Post by Jesse Morrell on Jul 2, 2006 23:18:25 GMT -5
Why I Won’t Preach
By Jesse Morrell
“And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” Ac 5:42
The surest way to receive the criticism of the public is to put yourself in the eye of the public. No matter whom you are, what you do, how you do it, or why you do it, there will always be someone, somewhere, who doesn’t like it, for some reason.
These criticisms can catch you off guard, come from all sides, and can cut sharper then a razor. But the preacher of God must be one who does not need the encouragements of men, but only encouragements from his Master. The man, who finds his strength in the Lord, and not in the church or the world, will be a man that hell itself cannot shake or silence.
With much criticism coming from every side, fighting without and fighting within, I have firmly made up my mind that I will not preach…..
I will not preach:
- Another Jesus
- Another Gospel
- A Message Void of Hell
- A Message Void of Repentance
- A Message Full of False Peace
- Anything except the Word of God
Why I will not preach another Jesus, the popular Jesus, the soft and sentimental Jesus:
Today there is another Jesus being preached which is different then the Jesus the bible speaks of. There is a Jesus who is merely waiting to comfort and hug sinners in their sin. This Jesus does not require repentance, does not threaten with hell, is never angry with sinners, and does nothing but accept them as they are. And this Jesus is not the Jesus of the bible.
T-Shirts sold in Christian stores today read: “Jesus Is My Homeboy” but the Jesus of the bible is Lord, Savior, and Judge. It is not this new, smiling Jesus which needs to be preached. The Jesus that needs to be preached is the Jesus who commands men to repent (Matt 4:17), does not accept sinners as they are but requires they be born again (John 3:3), taught the fear of God and warns about hell (Matt 10:28), will judge the secrets of men’s hearts (Rom 2:16), will slay his enemies (Luke 19:27), and saves men from their sins (Rom 6:18), transforming them into new creatures. (2 Cor 5:17) And it is this Jesus that I’m going to preach!
Why I will not preach another Gospel, the modern gospel, the “easy-believism” gospel:
Today there is another gospel being preached. This modern gospel saves men in their sin but not from their sin. This modern gospel, this new gospel, requires only that sinners believe but not that sinners repent. This modern gospel, this new gospel, has been fitted for sinners and forged in the pits of hell. This modern gospel has no cross but only comfort, no repentance but only remission, no persecution but only prosperity, no threats of hell but only hopes of heaven.
The gospel that must be preached today is the biblical gospel, the powerful gospel, not a neutered gospel. We need the sin trampling, death destroying, hell conquering gospel! We need the gospel which plucks men out of the fires of hell, out of the clutches of death, and out of the reign of sin. It is this gospel of light which is needed for this dark hour, this gospel of victory for this day of defeat, this gospel of deliverance for this day of bondage. And it is this gospel that I’m going to preach!
Why I will not preach a message void of hell:
Today there are many pep-you-up, happy hour, preachers. They have taken the messages of motivational speakers, edited them to add the words “God” and “Jesus”, and deliver them as sermons to congregations of thousands. They have graduated from the seminary of smooth talking, intentionally removing any “rough corners” and “bumps” found in the scriptures. With these preachers, it is not always what they say which is the problem, but what they fail to say.
The messages of Jesus often warned the wicked about their eternal consequences; hell-fire. The first preacher in the bible to coin the phrase “hell-fire” was Jesus Christ (Matt 5:22). Jesus often publicly warned that God will cast sinners into “a furnace of fire” and “outer darkness” where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth”. (Matt 8:12, 13:42, 13:50, 22:13, 24:51, 25:30, Luke 13:28). Jesus warned about the “eternal d**nation” (Matt 3:29), the “d**nation of hell” (Matt 23:33), and “the resurrection of d**nation” (John 5:29). Jesus warned about “condemnation” (John 3:19, 5:24), warned about “the wrath of God” (John 3:36), and we must do the same if we are to dare say we love the lost. And it is this hell, God’s hell, Jesus’ hell, that I’m going to preach!
Why I will not preach a message void of repentance:
Today, the most uncommon sort of preacher in the American Church is a repentance preacher. Yet the most common type of preacher found in the bible are those who firmly and boldly preached repentance. This high cost message can result in low income and so seems to be tossed out the window of the Church more concerned with it’s own kingdom then the Kingdom of God. For fear of repentance becoming a stumbling block many have removed this corner stone to make the gospel a little bit more easy to accept, with less requirements and more blessings.
