The Kind of Preaching We Need....

By Kenneth E. Thomas

There is a popular idea in the land today which suggests that in business, school, social life, morals, or religion, we should accept folks just as they are. It has been expressed by some as "I'm OK, and you're OK." It's kind of a "live and let live" philosophy whereby as it was in ancient Israel, "every man is a law unto himself," Or "every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges 17:6). There is no actual black and white standard which must be met to be acceptable with God or man in the eyes of those who submit to this philosophy. Many of those who have subscribed to this "new morality," don't actually believe that there is a divine creator to whom we must each give an accounting for the deeds done in the body, period. Subscribing to this idea is bad enough for a society and leads to all manner of moral and social problems with their attendant results, but it is much more to be deplored when it finds its way into the thinking and attitudes of New Testament Christians and into the congregations of which they are members. This basic idea is what has fostered the "non controversial approach" to writing and preaching the gospel. In fact, there is a popular gospel paper that was started with the idea of being "all positive" in their approach to teaching the gospel. This paper is being widely circulated in the brotherhood by subscription. Some entire congregations have it mailed to all of their members I understand. This paper will not allow controversial "issues" to be discussed pro and con in its pages. Some of the writers for that paper will argue their position in other papers edited by those who will allow both sides of such issues as M.D.R., etc., to be discussed, but not in their paper.

Excessive negativism, wrangling, and bitter disagreements over what were sometimes (though not always) trivial matters, have probably caused some who desire peace (and who doesn't?), to subscribe to this "make us feel good, all positive" approach to preaching and writing in our great brotherhood. They have seen people unjustly attacked, vilified and crucified from the pulpit and in some other mediums of expression, until they have become sickened at such and now desire "peace at any price," even to allowing error and those who espouse it to have free access to the pulpits and papers in the brotherhood. In short, they have decided to have peace even if it means compromising in matters of "the faith." Some are even suggesting that Romans chapter fourteen teaches this "unity in diversity" doctrine, even in matters of "the faith." I deny that premise with all the fervor of my being!

Let me remind you that some of those who are leading in this movement, among churches of Christ, are well known, highly respected, very capable men, who have served, or are presently serving, either as editors of papers or presidents of Bible colleges owned and operated by Christians. Where will this take many? I suggest that there is no stopping place short of total apostasy from the faith once delivered. The only course of action such folks can take to prevent this from occurring is to turn back now and demand a "thus saith the Lord" in all matters, and once again "speak as the oracles of God" (1 Thessalonians 5:21; Colossians 3:17; 1 Peter 4:11).

James P. Needham lamented to me some two or three years ago, or more, saying, "Ken, many brethren do not want our kind of preaching any more." He was speaking of course of the "kind of preaching" that identifies the error and those who propagate it, in clear understandable language, so others may beware of those who would turn them away from "the faith once delivered." He was speaking of the "kind of preaching" that exposes the errors of Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Muslims, Jews, as well as any other man made systems, while sounding out the clarion call of the ancient Jerusalem gospel where ever and when ever opportunity is available to us.

Jim used to be one of the most popular meeting preachers in the brotherhood. He edited a paper called "Torch Magazine" that was dedicated to holding up the torch of divine truth before the brotherhood, while exposing all manner of errors so prevalent nowadays. J. T. Smith bought the paper from brother Needham and later changed the name to "Gospel Truths," a paper likewise dedicated to discussing all sides of every controversial issue that arises among brethren, as well as much good positive writing on a variety of topics. Need I tell you that its circulation isn't nearly as great as are those other papers with their non-controversial approach?

Being fed on a diet of spiritual pablum, and not on the meat of the word of God Almighty, will lend itself to a generation of weak and spineless Christians who will eventually lose their identity as regards New Testament Christianity. They will eventually melt into the ranks of the Protestants around us, as have the so called "Christian churches" and the "Disciples of Christ," who once had very few differences from those of us who love and preach the ancient gospel and are content with the church just as Jesus presents it to us in the pages of His New Testament, in names, organization, worship and mission. This is where such attitudes have always ended among those who become ashamed of the ancient gospel and of those of us who have made it their life's work to proclaim it without fear or favor.

The Kind of Preaching Christ Wants Today Is:

The same as was (is) always needed! (2 Timothy 4:1-8) "The man who will stand up and say, without apology, just what the book says is being pushed into the wings in favor of the man who will entertain for 20 minutes or so." What is needed, however is: See (2 Timothy 2:1-2; Matthew 28:20).

I. CREDIBLE PREACHING. In Jeremiah 9:5-6 on behalf of God, Jeremiah said: "Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie they weary themselves with sinning, in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge Me, declares the Lord." To these same folks God said through Jeremiah , "When you tell them all this, they will not listen, when you call to them, they will not answer. Therefore say to them, "This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished, for the Lord has rejected and abandoned this generation that is under His wrath" (Jeremiah 7:27-28).

A. We must demand the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth of our elders, deacons, preachers and members (John 8:31-32; Galatians 4:16). See what God said of Israel in the long ago when their attitude was much like some folks of our day: Ezekiel 22:28, "Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says'-when the Lord has not spoken." In Isaiah 30:9-10, on God's behalf, Isaiah said to Israel, "These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord's instruction. They say to the seer, "See not more visions!" and to the prophets, "Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions."(NIV). Though hard to imagine, it is nonetheless true, even of some of God's children today. They will search far and wide for a local church and or a preacher who will tell them what they desire to hear rather than what they need to hear on a variety of subjects, especially concerning marriage, divorce and remarriage, and the fellowship issue that is so prevalent today. We need to be like moths; they love the light so much, they are willing to die for it!

