The Gospel: To Preach, or Not to Preach? Bear with Me in a Little Foolishness

"My worst fear is that we will become obsolete." Sound familiar? In an age when technological advances are severely outdated before they hit the shelf for consumers to even consider the plethora of choices, there is reason to be obsessed with relevance. But does this apply to the church? Are we to change our ways--our methods, our theology, etc--to fit the whims of the culture in which we live? Must we, like the world around us, evolve into something new? What does Scripture say: "Be ye relevant for I the Lord your God am relevant?" Or are we to be a distinct people? (For an excellent resource on this very subject, and also an excellent read, get your hands on David F. Wells' book, Above All Earthy Pow'rs.)

"Foolishness!" That is the word that marks the gospel, its delivery, and even those who preach it. For more than two centuries, "Christians" have been denouncing the wrath of God, which leads either to Hell or the cross of Christ, as being outmoded--a doctrine of a bygone era (the Medieval period) in which the Roman Catholic Church used scare tactics to force people to get in line with them, or face the inferno. In our century sin is little more than something that happens to you--or at worst a mistake that you make (usually that brings unwanted effects upon yourself). Retributive justice has become inhumane. Miracles are hogwash. A virgin birth is ridiculous. God is not transcendent--if He even exists. Jesus probably didn't say or do anything that is recorded about Him--as the early disciples were steeped in some mythological euphoria that two year olds wouldn't give lip-service. The cross--well, that really was never accepted by any mainline culture for what it is.

Who would have anticipated such radical rejection of the Christian gospel and the method known as "preaching." Paul.

"For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Cor 1:22-24).
"And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God" (1 Cor 2:1-5).

Paul was not concerned with the cultural relevance of his message. Whether people wanted to hear it or not, Paul preached the cross--and by that he meant Christ's substitutionary death for His people--as the only way to God. He was not in the business of being the best orator (though oratory skills are not a bad thing, consider Apollos), he was not concerned with using popular medium (though there is nothing wrong with using such), nor was he concerned that people may not find his message appealing. Paul preached. He preached so that God may demonstrate His power--Paul humbled himself and used God's means, rather than man's. It is the power of God in the preaching of the gospel that brings salvation--not the wisdom and ingenuity of man. Thus--soli deo gloria--God alone gets the glory.

The Corinthians were concerned about following the best apostle--the best orator, the one with the most conversions, etc (1 Corinthians 1:11-17; 3:1-15). Paul, however, wasn't concerned about being the best--he was concerned about being faithful. For that reason he preached Jesus Christ. Paul was irrelevant to both Jews and Greeks. The only ones who

listened were the called of God--and they weren't wise, noble, or mighty. He was preaching a seemingly obsolete message received by an obsolete bunch--and God was glorified (1 Corinthians 1:26-31). God saved people--something no man or woman ever could do.

Brothers and sisters, I'm not going to tell you what needs to change or not to change in your Church, Bible Study, or Ministry. I'm not going to tell you what kind of music you ought to have in worship services. I'm not going to tell you whether or not you ought to use technology in your church or whether you need to become Amish. What I am telling you is this: Preach the gospel, the whole gospel, and nothing but the gospel (and the implications that flow therefrom). If you do otherwise, you will dishonor God and face and be responsible before Him on the Last Day (1 Cor. 3:10-15). You are an ambassador of Christ--you are under obligation to preach--woe to you if you do not (and I say that out of a deep heartfelt concern for you, not anger).

We are commanded to be holy as the Lord our God is holy--if you are faithful to Him, you will be.

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The Gospel: To Preach, or Not to Preach? The Power of God Unto Salvation for All Who Believe

Our world is about power. People want money so that they can feel security and have what they want, when they want it. If they have the money, they can be their own gods--at least in their own minds. As Trent Reznor rightly said, " god money I'll do anything for you, god money just tell me what you want me to, god money nail me up against the wall, god money don't want everything he wants it all" (Lyrics to "Head Like a Hole"). Power consumes people. Wars are fought for power. Postmodernism is (for the most part) correct (though it then pulls the old switcheroo and does exaltly what it warns you against), worldviews are grasping for power of you.

