W.R. Craig
We preachers owe much to those great men of God who have gone before us. We “warm by fires that we did not build.” The seed is the same to sow, the Gospel is the same to preach. Methods of communication have improved, but the Gospel remains the same. Like the Author of it, “the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
One generation of’ faithless preachers very seriously deters the advance of truth. Our very right to exist as the church of our Lord is determined by our distinctiveness, our being different from those around us. We must be committed to the task of preaching the word! The fact that truth is distinct from error, is reason enough for distinctive preaching.
It is compromise to withhold, change, subtract from or add to saving truth. Many fall into the snare of such folly by rationalizing that they are just being tactful and diplomatic. All that they say may be truth, but is it the whole truth? It is sin to side step the problem when we should face it with love, kindness, and the Word of God. We must love the sinner, but must never condone his sin.
Preachers today often quote statistics to prove the truth of their message, their growth pattern, contributions, etc. However, the most successful churches are not churches of Christ if that is the way we are to judge truth and right.
The wail, often heard today, for “positive” preaching generally means spineless preaching that softens our condemnation of sin and error. Such sermons could be preached in any pulpit in any denomination in the country. But such will not save man’s soul from sin.
The downfall of many has been the tendency to put pragmatic methods before the plain preaching of the Word of. God. Before the churches got into the recreation and entertainment their main thrust was evangelism, the preaching of the Word to the lost. Now it is social this and social that, games, fun, and play, play, play. Some congregations are even building gymnasiums (family centers?) before they build auditoriums for worship. They set up chairs in the gym and the preacher stands under the basketball goal to give his sermonettes. Others are building “banquet halls that accommodate 300 hundred at a sit-down banquet served from a fully equipped hotel kitchen.” So we are hearing today that church growth is a matter of “eat and play” and entertain.
In a recent bulletin a congregation in Texas advertised “Family Night at the Movies” in the “Annex.” They announced the title of the film, not a religious teaching film, but a family film as is shown in the commercial movie houses…and then offered “free popcorn.” Admission: $1.00 per person and $3.00 per family.”
May God help us to quit wasting the Lord’s talents, money and time, and get back to using them to His glory in honor and dignity! We can only do this when we get back to God’s plan for His church, preaching the word!
