What Is The Reason Pastors And Bible Teachers Want To Teach The Bible?

Are we motivated by a sincere desire to make Jesus known, or are there secret motives that have more to do with us than our claim to make Jesus known? These are issues that every pastor and Bible teacher must think about. Only if we confront our motives and examine why we do what we do, will we be able to honestly study, teach, and continue as useful stewards of the precious gift of teaching we have been given.

In Philippians 1:17, Paul, writing from prison, returns to a theme that has already surfaced earlier in his letter: the reality that not everyone who proclaims Christ does so with sincere motives. He acknowledges that within the Christian Church there were two distinct groups preaching the gospel. One group did so out of genuine devotion (Phil. 1:15b), but the other—identified in verse 15a and revisited in verse 17—proclaimed Christ “out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me.”

Philippians 1:15-18 “It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. 16 They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News. 17 Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. 18 But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.

This latter group forms the focus of Paul’s concern. Their doctrine was not the issue; Paul makes no suggestion that they preached a distorted gospel. Rather, the problem lay in their intent, for they preached Christ not for His glory, but for their own advancement, using even Paul’s imprisonment as a platform to elevate themselves.

The key term Paul employs—eritheia, translated “selfish ambition”—reveals the severity of their moral failure. In its earliest usage, eritheia simply meant “working for hire,” without any moral coloring. Over time, however, it evolved into a word associated with self-promotion, personal advancement, and ruthless competition. Classical Greek writers used it for those who pursued office or status by any possible means, displaying a willingness to undermine others to secure their own position. In political settings, the term was frequently associated with manipulative self-interest, describing individuals who would sacrifice integrity for the sake of climbing higher in public esteem.

Psalms 44:21 “God would surely have known it, for he knows the secrets of every heart.

Jeremiah 11:20 “O LORD of Heaven’s Armies, you make righteous judgments, and you examine the deepest thoughts and secrets.

By using this word, eritheia, translated “selfish ambition”, Paul identifies his detractors as men who were driven not by the love of Christ but by the desire to elevate their own reputations, even if it meant using his suffering for their benefit. They preached the true message, but they preached it with wrong motives. Their ambition was not pastoral but competitive; their aim was not the salvation of souls but the enhancement of their own status within the Christian community. As Paul describes it, their objective was not merely self-promotion but the infliction of emotional harm and damage the reputation of Paul—“thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment.”

This malicious intent stands out as particularly cruel. Rather than being moved with compassion that Paul was in prison for the gospel, these preachers saw an opportunity. Jealousy, rivalry, and personal insecurity fueled their behavior. They criticized Paul unjustly, accused him falsely, and attempted to intensify the burden of his confinement. Their actions exhibit a deep-seated spiritual immaturity. Their hearts were not right towards God in the ministry they were conducting.

In 2 Corinthians 12:20 Paul describes a characteristic of believers still controlled by the flesh—“strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances.”  In his letter of 1 Timothy 6:4, he warns the young pastor to beware of those within the church who delight in “controversial questions and disputes about words” that give rise to “envy, strife, abusive language, [and] evil suspicions.” The men Paul confronts in Philippians exemplify these traits.

Yet Paul’s response to such hostility is one of the most striking demonstrations of Christian maturity in the New Testament. Though he undoubtedly felt personal pain—no believer, especially an apostle deeply devoted to the church, could remain entirely unmoved by such betrayal—Paul refuses to center his reaction on personal offense. His deepest grief did not stem from the mistreatment he endured, whether from Roman authorities or from fellow believers. Rather, his anguish sprang from the realization that the hypocrisy and corrupt motives of these rival preachers damaged the witness and unity of the church. Their actions threatened to distract from the purposes of Christ, turning the gospel into a platform for competition rather than for truth.

Even so, Paul does not allow personal injury or hurt from other believers to dominate his perspective. Instead, he lifts his eyes to the larger reality of what God was accomplishing through the preaching of Christ—regardless of the motives behind it. Paul was not only thinking about what other pastors were doing to him, but what he was personally doing in the motives of his own ministry. This is an ever-present danger to every bible teacher and pastor.

This hidden motive and abiding question is expressed in Philippians 1:18: “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice.” Paul acknowledges that his detractors preach Christ “in pretense,” meaning with false motives, but he does not question the content of their message. Because they preached the genuine gospel, God used their preaching despite their hidden motives. The sovereign Lord honored His Word even when proclaimed by those whose motives were often selfish and self-serving..

This perspective demonstrates Paul’s deep trust in the triumph of God’s purposes. He knows that the gospel’s power does not depend on the moral integrity of its messenger, though Scripture elsewhere affirms that messengers will answer to God for their motives. Paul understands something profound: the message about Christ remains true, powerful, and effective even when spoken by those who proclaim it for the wrong reasons. As long as Christ is truly preached, “people were being saved,” and this reality eclipsed the personal suffering caused by rival preachers.

Isaiah 55:10-11: “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

Moreover, Paul recognized that his own response to his heart-injury would serve as a model for other leaders facing similar challenges. If the apostle reacted with bitterness, defensiveness, or resentment, others might assume that such responses were acceptable. Instead, Paul demonstrates a spirit marked by forgiveness, humility, and confidence in God’s sovereignty.

He refuses to allow rivalry to provoke retaliation. He does not spend his energy defending his name or correcting slander. His concern remains fixed on the advancement of the gospel and the edification of the church. In essence, he embodies the mind of Christ he will soon describe in Philippians 2:1–11—one of self-emptying humility, endurance, and obedience.

Paul’s response also reveals a profound pastoral maturity. He was not naïve; he fully understood the destructive potential of jealousy within the church. But he also knew that the gospel was larger than his personal reputation. He could rejoice even when the motives behind its proclamation were sometimes wrong, as long as Christ was being faithfully presented. Paul understood his own heart, and the heart of other teachers of God’s Word, that all of us struggle with these issues. This joy does not trivialize the sin of those who opposed him—it simply reveals that Paul’s ultimate allegiance was to Christ’s glory, not to his own comfort or confirmation. His joy rested not on personal vindication but on the success of the gospel.

In this passage from Philippians 1, Paul teaches a timeless lesson for the teaching pastors and the church. Believers must guard their hearts against jealousy, rivalry, and ambition, for these sins not only wound others but also obscure the glory of Christ. But, the church must also learn from Paul’s example: God’s purposes are not prevented by human imperfection. If Jesus used only perfect men to teach the Bible, He would have no one to use. None of the men that Jesus called to be His witnesses in the New Testament were fully prepared, adequately equipped, or sincerely motivated. It was in the process of being used that each man grew into the person Jesus knew they could be,

The gospel remains powerful even when proclaimed by flawed vessels, and Christ’s kingdom advances even when some of its teacher seek their own advancement.

Above all, Philippians 1:17–18 reveals the depth of Paul’s Christ-centered joy. He rejoices because Christ is proclaimed, and nothing matters more. His endurance under unjust criticism, his refusal to retaliate, and his ability to celebrate the gospel even when preached by rivals all testify to a life wholly surrendered to the supremacy of Jesus Christ. In this, Paul offers not only a theological insight but a living example for every generation of Christian leaders who face opposition, misunderstanding, and the broken motives of others. His life and words call believers to rise above personal injury and rejoice in the unstoppable advance of God’s truth.

This reality is something I must work on, and every pastor and Bible teacher must constantly be aware of and endeavor to guard against.

Categories: Robert Clifton Robinson