The Preacher? What About You?

The Preacher? What About You?

“We’re not growing as a church like we should!”

“It seems like we’re LOSING members instead of GAINING members!”

“Remember the good old days back in the 50’s/60’s/70’s/80’s when we were averaging 300-500 on Sundays?  Man, I wish we could be like that now…”

Have you been a part of this conversation in the church lobby or fellowship hall lately?  Have you heard talk like this from the pulpit lately?  Sat in on elders and deacons meetings in which these points were raised with concern?

It's time everyone remembered what God expects from his Children.

It’s time everyone remembered what God expects from his Children.

Has talk like this prompted you to look at the man in the pulpit and think, “It’s time to get a new preacher”?  I mean, if there’s a lack of growth in numbers in the church it’s obviously HIS fault alone, right?  After all, HE’S the evangelist of our congregation, right?  That’s what we PAY him to do!

Want to know what God thinks?

Here’s the Scripture of the Day:

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?

And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?

And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

Romans 10:13-14

Here’s the mistake we make.  We read passages like that, and automatically think of the man in the pulpit and the man in the pulpit alone.  After all, HE’S “the preacher,” not me.

But consider this…

…And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles…Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.

Acts 8:1, 4

For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.

1 Thessalonians 1:8

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…

Matthew 28:19-20

…Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.

Mark 16:15

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

1 Peter 2:9

In the Acts passage, who was going about preaching the Word?  The disciples who were scattered, which would be the entire Jerusalem church…except for the apostles (who, incidentally, probably would have filled the “pulpit preacher” positions there.)  NOTE:  THE MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH WERE PREACHING, NOT JUST THOSE IN CHURCH OFFICE POSITIONS.

In the Thessalonians passage, who is Paul talking to?  Contextually, the entire church at Thessalonica (1 Thess. 1:1).  What was he commending them for?  Only the fact that God’s Word had sounded forth from them everywhere, so that he and his fellow missionaries didn’t need to do a thing in that region.  Do you think that would have happened if the only evangelizing was done by one or two men in that church?

In the Matthew and Mark passages, Jesus is giving that command to evangelize the entire world to his apostles, true…but notice Matthew 28:20, where he tells them to teach those whom they converted “to observe all that I have commanded you.”  Would that include the command he had just given them, the one about making disciples of all nations and proclaiming the gospel to all creation?  Hmm…

Look again at the 1 Peter passage.  He’s talking to all Christians in general (“To those who are elect” – 1:1).  He calls Christians God’s chosen race, royal priesthood, holy nation, and his own people…for what reason?  Why did God make us Christians?  “…that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”  God made the man in your pulpit a Christian to proclaim his excellencies to others, yes…but that’s why he made you a Christian too.

Are you living up to your responsibility?  When was the last time you talked about the gospel of Christ with your next-door neighbor, your co-worker, your friend who’s an atheist or agnostic or Muslim?  When was the last time you invited someone to come to church with you?  When was the last time you initiated a discussion about the Bible with someone other than your preacher or a fellow Christian?

Church of Christ, go back and see what our brethren were doing in the “glory days” of the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s.  They were a lot more evangelistic than we are now.  And that’s why they were growing…because personal evangelism was and is a God-given responsibility that was accepted by each of them, from elders all the way down to new converts…not just something they “passed the buck” on to the man in the pulpit.

Any pulpit preacher worth his hire will be very evangelistic.  However, he’s just one man.  In all probability, he’s new to the area if you compare the amount of time he’s lived there to how long you’ve lived there.  For that reason you probably know more non-Christians in the community than he does, and know them better than he does too.  At the very least, you could be inviting them to come to worship with you and listen to his sermons.  You could introduce them to him, or he to them.  You could encourage both your preacher and your non-Christian friend to have Bible studies together.  Are you doing that?

