J.C. Choate
Just recently a young girl, who is a member of a denomination, said to me: “You should not preach against denominations, but you should preach on the love of Christ, etc.” Well, that young girl had the same attitude as the average religious person. The religious world as a whole doesn’t know the truth from error. People think that negative preaching and some positive reaching is a terrible thing. How ignorant can a people become on religious principles?
Preaching within itself suggests both positive and negative preaching. Preaching from a positive standpoint leads one to exhort, proclaim, and make known. While preaching from a negative point of view, implies a rebuking, to refute, and to disprove. Both types of preaching are always in demand and very needful. Paul said: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Tim. 4:2). Hence, in preaching, one simply obeys God; that is, if the preaching is according to the word.
I can certainly understand why people of denominations do not like the truth; it is simply because the truth hurts those in error. Preaching in the religious world is foreign to the word of God. Many sects would not know what to think if they should hear a good Gospel sermon. Yet, only the preaching of the Gospel can redeem them from sin (Mark 16:15, 16).
Even many members of the Lord’s church do not like the truth. Why? Simply because they want to do as they please and at the same time claim to be a Christian—claim is all. Even some preachers as well, love money more than they love the truth, and thus, bow down to some congregation and preach to please them. May God have mercy upon such people. We should say with Paul: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation” (Rom. 1:16).