In a world of many unknowns (no matter how technologically advanced we get, disease, war, famine, and disasters will still bring death--and death to most is a great unknown), people crave power because they want sovereignty. It takes humility to give up power--but the power of sin drives people forward in their quest for godlikeness, rather than godliness. The gospel is not primarily about persuasive argumentations and wise speech, but about power (1 Thess. 1:5). When the gospel is preached, a supernatural power is called upon and exposed--the power of the death and resurrection of Christ.

There really only is one cure for the pelagian captivity of our hearts and minds that I spoke of yesterday: complete confidence and trust in God's sovereignty and goodness. If we are going to preach the gospel, I mean really, truthfully preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, we must not trust in ourselves or any goodness dwelling in man, or else the gospel will be foolishness.

The Apostle Paul writes to the Romans (1:14-17):

I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, " BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."

Paul was not eager to mearly make assertions and banter back and forth with philosophers, he was eager "to preach the gospel." Why was he so eager? First, he was under obligation to do so. His obligation was to be faithful to God, for he was an ambassador of Christ (2 Cor. 5:22). He knew that his reward was from God and secure with God; faithfulness was required.

Second, Paul was "not ashamed of the gospel." Paul knew the sinfulness of man (he spent the next 2 1/2 chapters outlining man's sinfulness). If he failed to view man's sinfulness as such a profound power, deserving the full wrath of God, then the gospel of a crucified lord would have been utter foolishness. The gospel appears to be foolishness "to those who are perishing" (1 Corinthians 1:18). Brothers and sisters in Christ, you can count on that.

So why do we fail to preach the gospel as we ought? Is it not because we are ashamed of the gospel? Unlike Paul, when our hearts are held captive by Pelagianism (whether semi/moderate or full blown), the gospel becomes foolishness even in our own eyes. How ought we to respond to being ashamed? Do not dwell in your shame over your ashamedness/embarrassment. Confess your sin to God, know that He forgives you (Christ died for your sins), and seek to have confidence only in God and in the power of the gospel.

This is actually what Paul does. He is not ashamed of the gospel because IT and it alone is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. The gospel is the power of God to all people who are being saved (1 Cor. 1:18). It is for Jews and Gentiles both: that is, "everyone who believes." Gentiles from the wise to the foolish, from Greeks down to the lowest classes of Barbarian. Why? Because everyone suffers from the same condition: sin. And because God promised Abraham that the Gentiles would also be saved through his Seed.

The same "power" that Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of David (i.e. the Anointed King) is given on the basis of being raised from the dead (1:4), is the same "power" that is present in the gospel--the gospel, when preached, gives life. This is God's power to deliver and judge His people, mediated through Jesus Christ, the Son of God with power (Douglas Moo, Romans, 66). Because He is Lord of all, we as Christians have authority to demand obedience of faith in Jesus Christ (1:5). This is what is entailed in the preaching of the gospel.

The preaching of the gospel calls for faith, and nothing but faith (Moo, 76). It is faith in Christ, and in Him alone (for to attempt to be justified by faith in Christ + works, is to not have faith in Christ, but rather to divide Him). Because people are not right with God (because of their sinfulness), they must in some way become right. This is done only by being forensically declared righteous by God on the basis of Christ's work, because they trust in Him (Moo, 74-75). The gospel reveals God's how one is right with God--by Christ's atoning death on the cross (Rom. 3:21-26). This is the only way. A humble way in which God is exalted and man is brought low. And it is this way for both Jews and Gentiles: salvation comes through the promise to the Jews.

Preaching the gospel seems foolish in a day of radical pluralism. But there is more hope for a fool than for one who seems wise in his/her own eyes (Prov. 26:12, cf. 1 Cor. 1:26-31).

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The Gospel: To Preach, or Not to Preach? Doubts of the Pelagian Class within Our Hearts and Minds

The 20th Century in no way marked the beginning of man's quest to be god (if you have any doubts about that, official LDS/Mormon doctrine that predates the 1900s taught that man could acheive to godhood and be god over his own universe--I'm not sure if women can become gods in Mormonism, or just the wives of gods). Since the Fall of man (when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate of the forbidden fruit in the garden), human-beings (both male and female) have been in a constant battle with the God over who will be the sovereign lord of their lives. Will God be in control of man's destiny, or will man (unfortunately for man, this is a futile attempt that will ultimately fulfill God's preordained plan to reveal His glory and for the Father to glorify the Son that the Son may glorify the Father, resulting in righteous judgment against the offending party--man--yet God does not delight in this rebellion, cf. Ezekiel 18:23; 33:11).