And if you are a Christian like God wants you to be, you study God’s Word everyday (Ps. 1:1-3) and take advantage of every opportunity to come to church and listen attentively to the messages from God’s Word your preacher preaches (Heb. 10:24-25; Acts 17:11).  That means you are growing in your knowledge like God wants you to do (2 Pet. 1:5-8; 3:18).  That means that you yourself are equipped, perhaps more equipped than you realize, to initiate Bible studies and discussions about salvation with the non-Christians in your life.  Are you doing that?

You know what God tells pulpit preachers to do?  Not only preach the Word (2 Tim. 4:2), but also set the proper example to all other Christians…you (1 Tim. 4:12).  Here’s the thing, though.  Examples are useless if they are not followed.  Think about that.

Read that Romans passage above one more time…

Did you read it?  Okay.  Let me ask you this.

Do you want every person you know to be saved?

Because if they are going to be saved, someone is going to have to preach the gospel to them.  Someone is going to have to at the very least bring a knowledgeable, godly preacher into contact with them.

So, do you want them to be saved?  Do you?

Do you want your church to grow?  Do you?

Really…?

Okay, then…

What are YOU doing about it?

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¿Es él bautismo Sectario aceptado por Dios?

¿Es él bautismo  Sectario  aceptado por Dios?

Es realmente importante darle una respuesta a la pregunta anterior. Hay dos maneras de hacer eso. La primera es en nuestros propios términos y la segunda es bajo la sombra de la palabra de Dios. Optamos por acercarnos más a la segunda opción. El tema en sí es de trascendental importancia, porque estamos hablando de la salvación eterna.

Para ir al grano; ¿Es el bautismo sectario aprobado por Dios? Absolutamente NO afirma el hermano Dave Miller P.h D en su libro piloteando en el estrecho pagina 293. “Lo primero que debemos entender es qué las denominaciones son abominación para Dios” afirma el hermano Miller . Hay tantas cosas buenas y cosas que practican correctamente sin embargo continúan siendo la peor depravación del plan divino del Señor. La segunda pregunta en cuestión es ¿Existen cristianos en las denominaciones? Y otra vez la respuesta concreta es absolutamente NO. Afirmar que una denominación a practicado el bautismo correcto solamente porque es en agua y porque es para perdón de pecados sería implicar que hay cristianos en las denominaciones. Max Lucado quien en su tiempo llegó a ser un ministro de la Iglesia de Cristo en San Antonio Texas en su libro “En manos de Gracia” establece que si hay cristianos esparcidos en todas las denominaciones y que la gracia de Dios les alcanzará a todos ellos. Aunque de alguna manera la afirmación de Lucado se alejan de nuestro tema, la conclusión es la misma; ¡Existen cristianos en las denominaciones!. La verdad sobre este asunto es que nadie puede estar en una condición de salvo en una denominación por la practica constante del error y la adoración en Vano (Mt15:9) que practican. El apoyar un grupo religioso y competir con sus propios medios en contra de la única verdad absoluta de las escritas es Pecado y el tal está condenado sino se arrepiente. Tal o tales personas poseen insuficiencia de conocimiento para sostener una relación o comunión con el Señor, el individuo debe de salir de la denominación antes de morir y obedecer correctamente al Señor para que pueda ser salvo. La pregunta siguiente es ¿Puede un sectario administrar el bautismo correcto? La respuesta es Si, es claro que si alguien entiende la palabra de Dios correctamente en este aspecto es seguro que administre el bautismo correcto porque la semilla es la palabra de Dios. Sin embargo y que quede en claro que aunque la persona practique él bautismo correcto aún así sigue estando perdida y tal persona no es un cristiano o una cristiana. La parábola que expone el Señor sobre el sembrador, establece que la semilla es la palabra de Dios, eso es correcto, pero que el sembrar sale a sembrar y parte de esta semilla calló en pedregales, parte en espinos, parte en el camino pero parte en buena tierra. Bien, para que la semilla dé frutos buenos y abundantes para Dios necesita dos elementos a saber; La buena semilla, y buena tierra. La semilla de la palabra de Dios en cuanto al bautismo y el plan de salvación puede llegar a las denominaciones pero JAMAS podrá producir frutos(cristianos) porque no es la tierra correcta, el texto explica que la que calló en el camino  es aquel que no pudo entender la palabra de Dios, vino el malo y se la arrebató (Mt13:19). Por lo tanto no se trata nada más que la semilla caiga donde sea, la regla de Dios es que para que produzca fruto debe de caer en la tierra correcta. Para ser salvo no basta con practicar el bautismo en agua, es necesario que ese bautismo sea practicado en la única Iglesia verdadera, la Iglesia del Señor Jesús. Por Otro lado no puedo yo aceptar el bautismo de un sectario porque Dios no lo hace. De hecho casi todas las denominaciones sin excepción comprenden incorrectamente el bautismo de la Biblia, ellos enseñan que el pecador puede ser salvo antes o después del bautismo y que este no es esencial para ser salvo; es decir, es un elemento secundario en el proceso de salvación.  El muy conocido  hermano Thomas B. Warren en su libro “ La Biblia solo produce cristianos solamente y los únicos cristianos” en su pagina 100 el hermano asegura que si una persona no es bautizada para el perdón de los pecados entonces esa persona NO ES SALVA. De nuevo en la página 101 escribe lo siguiente respecto al tema que estamos tratando:

