Have you ever heard people say that some preaching is too hard? What was your
response to the statement? Did you pass it off as a harmless opinion? If you did, you
shouldn't have. It is not a harmless opinion. It portrays a spirit that says, "Yeah, it's
okay to preach the truth, but don't hurt feelings." One problem is, some folks will take
offense at the simplest Bible truths! Atheists take offense when we preach on God's
existence. (Gen. 1:1; Heb. 11:6) Methodists take offense when we preach about
the falsity of substituting sprinkling and pouring for the act of immersion. (Rom. 6:
3-4; Col. 2:12) Baptists take offense when we preach on the fact that a person
cannot be a Baptist and a Christian at the same time. (Acts 11:26; 1 Pet. 4:16)
Seventh Day Adventist take offense when we preach that the observance of the
sabbath day was under the old law, and is no longer binding. So, must we soften
the impact of truth in order to appease those who embrace religious error? No!
We must do exactly what Jesus and his apostles did; we must preach the truth and
accept the consequences.
During Jesus' earthly ministry, some of his disciples said, "This is a hard saying;
who can listen to it?" (Jno. 6:60-62; ESV-2011) People often reject the plain truth
because they have grown accustomed to being fed a diet of refined sugar, and
they think any scriptural truth is "too hard." How can a man preach too
hard if what he is preaching and teaching is the word of God?
We are not making an appeal for preaching that is mean-spirited, unnecessarily
harsh, and belligerent. But, we are saying that the world needs men who are strong
enough to preach the truth; all the truth, and nothing but the truth, anytime, anywhere,
and before anybody! Too many people believe that congregations grow when the
teaching program is "sweet," "soft," and "non-combative." It won't happen. A
congregation may "swell" from soft preaching, because it is prone to draw tolerant
disciples from other congregations, but soft preaching is not a catalyst for true
growth.
Some people have their roots in congregations that tickled their ears, scratched
their backs, and manicured their feet, instead of telling them what God wants them to
know. A child that has lived on a diet of junk food will expect junk food every time
he eats. A congregation is not a university for lecturing. It is a group of God's people
and they need bold preaching. God says so! (1 Tim. 4:11-16; 2 Tim. 4:1-5) God's
people have the responsibility to rise up and question any preacher and teacher
when any error is taught. Many people are worried about hurting someone's feelings,
making people angry, and driving people away. But, the same people do not seem
to be concerned about making God angry and causing God's Spirit to grieve by their
silence and tolerance of wrongdoing. (Eph. 4:30; 1 Jno. 4:1) May God bless all
preachers and teachers of the gospel to be as hard as scripture teaches that they
should be in order to accomplish the most spiritual good.
R. Daly
Copyright 2011
response to the statement? Did you pass it off as a harmless opinion? If you did, you
shouldn't have. It is not a harmless opinion. It portrays a spirit that says, "Yeah, it's
okay to preach the truth, but don't hurt feelings." One problem is, some folks will take
offense at the simplest Bible truths! Atheists take offense when we preach on God's
existence. (Gen. 1:1; Heb. 11:6) Methodists take offense when we preach about
the falsity of substituting sprinkling and pouring for the act of immersion. (Rom. 6:
3-4; Col. 2:12) Baptists take offense when we preach on the fact that a person
cannot be a Baptist and a Christian at the same time. (Acts 11:26; 1 Pet. 4:16)
Seventh Day Adventist take offense when we preach that the observance of the
sabbath day was under the old law, and is no longer binding. So, must we soften
the impact of truth in order to appease those who embrace religious error? No!
We must do exactly what Jesus and his apostles did; we must preach the truth and
accept the consequences.
During Jesus' earthly ministry, some of his disciples said, "This is a hard saying;
who can listen to it?" (Jno. 6:60-62; ESV-2011) People often reject the plain truth
because they have grown accustomed to being fed a diet of refined sugar, and
they think any scriptural truth is "too hard." How can a man preach too
hard if what he is preaching and teaching is the word of God?
We are not making an appeal for preaching that is mean-spirited, unnecessarily
harsh, and belligerent. But, we are saying that the world needs men who are strong
enough to preach the truth; all the truth, and nothing but the truth, anytime, anywhere,
and before anybody! Too many people believe that congregations grow when the
teaching program is "sweet," "soft," and "non-combative." It won't happen. A
congregation may "swell" from soft preaching, because it is prone to draw tolerant
disciples from other congregations, but soft preaching is not a catalyst for true
growth.
Some people have their roots in congregations that tickled their ears, scratched
their backs, and manicured their feet, instead of telling them what God wants them to
know. A child that has lived on a diet of junk food will expect junk food every time
he eats. A congregation is not a university for lecturing. It is a group of God's people
and they need bold preaching. God says so! (1 Tim. 4:11-16; 2 Tim. 4:1-5) God's
people have the responsibility to rise up and question any preacher and teacher
when any error is taught. Many people are worried about hurting someone's feelings,
making people angry, and driving people away. But, the same people do not seem
to be concerned about making God angry and causing God's Spirit to grieve by their
silence and tolerance of wrongdoing. (Eph. 4:30; 1 Jno. 4:1) May God bless all
preachers and teachers of the gospel to be as hard as scripture teaches that they
should be in order to accomplish the most spiritual good.
R. Daly
Copyright 2011
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