign countries
elected by the public? No, they are not. They are appointed
by the President of the United States. No, and neither are preachers
or ministers of the gospel. This is not a profession one
decides to enter. It is not a position which one
applies for. No prophet and no apostle ever
applied for the job, but God Almighty chose them personally,
equipped them and sent them and put them in the place of their
service. Paul says that, as of God, as
ambassadors chosen by Christ. Christ said that about each of
his apostles. He said, you did not choose me,
I chose you. None of those apostles applied
for the job. But the Lord Jesus Christ came
to each of them personally, handpicked them, equipped them, sent them
out, and opened the doors for them to preach. sent by God. This is what it says in Ephesians
chapter 4 concerning the preachers, the apostles, the evangelists,
the prophets and so forth. It says, when Christ ascended
up on high, I'm reading from Ephesians 4 verse 8, when he
ascended up on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. And down in verse 11 it says,
he gave, Christ gave some apostles Some prophets, some evangelists,
some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints,
for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body
of Christ. Well, that is the church. So
it is Christ, it is God, and it is Christ who chooses his
preachers and sends them out. And so Paul says we are of God. Now, I realize that anyone can
say that. Now, realize that. But you'll
know these true God-sent preachers from the false ones by these
rules which we are going over right now. As of sincerity, as
of God, and the third thing he says, in the sight of God. In
the sight of God. Paul says a true preacher is
conscious of one. Conscious of God who sees and
hears. Conscious of one. conscious of
God whose approval they seek, God Almighty, just as an ambassador
is conscious of the King who sent him, and wouldn't dare leave
out anything the King told him to say, wouldn't dare interpret
or put in his own words what the King has told him to say,
wouldn't dare leave out, add to, or apologize, or mealy-mouth
anything that the King told him to say. but rather stands forth
and boldly proclaims before all who hear him, Hear ye, hear ye,
thus saith the King, the King of kings, and Lord of lords,
unafraid of men, not trying to impress any man, no respecter
of particular men and women for gain or influence, but rather
in the sight of God, as of God, in the sight of God, conscious
of the God who sent him. And finally, and most importantly,
Paul says, this is the mark of the true preacher. We speak of
Christ, he said. We speak in Christ, or of Christ. That is, Jesus Christ is the
message. They're not politicians, they're
not socializers, not organizers, not psychologists, but preachers
of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Who he is, that is, he's
God, he's Lord, he is salvation. He is the great high priest,
the one high and only high priest, the only mediator. He is the
way, the truth, the light. Only His righteousness alone
will God accept. Only His works will God accept
on behalf of human beings. Only His blood shed for the remission
of their sins, not their own penance or works of repentance. It is Jesus Christ and Him alone. Jesus Christ is the gospel. And
so Paul says, we are not as many, but as of sincerity, as of God,
in the sight of God, speak we of Christ. Well, that's how you'll
know them, by those marks. And may the Lord use this to
reveal these things to you. Amen. you