“ Cada hijo de Dios (es decir cada cristiano) es un miembro de la Iglesia de Cristo (la iglesia descrita en las paginas del Nuevo Testamento). No existe ni un solo cristiano viviendo en la tierra hoy que no sea miembro de la Iglesia de Cristo. Todas las otras llamadas “iglesias” son de origen humano y no son autorizadas por Dios. La salvación se encuentra solamente en la Iglesia que Cristo compró con su sangre (Hechos 20:28).”

El bautismo sectario no es aceptado por Dios por la razón de que no es el lugar que Dios ha especificado  para salvación. Ejemplo muy claro tenemos con el arca de Noé. La salvación se encontraba dentro del arca porque es allí el lugar donde Dios había especificado estaba la salvación, fuera del arca había muerte. Fue el caso con Rahab la ramera, en Josué 2 se especifica que cuando los ejércitos de Israel llegaran a Jericó a destruir la ciudad y sus habitantes,  para que ella y su familia fueran salvos debían de estar dentro de la casa de ella (Rahab), en cualquier otro lugar solamente iban a encontrar muerte. Y sucede lo mismo con Moisés y el pueblo de Israel en Exodo 12, dentro las casas que estaba pintadas con sangre de cordero había salvación para los primogénitos, pero fuera de tales casas que no estaban especificadas con lo que Dios había mandado había muerte. En 2 Timoteo 2:1 Leemos que la Gracia se encuentra en Cristo Jesús (Estar en Cristo, es el leguaje Bíblico para dar a entender que uno está dentro de su Iglesia)  en el mismo capítulo en el v10, el texto afirma que la salvación está en Cristo, es decir en su Iglesia, en ningún otro lugar. La pregunta es: ¿Cómo entramos en Cristo? Ga 3:27  responde a esa pregunta “porque todos los que habéis sido bautizados en Cristo, de Cristo estáis revestidos.” Amado lector él Bautismo es lo que nos pone “en Cristo”. Es decir en su Iglesia, “habiendo sido sepultados con Él en el bautismo…” (Co.2:12) Y  si solamente existe un bautismo (Ef 4:4-5) El bautismo bíblico siempre nos va a trasladar y nos va a “poner en Cristo” en su Iglesia. Practicar el único bautismo de la Biblia en una denominación es algo que simplemente no calza con la lógica Biblica  y no hay evidencia fuerte para concluir que tal bautismo sea aprobado por Dios y que por lo tanto nosotros, de este lado podamos aceptar a tal persona como Cristiano y darle solamente la bienvenida a la Iglesia de Cristo.  Aunque una persona haya sido bautizado correctamente  (En agua, para perdón de pecados) en una secta tal persona no es salva, no ha practicado el bautismo de la Biblia, necesita (no volverse a bautizar sino hacerlo correctamente)  y aquí algunas de las razones por la que  sostenemos esta afirmación:

