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How Will They Hear?
February 17th, 2005
PREACHING!
How will they hear? How will millions of lost people HEAR the good news? The answer is simple… preaching. Preaching is defined by Webster's Dictionary as delivering “a sermon, to set forth in a sermon or to advocate earnestly”. One could ask the question, “why have a Newsletter on the subject of preaching?” The point in having a Newsletter on this subject is simple. There is a famine of old-time preaching these days and Gods chosen method to save those that believe is the foolishness of preaching.1 Corinthians 1:21 states…
For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.In contrast, we find the so-called modern church using whatever means they can to get people to walk through the doors. These churches call themselves “seeker friendly” and while the motive is good, the problem is that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I do not believe you will hear a more true statement where this is concerned. God has a chosen method and where does anyone get off thinking they have the right to change Gods method or try to come up with a better one? Since when does the God of the Bible, the Almighty Creator of the Universe need our help? The book of Genesis says “in the beginning God”, not “in the beginning all of us”. Somewhere along the line “Christianity today” has lost its mind and I say that without apology. Preaching is Gods method; not praise and worship music, not seminars on Godless psychology, not concerts, plays (et al). Preaching is what God calls for, nothing more and nothing less. When the church is tries to substitute anything for sound doctrine and Biblical preaching, then it has wasted its time and the time of the lost people that walk through the door.
Preach! Don’t Count Bodies in the Pew!
I don't care if you have a thousand people at the service on Sunday morning, the size of the congregation is no measuring stick as to whether the church is doing its job or not. Cults can collect thousands of people and most Christians wouldn’t dare say that God has blessed them and made them fruitful, so we cannot say that just because a church is large it must be doing something right, what if the exact opposite is true? I am not saying that all large churches are in error; however, I am saying that the size of a church is not necessarily an indication that God is there.
Preach the Gospel, PERIOD
God chose preaching and if God said to preach then that is what we should do, period!
Mark 16:15 states…
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.Lets let the Bible speak for itself, “Go ye into all the world and PREACH THE GOSPEL”. It takes the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to save and ecumenical nonsense won’t do it, telling people to just live a good life and be good to others won’t do it. Sure, living a good life and being good to one another is commanded, but that wont get you to heaven. Lets take a look at the verse that follows Mark 16:15
Mark 16:16 states…
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damnedDid you catch that? It is necessary to believe the Gospel in order to be saved and non-belief means damnation. We MUST preach this without apology! There is a LITERAL HELL where non-believers will go to be in fire and torment for eternity if they do not repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. If one is to remain true to Gods holy Word he can not escape that, it is one of the fundamental truths of the Bible. The problem is that most people step into church Sunday morning and hear how to get rich, be successful in business or feel better about themselves and do not hear HOW TO BE SAVED.
One Way to be Saved!
The truth is that one MUST BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST in order to get to heaven! Islam will lead one to hell, Buddhism will lead one to hell. Hinduism, Wicca, Paganism, Shinto (et al), ALL of them lead to hell. ALL of them lead down the broad eight lane super highway to hell. How a Minister in good faith can look out at his congregation on Sunday morning with a smile and say, “Just be good to each other and we will all be fine” or “we’re all taking different roads to the same place” is beyond me. If he had an ounce of sense (or guts) he would be telling them that there is but one way to be saved, one way and one way only and that Way is the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus makes this VERY plain in John 14:6…
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
The words of the Lord Himself. I have read this verse many times and I have yet to see a second option for Salvation. I have yet to see where the Bible says (as one seminary graduate said to me), “Well Jesus is only the way for Christians”. Jesus said that He is THE WAY, THE TRUTH, THE LIFE and followed that statement by saying that no one can come to the Father but by Him. NO ONE. Do you understand? We can’t get to Heaven by any other means than Jesus Christ, the discussion is over. The Lord said it and that settles it whether we like it or not.
The Problem
The problem is that ministers seem to have given up on the gospel, given up on the Biblical mandate to preach, given up on sound doctrine and have turned to whatever they think the congregation wants to hear. Of course this isn't new, it was happening in the Lords time as well. These love the praise of men more than they love the praise of God. These would rather say what everyone wants to hear rather than tell them the truth. As the saying goes, sometimes “the truth hurts”, but it is better to risk “hurting them” with the truth than waste thier time and lead them straight to the firey pits of hell. Yes, speak the truth in love and by all means do so and don’t set out to hurt anyone BUT if the preaching of the Truth hurts someone, so be it. If preaching the truth offends them, let them be offended (Matthew 18:7). If someone thinks the preaching of the gospel is foolish, so be it. Sir, you are called to preach! Don’t bow to world, don't compromise to popular conception and don't back down on what you know to be right simply because it isn't popular. God chose the foolishness of preaching and we don't have the right to even begin to imagine there is another way. The Lord Himself during his earthly ministry used His own prescribed method. Jesus said in Mark 1:38…
And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.
