Preach the Word …
The focus of modern preaching.
In many local churches today, the preaching mainly emphasizes what’s positive, encouraging and inspiring. Heart-warming messages are the order of the day. Helping people deal with their felt needs is part of the regular Sunday diet. And enticing seekers to come and hear next week’s message is a big objective.
When uplifting messages are the mainstay of preaching, conviction, rebuke or correction are eliminated or downplayed. When rebuke or correction are absent from sermons, preachers have strayed from God’s command to challenge, warn or tell people they’re not living in obedience to God’s Word.
The command to preach the Word.
Consider this instruction: “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus … I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” 2 Timothy 4:1-4 (NIV).
Note the phrase “I give you this charge.” The Greek word for “charge” is diamarturomai. It was used when an official called on someone entering public office to work responsibly and thoughtfully. Paul’s use of the word reminds us that God is watching what we do and listening to what we say. It also indicates that when we’re told to “preach the word,” it’s command language. It’s not optional. Every preacher, in favourable and unfavourable conditions, whether it’s convenient or inconvenient, whether it’s received or rejected, must show people in what ways their lives are wrong (cf. the Amplified Bible).
The danger of hollow preaching.
Numerous preachers are ignorant concerning God’s “charge.” Their ignorance is evident through how they limit their preaching to selected texts and specific themes. It’s a wretched state of affairs. Many preachers “have forsaken the right way and gone astray … they speak great swelling words of emptiness” 2 Peter 2:15,18 (NKJV).
Hollow words are commonplace. Critically reviewing the content of the average sermon today, it’s evident that serious teaching is sadly lacking. Most preaching is light and fluffy – designed for consumers wired for the quick and easy. Where are the preachers with a backbone? Where are the modern-day Isaiah’s intensely proclaiming woe and judgment? And where is today’s Jonah preaching against wickedness? (cf. Jonah 1:2). Who, like Paul, are commanding people to repent (cf. Acts 17:30). While evil increasingly abounds, the courage to confront and expose depravity is unusual.
“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” Isaiah 5:20 (NIV). Are the prophet’s words true for today? I think they are. Some congregations never hear a message about Hell. Yet Jesus spoke about Hell more than He spoke about Heaven!
The silent pulpit on key issues.
Preachers, are you proclaiming sin and judgment? Are you teaching people to fear God and live holy lives? If not, by omission, you’re a false teacher enticing people to follow a fictitious Jesus.
Not speaking about negative things is an unspoken rule in some local churches and denominations. Yet all of God’s Word must be preached – even the parts of the Bible that are offensive to society at large.
Tragically, as the voices of the LGBTQ+ community grow louder, the voices of some preachers grow quieter. Why is the pulpit silent on matters of purity? The Bible isn’t ambiguous concerning homosexuality. Romans 1:18-32 clearly condemns perversion and warns of God’s wrath as a penalty for everyone who exchanges natural relations for unnatural ones.
The sexual confusion, abuse and defilement we see around us today may be due in part to preachers not preaching the Word. Are preachers scared? Do they feel intimidated by popular culture? Why are most preachers virtually inaudible on sexual purity even though pornography and lust are epidemics?
The need for bold, convicting preaching.
Preachers, preach the Word. It should be anathema to feed people spiritual junk food and catchy ideas that tickle their ears (cf. 2 Timothy 4:3-4). But that’s what’s happening.
Renewal and restoration is desperately needed. Until the mid-20th Century, most Evangelical preachers confidently confronted and exposed sin. Holiness went hand in hand with being a Christian. And lukewarm Christians were uncomfortable because messages were firm and convicting.
Nowadays, people are rarely pierced by the preacher’s message. After a service, they smile and say, “Thank you for the message, Pastor,” “I enjoyed the sermon,” or “I’m looking forward to what you’re going to say next week.”
I know when I’ve preached the Word. It’s when someone says, “I felt convicted,” “You made me feel uncomfortable,” or “Your message was negative!”
Facing opposition and offence.
A woman recently approached me after a service and said, “May I comment?” Of course,” I replied. “I notice your message didn’t use inclusive language,” she said. “What do you mean?” I asked. With some intensity, she continued, “Well, you spoke about men and women in a way that made no provision for other sexual identities and relationships. Everyone belongs to God’s family, and we should embrace and accept their sexuality.” After a brief pause, I said, “Thank you for sharing your opinion. I appreciate you taking the time to speak to me. But the Bible clearly teaches us that there are only two genders – male and female.” The discussion continued for another five minutes, and then her parting shot, “You’re wrong. You should be more sensitive and understanding …”
That’s what happens when we preach the Word. People can and will take offence. In fact, to those who are perishing, “we are the smell of death” 2 Corinthians 2:15 (NIV). When I started preaching, I didn’t know that being “the smell of death” was part of the job description. But it will be if we’re faithfully preaching the whole canon of Scripture!
The necessity of corrective preaching.
Another thing I didn’t know when I started preaching is that two of the three commands in 2 Timothy 4:2 concerning preaching are negative. Timothy was exhorted to elegcho (convict, prove wrong and thus shame a person) and to epitimao (charge, rebuke). In other words, preachers must major in corrective preaching, and as they do, they should temper it with parakaleo (encouragement and comfort).
Sugar-coated preaching is dangerous. Someone once said, “It is better to speak the truth that hurts and then heals than falsehood that comforts and then kills.”
Restoration through faithful preaching.
So, live up to God’s charge to boldly correct, rebuke and encourage people to abstain from sinful desires and live righteously. Because when we don’t preach the Word (all of the Word), the outcome is want and spiritual poverty (cf. Proverbs 11:24).
Read the related articles to learn more.
Related Articles
Correctly Handling the Word of Truth
Summary
Many churches today focus on uplifting, encouraging messages that address felt needs while avoiding topics of conviction, rebuke, or correction. This approach strays from God’s command to preach the full Word, including confronting sin and calling for repentance. Preachers must boldly speak against sin, even when it’s uncomfortable, and teach God’s truths on topics like judgment and purity without yielding to societal pressures. Failing to preach the whole counsel of Scripture leads to spiritual poverty, leaving congregations spiritually malnourished and unaware of the full scope of God’s message.
© Scripture Union Canada