  1. En el Bautismo único de la Biblia el candidato debe de saber algunas cosas básicas y creerlas. Fundamentalmente  2 cosas; las que predicaba Felipe en Hechos 8:12. El evangelio y el reino. Así como Cristo no está separado de su cuerpo que es la Iglesia (Ef.1:21-22) tampoco el evangelio está separado de la Iglesia. Si en la secta la persona escuchó y obedeció correctamente al “modo de bautismo” pero no escuchó de la única Iglesia verdadera por conclusión lógica su bautismo no es el bautismo único de la Biblia.
  2. El bautismo único de la Biblia ha sido administrado por miembros de la Iglesia de Cristo en las escrituras. De hecho el Nuevo Testamento solamente observamos miembros del Cuerpo de Cristo bautizando, aunque no tenemos todos los detalles específicos; sin embargo, podemos llegar a una conclusión segura de que fueron Cristianos los que bautizaban. Si existiera un caso extremo donde no hay absolutamente nadie que pueda llevar a cabo el bautismo y solamente hay un sectario para que lo haga, entonces en este caso extremo creo que pudiéramos argumentar que el acto más importante es el que la persona que se bautiza lleva a cabo, es decir, que tal persona entienda que está siendo bautizado para perdón de pecados y para ser añadido a la Iglesia verdadera, la de Cristo. El hecho de ser bautizado en una secta y permanecer en ella es señal de que tal persona no fue enseñada correctamente.
  3. En el  bautismo único de la Biblia, la persona es añadido a la Iglesia verdadera. Tal fue el caso en Hechos 2 y todos los que iban siendo bautizados continuaban siendo añadidos por el Señor mismo a su Iglesia. La pregunta validad a hacer es: ¿Cuando usted fue bautizado “correctamente en la secta” en agua para perdón de pecados, a ¿qué Iglesia le añadió el  Señor?, es obvio que usted fue añadido a la secta que le estaba administrando el bautismo, por lo tanto, el Señor no le añadió a una secta y la implicación lógica de esto es que su bautismo ante el Señor queda invalido, porque no tuvo el efecto del bautismo de la Biblia y como no pueden haber 2 bautismos su bautismo no es el que se describe en las páginas del N.T.
  4. El bautismo único de la Biblia lo pone en una inmediata comunión con Dios. Esta comunión es extendida por el Padre cuando usted obedece el plan de Salvación. El arrepentimiento precede al bautismo y todos acá estamos de acuerdo en que el denominacionalismo es pecado, al estar asociado con una denominación usted se arrepiente de sus pecados y es bautizado en agua por ellos en realidad usted no se ha arrepentido, ya que sigue teniendo comunión y contacto directo con el denominacionalismo y por lo tanto su proceso de salvación fue incompleto, su bautismo por ende no es el bautismo único de la Biblia.

CASOS EN EL MOVIMIENTO DE RESTAURACION.