Repentance is foundational and fundamental to preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, that to remove this foundation, and yet continue to build, is inevitably building the kingdom of this world but can never be the Kingdom of God. To remove repentance from the gospel is to so disfigure and manipulate the gospel so that it is no longer the biblical gospel at all!
The bible records that “Jesus began to preach, and to say, repent…”(Matt 2:17) which ought to be sufficient enough for us to go and do likewise. And the bible also records of His disciples that “they went out, and preached that men should repent.” (Mark 6:12). Christ himself, lovingly yet boldly, twice declared, “unless you repent, you will all likewise perish”. (Luke 13:3, 13:5) It is this biblical ingredient that must not be left out of our public proclamations of the gospel. And it’s a message of “turn and live” that I’m going to preach!
Why I will not preach a message of false peace:
Today there are thousands upon thousands who sit in Church congregations week after week, month after month, year after year, with smiles on the outside and sin on the inside. “Peace, peace” comes wonderfully flowing from the pulpit to the pews, smothering consciences with false comfort and strengthening sinners in their sins.
The false prophets in the Old Testament preached “peace, peace; when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14). God has uncompromisingly declared, “there is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked” (Isaiah 57:21). They must be washed, cleansed, renewed in the blood of Jesus Christ, transformed into Saints of God, if they are ever to have God’s peace and take hold of eternal life with Him.
The gospel of God is one that is sharper then any two edges sword (Heb 14:12). It is never dull but deeply penetrates the hearts and consciences of men. It awakens, startles, and transformed the lives of men. It does not rock to sleep, it does not gently pat on the back, and it does not cover without also cleansing. And it is this Word, sharper then a two edged sword, that I am going to preach!
Why I will not preach anything but the Word of God
Today preachers preach many things, but not the Word of God. They get on TV, the radio, behind the pulpit, and perform with their polished personalities, speak with their refined eloquence, and declare things that the Lord has not declared. There is no famine of food or of water in America today. But there is a famine of “hearing the word of the Lord” (Amos 8:11)
It is neither personality, eloquence, brilliance, nor the abilities of men that the lost and dying world needs. But the world needs Jesus. The world needs to hear the word of the Lord. When a preacher needs to rely or depend on anything except God and His Word there is something terribly wrong with Him. God’s Word is not only sufficient, but God’s Word is all we need in the convicting of sinners and in the comforting of the Saints. Preach the book! That’s all you need. And it’s that book, God’s book, that this preacher is going to preach!
By Jesse Morrell
“And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” Ac 5:42
The surest way to receive the criticism of the public is to put yourself in the eye of the public. No matter whom you are, what you do, how you do it, or why you do it, there will always be someone, somewhere, who doesn’t like it, for some reason.
These criticisms can catch you off guard, come from all sides, and can cut sharper then a razor. But the preacher of God must be one who does not need the encouragements of men, but only encouragements from his Master. The man, who finds his strength in the Lord, and not in the church or the world, will be a man that hell itself cannot shake or silence.
With much criticism coming from every side, fighting without and fighting within, I have firmly made up my mind that I will not preach…..
I will not preach:
- Another Jesus
- Another Gospel
- A Message Void of Hell
- A Message Void of Repentance
- A Message Full of False Peace
- Anything except the Word of God
Why I will not preach another Jesus, the popular Jesus, the soft and sentimental Jesus:
Today there is another Jesus being preached which is different then the Jesus the bible speaks of. There is a Jesus who is merely waiting to comfort and hug sinners in their sin. This Jesus does not require repentance, does not threaten with hell, is never angry with sinners, and does nothing but accept them as they are. And this Jesus is not the Jesus of the bible.
T-Shirts sold in Christian stores today read: “Jesus Is My Homeboy” but the Jesus of the bible is Lord, Savior, and Judge. It is not this new, smiling Jesus which needs to be preached. The Jesus that needs to be preached is the Jesus who commands men to repent (Matt 4:17), does not accept sinners as they are but requires they be born again (John 3:3), taught the fear of God and warns about hell (Matt 10:28), will judge the secrets of men’s hearts (Rom 2:16), will slay his enemies (Luke 19:27), and saves men from their sins (Rom 6:18), transforming them into new creatures. (2 Cor 5:17) And it is this Jesus that I’m going to preach!
Why I will not preach another Gospel, the modern gospel, the “easy-believism” gospel:
Today there is another gospel being preached. This modern gospel saves men in their sin but not from their sin. This modern gospel, this new gospel, requires only that sinners believe but not that sinners repent. This modern gospel, this new gospel, has been fitted for sinners and forged in the pits of hell. This modern gospel has no cross but only comfort, no repentance but only remission, no persecution but only prosperity, no threats of hell but only hopes of heaven.