The Priority
Read that verse closely brethren! Jesus said that He came forth to Preach. It was the preaching that He wanted people to listen to. Yes, he healed the sick, He cast out devils, He raised the dead, but never once did He say this was the reason that he came forth. He said that He came forth to preach (not to work signs and wonders). There are times in the New Testament when Jesus healed someone and then told them not to tell anyone. Why? Because He wanted people to listen to His preaching not just look at him as a quick fix for what was ailing them. Your body, my body and everyone else's body is growing old and dying a little more everyday. What we should be concerned about is our immortal undying soul and that was what the Lord came to tell people about… the fact that we all will live forever in one place or another, heaven or hell. Jesus was concerned about the eternal state of us all, not whether we live our lives with a physical handicap or not. God is not unsympathetic to our earthly lives but He is more concerned with the eternal destiny of or souls. Many people live their entire lives with a handicap or ailment and never get healed from it but when they get to Heaven they won't have to worry about it anymore. We will all be perfect when we get there and this life is but a vapor in the wind compared to eternity. Why do we waste our time worrying about this life when we should be worrying about how to get to the next?
The Biblical Mandate
The Biblical mandate is to preach the Gospel as I have already stated. But when I turn on the radio or TV these days I hear ministers talking about how to get prosperity, how to feel better about yourself or how to get delivered from something. THIS IS NOT WHAT THE LORD said to do. Preach the Gospel not the gospel of good success, not the gospel of prosperity, not the gospel of how to feel better about yourself, THE GOSPEL!
John 3:15-17
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.That is the simple Gospel and not some psychobabble about how to get ahead in life or some nonsense about how to win friends and influence people.
Getting to the POINT
Romans 10:14 states…
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?Now we have come to the point. How shall they hear without a preacher? If the preacher wastes his and the congregations time on anything other than they gospel, how will the people hear the truth? How will the lost come to know the Lord if they walk into the church and hear anything other than the Gospel? You might be thinking that I keep making the same point and I say I haven't made it enough! Preaching of the gospel is Gods chosen method to get people saved, if we are not preaching the gospel then we are not following Gods method. This will lead to nothing but ruin in the end. Am I being too harsh? Let’s quote the Apostle Paul and see what he had to say on the matter…
1 Corinthians 9:16
For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!Did you catch that? Paul, the greatest preacher who ever lived outside of the Lord Himself said, “Woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel!” Make no mistake, Paul wasn't talking about any other Gospel than the one preached by the Lord Jesus Christ. That statement should be a warning to you and I. Woe unto us if we preach not the Gospel (or another Gospel). Some may even dare to ask, “why is that”? Once again, the answer is real simple.
Galatians 1:8-9
But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.I don't know about you but I don't want to be accursed. I don't want anyone to be able to look at me and say, “your preaching another gospel”. So therefore you will not hear me spreading around the gospel of prosperity, you won’t hear me wasting your time with positive confession and I won’t be expounding on positive visualization. What I will do and must do is preach the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what every single preacher must do! If we don’t, then we are out of order and in danger of being accursed. I'm not giving you another opinion, just what the Bible has to say so don't blame the messenger! If we are preaching something other than the Gospel of Jesus Christ then we are condemned by the very Bible we claim to preach. We MUST remember that one day all born again believers will stand before the Judgment seat of Christ and will give an account to the Lord. Our job is to preach the Gospel, period.
In Conclusion…
Mark 10:46-47
And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.Now did you catch that? Bartimaeus called upon the Lord, and how did he know to do so? Because he HEARD! That is THE point! How can folks know to call upon the Lord if they have not heard about the Lord? All must hear the Gospel, not see signs and wonders, not be catered seeker friendly nonsense, not religious movies, concerts, plays and anything and everything but what God chose! Only old-fashioned, cut to the chase, hell-fire and damnation Gospel preaching will do the job in bringing the sinner to Salvation and keep the Christian humble. We need for preachers of God to get back to the old leather-lunged, shingle-rattling tell is just exactly like it is preaching. That is what all people, unsaved and saved need to hear, period!
- Jason (jason@kism-nc.org)
Check These Out...
One of our favorite websites:
www.streetpreaching.comOne of our favorite books:
"An Urgent Call to a Serious Faith" - Dave HuntOne of our favorite videos:
A Woman Rides the Beast - www.thebereancall.org
Some Good Resources...
Please check out these resources, they will be very helpful in teaching you how to share your faith effectively so that you will be "ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear". (1 Peter 3:15b)
Some good stuff to help learn to to share your faith...
"Soul Winning or Soul Losing?" (tape set)
www.owenspublications.com"Let's go Soul Winning" (Book / Jack Hyles)
www.hylespublications.comWay fo the Master Foundation Course (season 1 / DVD)
www.wayofthemaster.comSome resources that will help you live 1 Peter 3:15...
"An Urgent Call to a serious Faith" (Book / Dave Hunt)
"In Defense of the Faith" (Book / Dave Hunt)
Both of these are available at www.thebereancall.org
FINALLY...
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THANKS!!!