El otro asunto es en el caso de Alexander Campbell quien con seis miembros  más de su familia fue sumergido en agua en Julio 12 de 1812 ya que había comprendido que la Iglesia presbiteriana enseñaba contrariamente a las santas escrituras practicando rociamiento de niños. Campbell con su familia fueron sumergidos en agua por esta razón y no necesariamente porque entendían que el bautismo es para perdón de pecados cómo logramos percibir en varios de sus escritos.  Hay cosas en las que admiramos a Campbell y su familia pero hay otras con las que estamos total y absolutamente en desacuerdo; como lo de las sociedades misioneras. Con todo la Iglesia de Cristo no depende de Campbell a cómo y tampoco inicio con Campbell por lo que podemos diferir con él en este y otros asuntos siendo la Biblia la autoridad absoluta. Existieron otros en el movimiento de restauración que si comprendieron correctamente el propósito del bautismo y su único fin; perdonar pecados, tal como Racon John Smith entre otros y nos alegra que en su entendimiento y las circunstancias en las que se vivía en ese tiempo fueron sumergidos en agua para ese propósito por sectarios pero ellos (quienes estaban siendo bautizados) con el entendimiento correcto.Quien escribe está convencido que en situaciones extremas un sectario puede bautizar a alguien que está determinado a abandonar el denominacionalismo y ser sumergido en agua para perdón de pecados, porque el poder no está en la persona que bautiza, ni en lo que la persona diga sino en el entendimiento correcto de la persona que está obedeciendo, sin embargo vivimos en distintas circunstancias. Lo que los del movimiento de Restauración hicieron es irrelevante hoy aunque no significa que no sea importante. Hemos avanzado mucho en el estudio profundo de las santas escrituras y hemos logrado extender el reino de Dios. Por lo tanto en nuestra presente condición es contraproducente  que sectarios administren el bautismo bíblico a algún pecador penitente, estando nosotros aquí presentes en casi todos los países del mundo.

En conclusión el bautismo sectario no es aceptado por Dios simplemente porque es sectario. Es el hermano Warren quien concluye lo siguiente: “Afirmo que las escrituras enseñan claramente que cada denominación existe sin tener ninguna autoridad Biblica y por eso, Satanás es la cabeza esencial de cada una de estas denominaciones.” (The bible only makes Christians only and the only Christians, pg. 154). Y el hermano Robert Taylor Jr también está en acuerdo con lo anterior cuando dice: “Si existe un nuevo nacimiento hoy y LO HAY, también existe el reino de Dios abierto para una entrada inmediata en él y su disfrute. El preminelialismo ha sido inconsistente apelando por un nuevo nacimiento pero no por la entrada inmediata al reino.” ( El bautismo es para perdón de pecados, edición 1979 de la espada espiritual Volumen 10, pg. 7). Estimado lector respetamos las opiniones encontradas sobre este tema pero todo lo anterior es evidentemente razones fuertes para creer que es la posición más razonable. Usted beberá estudiar por si mismo los argumentos presentados en ambas corrientes en ambos lados y llegar a su propia conclusión, lo cual le animamos solemnemente  a hacer.

 

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It’s About People

It’s About People!

One of the greatest challenges that we face in our lives is connecting with other people.  When we think about our purpose, to love God and love our neighbor (Matthew 22:37-39), we realize that this is the great challenge God has given us.  We let things get in the way of doing that.  We also let things get in the way of others showing love to us.  Being about the Lord’s business is being about the business of visiting with and learning about other people.  The more that we can do this, the better job we will do in fulfilling our purpose in life.

Can we get over ourselves and love?

Can we get over ourselves and love?

One of the greatest obstacles that we place in our path of connecting with other people is simply failing to talk to them.  So often we conceive of prejudices in our mind as to why a person is one way or another.  We think, “I can’t talk to him/her about this because he/she will never listen.”  How do we know until we try?  Jesus told us that if we have a problem with another that we need to go to him/her and talk (Matthew 18:15).  Jesus’ way is the best way.  More often than not, we will be able to resolve our differences.

Many times the reason we don’t want to talk to other people lies within our own heart.  We allow others to control us by blaming them instead of doing what we can.  This is debilitating.  We must take responsibility for our own thoughts, beliefs, decisions, feelings, and actions.  This will put us back in control of our own life and go a long way toward helping us be more relaxed and comfortable around other people so that we can fulfill the purpose that God has given us in this life.

God bless you, and I love you.

