The Scriptures are blunt in their warning that in the “Last Days” perilous times will come and one characteristic of those days will be weak and heretical preaching. Paul wrote that people will not be willing to listen to the Truth, so they will gather to themselves teachers who will “tickle their ears.” It appears that there is nothing more offensive to Americans today than to tell someone they are wrong, and that is precisely the kind of thing biblical preaching does!
“Respectable preaching,” on the other hand, makes people feel good about themselves.
We know that people tend to protect others in their profession. Doctors don’t like to expose doctors who are using questionable methods, and preachers generally hesitate to point out the errors of other preachers. But God has no such sensitivities and neither did Paul. They named those who failed to uphold sound doctrine; and while we do not have the credentials the Apostle Paul had, we have the command to, “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” (Eph. 5:11).
Paul also ordered Timothy (and thus all preachers) to, “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching,” (II Tim. 4:2). “Respectable” preaching leaves the shell of the church intact while gutting it of all that is transformative and eternal.
Heretics and false teachers have always been with us, but they appear to be more successful now than ever in fooling the crowds and at times even believers. Sadly, there are few voices pointing out the dangers.
The Bible warns so clearly and strongly of these things that one would think the number led astray would be few. But turn on your TV any Sunday and see the vast numbers sitting under the “preaching” of the false teachers and it is staggering! There are literally millions hearing unbiblical and ungodly words from so-called “Preachers of the Gospel,” while the true Gospel is difficult to find. One man, who has made it his life’s work to expose the errors of contemporary preaching, claims that well over 90 percent of TV preaching is heretical!
To you pastors: as a pastor myself for thirty years I understand the desire to have people appreciate your ministry. I don’t imagine there is a pastor living whose goal is to preach to a small crowd! Thus, the temptation is real to fudge the Gospel, to soften the edges, to speak the “positives” more loudly and often than the “negatives.” To “give the people what they want.” But we must remember Christ’s own warning that those who love Him and His word can expect to be hated and scorned. In seeking to please people we run the very real risk of displeasing Jesus Christ! Paul wrote that “if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.” (Gal. 1:10).
“Respectable preaching” declares man to be fine just the way he is, and there is no redemption in that!
Do you desire that men speak well of you? Recall Luke 6:26, “woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” We all appreciate kind words from our congregation, but do not let their approval or disapproval effect your faithfulness to Christ. Charles Spurgeon called respectability, “the bane of the church,” and so it is. Seeking to proclaim a word that the spiritually lost will appreciate is a dangerous business.
The “seeker friendly” model is inherently flawed. If they are genuinely seeking, they will find (Christ’s own words). If they are not seeking, nothing will convince them! You and I have no ability whatever through our methodology to soften the hard heart or open the blinded eyes of those who reject Christ. To draw them in with an attractive message with the plan to give them the Gospel once they are in is as deceptive as the “bait and switch” car dealer. To believe that we can, by utilizing the “right methods” accomplish something the simple Gospel and the Holy Spirit cannot do is to consider ourselves wiser than God Himself!
A very well know Christian leader a few years ago commented that there is no one who won’t come to Christ if we just give them the Gospel correctly. This casts dispersions on Christ Himself who was crucified for His testimony! It is a grievous error! Recall the Lord’s own words, “wide is the gate and broad the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matt. 7:13, 14). The number who hear and appreciate our preaching is unimportant. Our task as pastors is to proclaim the Truth and feed the flock faithfully. That’s it! Leave the numbers to Christ and wait patiently for His praise at His throne!
To the Christian I write a word of warning and encouragement: The world we live in is wealthier than at any time in human history making pleasure available in ways never before known. Yet the world remains at war with God, worships pleasure and rejects anything it deems unpleasant. There is nothing inherently wrong with pleasure, of course. In fact, the Bible tells us that in God’s “presence is fullness of joy; At His right hand are pleasures forevermore!” (Ps. 16;11).