II. CLEAR-CUT UNDERSTANDABLE TRUTH (Nehemiah 8:8). "They read from the book of the law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read." That means they expounded upon that which they read so the membership could know God's will. Paul speaks of Christ's will that has been revealed, saying, "How that by revelation He made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote before in a few words, Whereby when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)..."(Ephesians 3:3-4). Once Paul spoke of using "great plainness of speech" as he talked about the hope we have in Christ and the abolition of the Old Testament (insofar as being our rule of faith and practice). "Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished. But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which veil is done away in Christ" (2 Corinthians 3:12-14).

III. PROPHETIC-STYLE PREACHING MINCES NO WORDS: John the immerser didn't pull any punches when the Jews came out to hear him and to be baptized of him. It was said of others that they were "baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins." (Matthew 3:6). He then records the following: "But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, 0 generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet (suitable ket) for repentance" (Matthew 3:7-8).

A. When the fame of Jesus began to be great due to His miracles and teaching, Herod heard about it and thought this person was John the immerser, he said, "It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead. For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her. For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife" (Mark 6:16b-18).

B. "PREACHING MUST BE DISTINCT: UNMISTAKABLE IN CONTENT, ABLE TO BE HEARD ABOVE THE DIN OF OTHER VOICES, EMANATING CLEARLY FROM GOD'S WORD (-VS- ALL OTHER SOURCES OF TEACHING)."

Isaiah, speaking for God, said: "Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." For the mouth of the Lord has spoken" (Isaiah 1:18-20). (NIV).

IV. PREACHING MUST BE COMBATIVE (NOT PUGNACIOUS, BUT WILLING TO GO TO THE MAT). Paul told Timothy to "fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life.."(1 Timothy 6:12).

He wrote to the Corinthian church the following language concerning the importance of defending the faith, "(For though we walk in the flesh; we do not war after the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having a readiness to revenge all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled" (2 Corinthians 10:4-6).

He also spoke in such language as the soldier or warrior would identify with when he spoke of "taking up the whole armor of God" to the Ephesian brethren and as well to you and me, saying; "10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. (Ephesians 6:10-20). (NIV).

Faithful men of God oftentimes used military terms and metaphors and were not afraid to unsheathe the sword of the Spirit--In Matthew 23:23-24, the Master spoke the following to some Jewish leaders of His day: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices-mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel." (NIV).

In an article in "Focus" magazine by Mike Wilson and David Posey from which I got some of the points for this lesson, they wrote: "Too many of us are waving the scabbard, but the sword is gone!! Then they cited Acts 13:10, which is Paul's confrontation with Elymas the sorcerer who tried to turn the procouncil from the faith. "Then Paul who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery, Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?"

"A soft word turns away wrath," but it is not wrath we are trying to turn away. We are trying to refute error that has souls enslaved and lead folks to the truth that frees! "Honey catches more flies than vinegar," but we are not in the fly catching business! We are trying to save precious souls from eternal destruction!

There is way too much compromise nowadays. This is nothing new of course it has always been a problem for some. Jeremiah observed it in Israel and wrote the following: "They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. 'Peace, peace,' they say, when there is no peace" (Jeremiah 6:14).

If we move away from the hope of the pure gospel of Christ, where shall we go? We should remember the words of Peter when Jesus asked, "will you also go away?" Peter said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (John 6:67-69).

Paul, by divine inspiration, promised an eternal reward only to such as are not moved, saying, "Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation-if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant" (Colossians 1:21-23). Paul said that the preaching of the cross was offensive even in his day: "And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? Then is the offense of the cross ceased" (Galatians 5:11). Paul was always in combat against the Jews who rejected the cross of Christ as well as many Jewish brethren who wanted to mix the two laws. He said he "gave place by subjection, no not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you" (Galatians 2:5).

Much of the modern preaching is designed to "tickle the ears" of the listeners 2 Timothy 4:3-4; Ear -ticklers will not preach what folks really need to hear. They will not identify the sin and the sinners and call upon them to repent. They will not preach and particularize until the guilty person says, "I'm the one!" See 2 Timothy 3:1-17. 1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. 6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth--men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone. 10 You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, sufferings--what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (NIV)

V. NEEDED, PREACHING THAT CHALLENGES:

We need preaching that challenges cherished beliefs, false assumptions and traditions, and replaces man's often deviant ways with the pure word and will of Christ.

1 Corinthians 6:9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. (NIV).

Galatians 5:16-21 : 16 "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (NASB)

VI. CONCERNED PREACHERS:(Jeremiah and Jesus wept over lost Jerusalem). Paul warned the brethren at Ephesus day and night with tears by the space of three years (Acts 20:17-27).

17 And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church. 18 And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, 19 Serving the LORD with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews: 20 And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, 21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. 22 And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: 23 Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. 24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. 25 And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. 26 Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. 27 For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. 28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

VII. All This Must Be Done In Love.

Yet the more we love, often the less we are loved. As Paul said, "Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? (Galatians 4:16). "And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved" (2 Corinthians 12:15). (KJV).

Yes, we must "speak the truth in love," (Ephesians 4:15; 1 Corinthians 13:1-3), but speak the truth we must at whatever the cost here and now because we are dealing with things with eternal consequences!