 

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Jesus Is Coming Soon, Look at the Signs

Jesus Is Coming Soon, Look at the Signs

If you talk to religious people much, it will likely not be long until they say to you, “I believe the world is about to come to an end, look at all the signs.” Televangelists and pastors are making thousands of dollars selling their books which lead their followers to believe the end is near. It is ironic that this profiteering has been happening for over fifty years, yet the world still stands. There must be something wrong with this widespread belief that the end is near.

Signs? For who? For when? These are good questions.

Signs? For who? For when? These are good questions.

It was just days before Jesus’ death when He walked through the temple and spoke of the time when not one stone of that beautiful building would be left upon another. He left the temple and went to the Mount of Olives, and His disciples continued this conversation and asked about signs which would precede the day when that happened. Read Mark’s record of their questions about these signs. “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?” (Mark 13:4). A few verses later, Jesus also said, “So you also, when you see these things happening, know that it is near—at the door. Assuredly I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.”

Look at how Luke records this same conversation. “Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place” (Luke 21:7)? Jesus said, “So you also when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. Assuredly I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place” (Luke 21:32).

Now contrast what Jesus said with what is said by so many today. Jesus said that these disciples who heard His words would see every sign. All of these things were to happen in that generation. Televangelists say these signs could not have been seen by these disciples for all of that generation are dead. It is our generation, not theirs, which is now seeing them! Whom should I believe? Jesus or modern evangelists?

Jesus gave about eight signs, and then He spoke of the final sign. When the gospel of the Kingdom had been preached to all the world the end would come (Matt. 24:14). That would be the final sign, and when that happened the end would come. The only question to be asked is when was the gospel preached in all the world. Let God show us the answer. Hear this message from heaven. “The gospel that you heard and which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven” (Col. 1:23). Those signs had dealt with the end of the Jewish world, the generation of the first century. There are no signs given which will indicate His return to judge all mankind (Matt. 24:35-36; 1 Thess. 5:1-3).

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Preachers and Their Demise

Preachers and Their Demise

I recently read on a church leadership lectureship flyer that the church is losing approximately 600 preachers per year, while replacing only about 300 over that same time span. Although those numbers initially seemed staggering to me (especially when you factor in that in all likelihood, a sizeable percentage of those 300 preachers produced may not remain faithful to the scriptures in all things when the going gets tough), and while I do not know the source of their research, speaking from personal observation and experience, sadly, tragically, I can certainly believe it.

What will happen to that bright eyed preacher?

What will happen to that bright eyed preacher?

I have seen more than one fine, biblically sound, faithful young man go into the ministry, land a full-time preaching position with a congregation that had, apparently, in some way indicated they wanted someone who would only preach the truth of God’s word, just to find out a little later on that that wasn’t quite the case at all. In fact, it was borderline dishonest – if not outright false. This is because what their leadership REALLY wanted, was someone who would certainly pay enough lip service to the truth to still make them feel good, but who, in all reality, would be more concerned about and consumed with the numbers in the pews and the plates than they were with whether or not God’s word was being fully and truly proclaimed. The way such congregational leadership should have written their job description in order to make it more honest and less misleading, would have been something along the lines of: “Wanted: Preacher who is faithful to and will proclaim the whole, entire, Biblical truth in all things – JUST SO LONG AS that truth is neither offensive, uncomfortable, or inconvenient to/for anyone, and ESPECIALLY as it pertains to our immediate family and personal friends!”

Tragically, I have known of more than one fine, faithful, and Biblically sound preacher who has accepted employment, uprooted his family, and then relocated them all far from home in order to preach and teach God’s word for just such a congregation, investing himself fully in the work – only to be fired or feel forced to leave within a fairly short amount of time. This, because his only ‘crime’ was that he dared to preach exactly what the timeless word of almighty God says about such sins as alcoholic consumption, adulterous relationships, apostate worship practices, or some other clearly God-defined sin, which either the leadership there or someone else in their immediate family dearly loved indulging in and would do anything to continue justifying and practicing.

