Someone may ask, “Why do some co-workers teach people not to wear fashionable clothing, put on lipstick, or go to the movies?” If we merely focus on whether it is right to put on lipstick or wear fashionable clothing, at the most we are preachers who can improve society. In teaching people not to do things, such as going to movies, wearing fashionable clothing, or giving a permanent wave to their hair, we must have Christ as the firm foundation. Only when we teach from Christ as the foundation can there be any true value and impact. We cannot wear fashionable clothing because Christ is in us; we cannot go to the movies because Christ is in us. Not wearing fashionable clothing and not going to the movies must come from Christ. If it does not come from Christ, it does not make any difference whether we wear a fancy dress or a plain dress. Our preaching must convey nothing other than Christ Himself. We preach Christ to build up, edify, and perfect the saints. The material with which we build up, edify, and perfect others is Christ Himself. Every message should be centered on Christ; every exhortation must be joined to Christ and take Christ as the foundation. Our exhortations must bring people into Christ.
We are not here to study doctrinal questions. Neither are we here to learn how to preach from the podium, to learn how to converse with people, or to learn how to serve in the church; all of these things are just technical matters. Basically, we must know Christ, experience Christ, and gain Christ inwardly. In this way, we will be able to minister and dispense Christ when the need arises. Then we can supply others with the Christ whom we know and experience by applying the techniques of speaking and the methods of work that we have learned.
Ephesians 4:14 says, “That we may be no longer little children...carried about by every wind of teaching in the sleight of men, in craftiness with a view to a system of error.” This is a word on the negative side. On one hand, we need to arrive at the full-grown man spoken of in verse 13; on the other hand, as verse 14 says, we should no longer be little children. To be little children is a spiritual rather than a physical matter. We need to be like little children (cf. Matt. 18:3; Mark 10:15; Luke 18:17), but we should not be little children. After many years some people are still little children who have not grown up. Being little children indicates the lack of growth in life. Being a little child puts one at risk to easily fall into the schemes of men and to be deceived. A little child can be deceived by a piece of chocolate. Some brothers and sisters are lured away merely by a good meeting or a good teaching. Little children easily fall into the schemes of men.
If we could ask the apostle Paul to come and speak of things that could inspire little children, he would say that such things are of the flesh. Sometimes after hearing a good message by someone in a certain place, some brothers have asked me if we should invite him to come and speak to us. I usually do not reply to them because I realize that they are like little children speaking nonsensical words. There are some brothers and sisters who spoke such nonsensical words four or five years ago who still speak such words. We truly need the Lord’s mercy to no longer be little children. Since little children neither know nor understand what they should do, they are easily deceived.
In our service in the church, the way is Christ, and the material also is Christ. Ephesians 4:14 says that there are all kinds of winds of teaching, like storms, hurricanes, or strong gales. There are all kinds of winds coming from the pulpits in Christianity. An elderly brother, who paid much attention to morality, once quoted twenty-eight portions from Exodus to Ephesians and spoke an attractive message about honoring parents. Upon hearing him, many university students were touched; they felt that God had shone a great light. From the human perspective, this message helped people to honor their parents; however, from the perspective of Christ, it was a wind of teaching that carried people to another place. This does not mean that we should not speak of honoring parents; rather, our honoring of parents should be Christ. If we merely teach people to honor their parents without bringing Christ to them and imparting Christ into them, our teaching will only be like the teaching of Confucius or Mencius. The essence and content of all the teachings in the Bible, including honoring parents, loving wives, or submitting to husbands, are just Christ.
If the sisters are all filled with Christ and are submissive to their husbands as a result of our preaching of submission, then this preaching is the preaching of Christ, not a wind of teaching that carries people away from Christ. Today there are countless winds of teaching coming from the pulpits of Christianity, carrying people away from Christ. Our preaching of the gospel is to bring people to Christ, but it is a sad thing if a person is carried away from Christ by the winds of teaching after he is saved. Some teachings are based on the Scriptures, but their essence is not Christ; some teachings are good from the human perspective, but their content is not Christ. No matter what we preach, we should take Christ as the center and remain with Christ, taking Him as the essence and content.
Even if our preaching is on matters related to our daily living, such as how to dress properly, it still must be according to Christ. In this way, after someone hears such a message, he will kneel down before the Lord and say, “O Lord, thank You for teaching me how to dress properly.” Only this kind of preaching is genuine and scriptural. Instead of carrying people away from Christ, this kind of preaching brings people into Christ. Otherwise, no matter how good a teaching may be, it can be a wind that carries us away from Christ. Although it is a good teaching, it is a wind that carries people away from Christ.
Every message, regardless of its topic, should cause people to desire Christ and desire to submit to Christ, thereby bringing them into Christ. Whether it is a message on loving one’s wife, on submitting to one’s husband, or on wearing proper clothing, the effect should be that the more a person listens, the more he loves Christ, desires Christ, and is filled with Christ. If this is not the case, no matter how appealing and inspiring the message may be, it will be a wind of teaching that carries people away from Christ. It would be better if people did not listen to the message, because they were closer to Christ before hearing the message. After listening to the message, they may be headed in the direction of something good, but they are further and further away from the goal—Christ. This is to be carried about by the wind.
A brother may give a message concerning music, and we will all be burdened to learn how to sing hymns and practice our singing skills, but in the end we may not know or gain more of Christ. This kind of message is a wind of teaching which carries us away from Christ. Another brother may come and give a series of messages on the significance of numbers in the Bible. He may speak concerning the number six hundred sixty-six and the seventy weeks, and then, for a period of two years, we may have hardly any fellowship with Christ because we are spending all our time studying these numbers. We may be very clear on the significance of the seventy weeks in the book of Daniel—we may be able to recite it, draw a chart, tell people when King Nebuchadnezzar was dethroned, when his kingship was restored, when Daniel was harmed, when Jerusalem was rebuilt, and when the seventy weeks will begin—yet we may not have drawn any nearer to Christ. This is to be carried away from Christ by a wind of teaching. Even though we have not committed any sin and, instead, have studied only the seventy weeks and the number six hundred sixty-six, finding all the related verses in the Bible, we have not focused on Christ, and we have missed Christ.