For the time being it is good to remember that pleasure makes a delightful servant but a cruel master! And, if we fail to understand the enslaving nature of pleasure, we will certainly become bound by it and suffer its consequences. Do not allow pleasure to become your god and reject the pastor and the church that substitute a pleasant experience for the strong proclamation of God’s word!
If you are truly a follower of Christ: this world is not, nor can it be, home to you! Stop trying to make it so. You are a pilgrim. The world is merely the “front porch” of home and not your permanent dwelling, so order your life accordingly! By this I mean that you see yourself as living “behind enemy lines.” This present world has a temporary interloper as its king, Satan, who is the “Prince of the power of the air,” and the “Ruler of this world,” (John 12:31). He is vicious, and “walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour,” (I Pet. 5:8)
Sadly, many of the churches led by false teachers are large and appear to offer so much to families. It is enticing to be part of something “big” where there are wonderful programs for every member of your family. But make sure that you are not being fooled by the largeness of the church. So often these churches have found ways to cover their worldly message and methods with a “veneer” of Christianity to entice a crowd, but what they proclaim is not the Gospel. Better to be in a small church were disciples are being made than in a large church that betrays the truth.
Wherever God builds something Satan builds his own imitation next door and it tends to look like God’s work and is often “bigger and better.” Have your eyes open! Inform yourself on biblical truth so that you are not deceived. God’s word is “living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword,” (meaning it convicts!) and it is a “discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart,” (Heb. 4:12). It will expose what needs to change your heart and life if you are willing to let it! A church and “gospel” that leave you as you are, are false!
All around you there are small churches led by humble men whose only desire is to proclaim God’s word faithfully. To discount the value of those little churches is to forget God’s perspective, “Who has despised the day of small thing?” (Zech. 4:10). And don’t overlook the two mites given by the poor widow in Mark’s Gospel, of whom Christ said she “has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury.” God’s accounting methods are different from ours. It may be that the valuable personal and spiritual accountability that small churches provide is one reason many Christians avoid them! Don’t be among those who “sacrifice the eternal on the altar of the immediate!”
Numerous surveys of pastors in America have found a tragic malaise among pastors; and I would suggest that part of their discouragement is the shallowness of millions of America’s professing Christians who prioritize fancy “programs” or music they like over the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. These faithful men prepare for tens of hours to deliver the life-giving “meat” of the word, but few appear interested in hearing it.
My son is a member of a relatively small church in rural Will County and several families from a southwest Chicago suburban mega-church recently joined his church. Their explanation for the switch was that the preaching of the word was not a staple of the mega-church! They were just hungry to hear God’s word preached! “Where there is no (word from God) the people perish.” (Prov. 29:18).
Their words were music to my ears, and I expect to my son’s pastor’s ears as well.
If you are the pastor of a small church, or for that matter, any size church, and you find yourself discouraged by what you are witnessing in America and in your own church, I want you to know that you are not alone. First, God is faithful and rewards our faithfulness, not our “success.” Also, there are many other Christians who are behind you in prayer and thought. In fact, the Lord has provided us the opportunity to begin a ministry to support pastors, missionaries, and other full-time Christian servants and their families who are on the front line of the spiritual war raging in America.
I have pastored thirty years in three churches. My wife, Toni, and I have been married over 39 years and have seven children and seventeen grandchildren. I think I have a pretty good idea of what you encounter on a daily basis. Our ministry is only in its beginning phase, but one thing we are doing is providing a connection between fulltime Christian workers and the many ministries, (retreat centers, cabins, camps, and resorts as well as counseling centers) that are available to you as a pastor. Across the nation there are people who want you to know that they are behind you and support you and passionately desire to help you by providing a place either without charge or at a low cost to allow you to get away to be refreshed. We are “Parkwood Ministry Connections,” and you can contact me by phone or e-mail for a conversation and prayer, or for more information. We are here to encourage you!