The gospel that must be preached today is the biblical gospel, the powerful gospel, not a neutered gospel. We need the sin trampling, death destroying, hell conquering gospel! We need the gospel which plucks men out of the fires of hell, out of the clutches of death, and out of the reign of sin. It is this gospel of light which is needed for this dark hour, this gospel of victory for this day of defeat, this gospel of deliverance for this day of bondage. And it is this gospel that I’m going to preach!
Why I will not preach a message void of hell:
Today there are many pep-you-up, happy hour, preachers. They have taken the messages of motivational speakers, edited them to add the words “God” and “Jesus”, and deliver them as sermons to congregations of thousands. They have graduated from the seminary of smooth talking, intentionally removing any “rough corners” and “bumps” found in the scriptures. With these preachers, it is not always what they say which is the problem, but what they fail to say.
The messages of Jesus often warned the wicked about their eternal consequences; hell-fire. The first preacher in the bible to coin the phrase “hell-fire” was Jesus Christ (Matt 5:22). Jesus often publicly warned that God will cast sinners into “a furnace of fire” and “outer darkness” where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth”. (Matt 8:12, 13:42, 13:50, 22:13, 24:51, 25:30, Luke 13:28). Jesus warned about the “eternal d**nation” (Matt 3:29), the “d**nation of hell” (Matt 23:33), and “the resurrection of d**nation” (John 5:29). Jesus warned about “condemnation” (John 3:19, 5:24), warned about “the wrath of God” (John 3:36), and we must do the same if we are to dare say we love the lost. And it is this hell, God’s hell, Jesus’ hell, that I’m going to preach!
Why I will not preach a message void of repentance:
Today, the most uncommon sort of preacher in the American Church is a repentance preacher. Yet the most common type of preacher found in the bible are those who firmly and boldly preached repentance. This high cost message can result in low income and so seems to be tossed out the window of the Church more concerned with it’s own kingdom then the Kingdom of God. For fear of repentance becoming a stumbling block many have removed this corner stone to make the gospel a little bit more easy to accept, with less requirements and more blessings.
Repentance is foundational and fundamental to preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, that to remove this foundation, and yet continue to build, is inevitably building the kingdom of this world but can never be the Kingdom of God. To remove repentance from the gospel is to so disfigure and manipulate the gospel so that it is no longer the biblical gospel at all!
The bible records that “Jesus began to preach, and to say, repent…”(Matt 2:17) which ought to be sufficient enough for us to go and do likewise. And the bible also records of His disciples that “they went out, and preached that men should repent.” (Mark 6:12). Christ himself, lovingly yet boldly, twice declared, “unless you repent, you will all likewise perish”. (Luke 13:3, 13:5) It is this biblical ingredient that must not be left out of our public proclamations of the gospel. And it’s a message of “turn and live” that I’m going to preach!
Why I will not preach a message of false peace:
Today there are thousands upon thousands who sit in Church congregations week after week, month after month, year after year, with smiles on the outside and sin on the inside. “Peace, peace” comes wonderfully flowing from the pulpit to the pews, smothering consciences with false comfort and strengthening sinners in their sins.
The false prophets in the Old Testament preached “peace, peace; when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14). God has uncompromisingly declared, “there is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked” (Isaiah 57:21). They must be washed, cleansed, renewed in the blood of Jesus Christ, transformed into Saints of God, if they are ever to have God’s peace and take hold of eternal life with Him.
The gospel of God is one that is sharper then any two edges sword (Heb 14:12). It is never dull but deeply penetrates the hearts and consciences of men. It awakens, startles, and transformed the lives of men. It does not rock to sleep, it does not gently pat on the back, and it does not cover without also cleansing. And it is this Word, sharper then a two edged sword, that I am going to preach!
Why I will not preach anything but the Word of God
Today preachers preach many things, but not the Word of God. They get on TV, the radio, behind the pulpit, and perform with their polished personalities, speak with their refined eloquence, and declare things that the Lord has not declared. There is no famine of food or of water in America today. But there is a famine of “hearing the word of the Lord” (Amos 8:11)
It is neither personality, eloquence, brilliance, nor the abilities of men that the lost and dying world needs. But the world needs Jesus. The world needs to hear the word of the Lord. When a preacher needs to rely or depend on anything except God and His Word there is something terribly wrong with Him. God’s Word is not only sufficient, but God’s Word is all we need in the convicting of sinners and in the comforting of the Saints. Preach the book! That’s all you need. And it’s that book, God’s book, that this preacher is going to preach!