There have been other instances wherein faithful men, messengers, and proclaimers of God’s word have been severely reprimanded for simply doing exactly what the very sinless Jesus, as well as His very faithful apostles did, in their all-out efforts to seek to help save lot souls in the first century: Be ready and willing to boldly challenge, strongly correct, and fully identify – yes, and that absolutely and scripturally includes doing so by name, when necessary – those zealously religious people who are yet still Biblically wrong (Matt. 22:29-32, 23:1-33; Rom. 10:1-3; 1 Tim. 1:18-20; 3 Jn. 9+10; Rev. 2:6, 9, 14-16, 20-23, and 3:14-19)! Yes; the sinless Son of the living God; the God who is love incarnate; Jesus, the loving God in the flesh who came to earth to save us from our sins, in His warnings to His people, continually named the names while exposing the false and man-made teachings of the major and more well-known religious denominations of His day (Matt. 15:7-9; Mk. 7:5-13). Read through the gospels again and see for yourself. How many times does Jesus publically name, confront, correct, and/or expose the erroneous and false teachings of, while unashamedly and righteously naming the names of, either the Scribes, the Pharisees, or the Sadducees? To do so two millennia ago was not a sin according to God, nor is it a sin for God’s faithful messengers to do the same thing regarding the zealous but erroneous man-made religious denominations of our day. In fact, they are commanded by God Himself, to do nothing less (Rom. 16:17-18; Eph. 5:3-17).

And then, there is what is to me, one of the most tragic, toxic, and terrifying statement tandems I have ever heard. It is one which I have heard voiced in some form or fashion, on two separate occasions, by two different congregations’ leaderships, in two different discussions, regarding their faithful preacher’s departure. It is a statement tandem which spells nothing but spiritual disaster for any congregation cursed enough to have allowed such ‘leadership’ to be put in place to rule over them. These two statements, both taken from two different points within the same conversation in each case, when considered side by side with one another, rate right up there with the Jew’s statement in response to Pilate’s question regarding what to do with Jesus in Matthew 27:25 wherein it states “His blood be on us and our children.” What is this toxic statement mixture made by two different congregational leaderships regarding the departure of their faithful preacher (whether he was fired or simply felt forced to leave)? Some semblance of the following: “We have never heard or seen Him preach, teach, or do anything unscriptural,” followed shortly thereafter by some form of the statement, “We just want to go in a different direction.” Do you understand exactly what that means? Stop and think about it for a moment – because those who do not do so in depth now, might just be mournfully re-thinking it throughout all eternity!

Another statement one congregation’s leadership was reported as making in light of their looking for a new preacher (after the departure of the previous faithful one due to their dismal lack of willingness to repent and obey the truth he preached), was along the lines that they needed a man who “preached the truth and would fit in [there].” That was a simply impossible sentiment to fulfill! Because if he, like their previous truth-proclaiming preacher, actually did preach the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27), then for that very reason he could not possibly “fit in” there – any more than the man who had just left! In such a situation, one of two things is bound to happen. Either some young man full of Biblical knowledge and a desire to preach and teach the truth could come along, try his best, discover the real truth, that they didn’t really want the whole truth, and then be forced to once again seek employment elsewhere; or else someone with a less than scriptural agenda could come along, tickle that congregation’s ears with just enough truth to keep them comfortable, while helping them to happily continue their journey in the wrong direction, away from God and heaven (2 Tim. 4:3-4; Isa. 30:8-15)

I believe so many of our young men who only want to preach, teach, and practice the word of God, start out with such a heart full of faith, hope, and love; love for the Lord, His truth, their brethren, and the lost. And then they take a position as the preacher for some congregation that has advertised themselves as wanting the whole truth taught – only to eventually discover the real truth, that nothing could be further from the truth, when it comes to certain sins and subjects; certain subjects such as marriage, divorce, and remarriage; adultery; immodesty; immorality; disfellowship; denominations; the essentiality of baptism both for and before salvation can occur; so-called ‘social drinking;’ plus a whole host of other God-addressed topics. These men then often feel discouraged, abandoned, lied to, heartbroken, and disillusioned. Several I know of have actually sought and obtained secular occupations in the aftermath of such disheartening, destructive, and debilitating spiritual experiences. As a result, our brotherhood has suffered – and continues to suffer – the loss of a number of good, solid, faithful, full-time preachers from her pulpits – some 300 or so per year according to the initial report referred to above.

