INTRODUCTION
SOURCE
Peril means a situation of serious and immediate danger.(Wiktionary)
It is well known that perils are attendant on privilege. The greater the privilege, the greater the perils associated with them. Many seem to think that a preacher lives a charmed life and basks in an atmosphere where little or no temptation can enter to mar or dim; where all is calm and bright and where the wicked ceases from troubling, and the saints are all at rest. This however is not the case. His life may appear to be secluded as a walled garden though, yet often a garden can become a battlefield and a place of defeat, as was evidenced in Eden long ago.
TEXUAL SOURCE
II Cor 11:21-29 To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that! Whatever anyone else dares to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast about. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?
EXPOSITION
The early church leaders faced a lot of persecution in other to let the Gospel prevail. What a sacrificial life! In 1 Cor. 9:27 Apostle Paul speaks of a greater peril that far surpassed these physical dangers. He says: "I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means when I have preached to others I myself should be a castaway." This is the spiritual peril to which every preacher is exposed. Wise is he who, having been forewarned, forearms himself against this dire possibility.
Perils to which Preachers are Exposed
- The peril of indue familiarity with Divine things:
Just as it is possible to live in the midst of majestic scenery and lose the sense of wonder and awe; so it is possible to live in the realm of the sublime doctrines of holy Scripture, and lose the sense of proper reverence that such an environment must demand. It is possible to be well acquainted with the majestic truths of God's sovereignty and grace, and even preach about them, and yet fail to appreciate their immensity, glory and beauty. - The Peril of Inconsistent Living:
It is tragically possible to be a guide post and not a guide. To be an exhorter and not an example. To point out the way to others and yet not walk in the way oneself. This was the sin with which Christ charged the Pharisees. Of them He said: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do we not after their works, for they say and do not (Matt 23:3). This also was Paul's indictment against the Jews: Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?
It is to be feared that some Preachers assume that mere holding and teaching of correct doctrine is the equivalent of correct living; or that gift and grace are the same; or that orthodoxy of belief need not be balanced by orthodoxy of behavior. While standing and state must ever be kept distinct in our minds, they must be harmonized in our lives, if we are to be used of God in the proclamation of the Gospel. - The Peril of Professionalism:
Here the peril consist in the possibility of a preacher saying and doing things, not because of any inward urge of the love of Christ, or the leading of the Holy Spirit; but from a mere sense of duty, because it is the proper thing for him to do or say. Preaching can easily become a perfunctory affair, and clothe the preacher with a professional air, so that he becomes cold and distant, and imagines he is in a class by himself.
These, then, are some of the peculiar perils to which every preacher is exposed.
Source:The preacher and his Preaching by Alfred P. Gibbs
May God give us the grace to prevail over these peril and make Hevean.
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Perils are unavoidable when we preach the Gospel. The more we preach the more exposed we are. It is therefore important to get ready for every peril so that we can overcome.