Paul had enemies almost everywhere he went. His position among the Pharisees gave him understanding and insights into their ways, and he used that knowledge to his benefit. He knew that those religious leaders were primarily motivated by greed and pride. They put on a religious show publicly, but their hearts were black as night.

After Paul’s salvation, he re-directed his zealous nature from the intense persecution of Christians of which he had been very successful, to the preaching and teaching the message of Christ. One day Paul, then named Saul, was hunting down and arresting believers in Jesus; the next day he was preaching in Jesus’ name.

It is no wonder that Paul became public enemy number one as far as the Pharisees were concerned. He was a one-man wrecking ball, destroying the progress they had made in purging the land of Christians. Churches were beginning to pop up in one village after another, as a result of the energetic and passionate preaching of Paul.

He was on a mission, to take the gospel to the Gentile world, and he was going to not allow anything or anyone to stop him. Christ had personally commissioned him for the task, and he was committed to carrying it out.

They tried arresting Paul; they tried beating him mercilessly. They put him in prison, and gave him harsh rebukes. He referred to a time in Ephesus where he was forced to face wild animals, and yet, he continued to take the message of the Gospel to city after city.
After so many beatings and times of deprivation, it’s hard to understand how he kept going.

One way that Paul’s devious enemies tried to discourage him, and dissuade him from preaching, was to fill pulpits with preachers trying to win the people’s allegiance away from Paul. They tried preaching the same message, while talking bad about him. Their intention was to bring hurt to his ministry, but instead of condemning them, Paul said in…

Philippians 1:18 What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.

To Paul, the spread of the Gospel was of far greater importance than receiving credit for being the one presenting it. If his enemies thought they could do him harm by preaching the same Gospel message that he was preaching, he was thrilled.

If Paul could take such a positive view of their Gospel presentation, even knowing that it was being done from a wrong motive, knowing that people would be exposed to the best news they would ever hear, shouldn’t we be less worried about ‘perfecting’ our Gospel presentation before ever sharing it?

The power of the Gospel is in the Gospel itself, not our ability to present it. Let’s begin sharing the Good News, and let the Spirit of God make it effective in the hearers.