Additionally, have you ever stopped to consider this question: Why is it that these good and faithful men of God and their families suddenly and somehow have to now up and move on, relocating once again because he simply sought to preach the truth the way God calls and commands him to? Why should the faithful preacher and his family have to pay the price for someone else’s continued impenitence, disobedience, and indulgence in soul-destroying sin – especially when the preacher was the one who loved them enough to try to correct them and get them back on the straight and narrow pathway to heaven? Should not being removed from the group be something that the impenitent sinner should be forced to do instead? It is if and when a congregation and their leadership actually loves the Lord and His church enough to continue steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine (1 Cor. 5:1-13).

Listen brethren; real, loving, godly, biblical truth, is always offensive to someone. Jesus seldom ever opened His mouth without offending someone or exposing somebody’s own particular pet sin. Go back and re-read the accounts of the sermons the apostle Paul preached during his three missionary journeys. Look at what happened to him as a result. God’s truth is always, both offensive, uncomfortable, and inconvenient to any and every one of those proud and self-absorbed sinners who is simply unwilling to accept, submit to, and obey it. That’s why it’s called a sword (Eph. 6:17; Hebs. 4:12) instead of a pillow – IT CUTS! It cuts all the way to the heart, soul, and spirit – when and if it’s properly preached that is (Acts 2:37, 7:54; Hebs. 4:12). And if it doesn’t, then it isn’t. Remember: Scripture plainly shows that any person or preacher who is primarily out to please men instead of God, is certainly no servant of God (Gal. 1:10, 4:16; Jn. 12:42-48).

If you and the congregation where you work and worship is blessed enough by God to have a Biblically-sound and Scripturally-faithful man in the pulpit – one who preaches and teaches the full, absolute, and unadulterated word of God no matter how offensive, uncomfortable, or inconvenient it may seem to some (because after all, the number of souls in heaven are more important to both him and you than the number of people in the pews and pennies in the plates) – then he is worth immeasurably more than his spiritual weight in pure gold! Love him, listen to him, work with him, defend him, protect him, and never let him go!

However, if you’re possibly part of some congregational leadership team that is in the process of seeking a new evangelist, but you only want one that will tickle ears, toss out pillows, and not take on the tougher topics in accordance with exactly what the truth of God’s word says about them, then do yourself and our brotherhood a colossal favor. If you only want a preacher who will preach the soft stuff so as to try not to offend anyone (because numbers in the pews and plates are somehow more important to you than numbers through the “pearly gates”); and/or if you have somehow allowed yourself to be deceived by Satan into believing that it’s more loving to let someone living in sin continue to set in the pews unchallenged and headed for hell rather than to tell them the truth so they can at least have a chance to repent and get right with God before it’s too late; then please, at least strive to be honest enough to admit it in your advertising for a new evangelist. After all, if you are possibly someone like that – God forbid, but if you are – then you’re going to have enough problems answering for that and the lost souls you’re responsible for helping to lead astray and destroy by your not wanting the whole counsel of God preached come Judgment Day (Hebs. 13:17), without having to answer for additionally being part of the problem which may have helped to lead to the departure of some of the 300 brotherhood preachers per year from the Lord’s pulpits.

And to my much-beloved, faithful to the Scriptures at all cost, whole counsel of God preaching brethren, may I remind you that your charge from God has not changed in the least. It is still found in 2 Tim. 4:1-5. And neither has His blessed admonition regarding you changed. See: Lk. 6:20-26; Jn. 15:18-16:3.

GOD BLESS… & PREACH THE WORD!

 

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