When mankind rejected God's rule, they did not take control of their own destiny, nor did they free themselves to do what they please (in an ultimate sense). Rather, mankind subjected themselves to the enslavement of sin. No longer was man able to choose good or evil...rather, his intentions would only be bent toward sin (Gen. 6:5). He was no longer able to do anything that truly pleased God, since everything was severely tainted by unbelief (Romans 8:6-8; 14:23, Hebrews 11:6). Mankind failed, and still fails, to give God the glory He deserves (cf. Romans 3:9-23). The human person, in all of his faculties, has been corrupted--mind, heart, soul, and strength.

If this is true, and it most certainly is Biblical, then this should inform and guide our preaching of the gospel (so defined in my previous post). When we preach, our reliance must be completely upon the Holy Spirit to apply the work of Jesus Christ to the hearts of our hearers. The bonds of sin must be broken for the light of the gospel to shine in someone's heart, or they will continue in darkness no matter how great our preaching, our arguments, or our conversations. What we must do is manifest the truth, "commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world [i.e. Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." We must therefore preach Jesus Christ as Lord, which inherently demands the response of humble submission, and nothing short of it. And only God can cause the Light, who is Christ, to shine in their hearts, that they may believe (2 Cor. 4:2-6).

So why do we still rely upon our own means...seeking to merely teach, or only to converse with others about the gospel rather than preach the gospel of Jesus Christ? For one, we lack boldness. But where does this confidence lack? In ourselves and our own abilities? Perhaps some, but definitely not fully. Our lack of confidence is in God. We believe, to name a few, either that God cannot make use of our fumbling presentation of the gospel, that He cannot change hearts without our aid (that is, without us having all the answers to all objections), or that He will not fully reward us for faithfulness (i.e. a lack of confidence in His eschatological promises (that is, concerning future blessings) that will be fulfilled in the resurrection of the dead at Christ's return). We believe that we play a part in conversion (that is, more than planting seeds and watering). We believe we cause the growth, which Jesus and Paul clearly teach otherwise (Matt. 13:1-23, John 15:18-27, 1 Cor. 1-3).

So often the problem is that we believe that unbelievers have the ability in and of themselves to change their own minds and hearts. We do not believe that they enslaved to sin, and that "the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God" (Romans 8:6-8). In other words, in our hearts and minds is a Pelagian Class lie: Mankind is free to repent or believe at his/her whim, perhaps when confronted with the right/enough evidence, etc. Thus we confront the person with historical facts, we give subjective evidences from our own lives, and we teach what the Bible says, but we fail to preach. For those of you who are not familiar, Pelagius was a 4th to 5th Century British monk who argued with Augustine over original sin--Pelagius, and his followers, Pelagians, deny the total corruption/depravity of original sin (Pelagius denied original sin altogether), leaving man in freedom to choose wrong or right.

This Pelagian lie denies the power of the Holy Spirit alone, the promises of the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:27-34, Ezekiel 36-37--God's regenerating of His peoples' hearts so that they will be His people), and the absolute necessity of the power of Jesus Christ's death, resurrection, and ascension. A gospel message that fails in such a way is bound to fail, for there is no power behind it (of the Spirit, God's Covenant promises, and Christ's work and person). To counter this, brothers and sisters, we must preach the gospel, and leave the results to God. "Who plants a seed beneath the sod and waits to see believes in God."

Let Him who boasts boast in the Lord.

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The Gospel: To Preach, or Not to Preach? Conversing, Teaching, or Preaching

Many of you know of the current debate (which is nothing new) of whether Christians ought to teach, preach, or converse about the gospel. Many in what is known as the 'Emerging/Emergent' church speak of how we ought to converse with others, as well as other religions about the gospel--this stems from the movement's postmodern background (see D.A. Carson's Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church), and the humble (perhaps at times a false humility that actually stems from utter arrogance, but that is for another time) view that this worldview (rightly?) has of mankinds' knowledge/ability to know fully.

Perhaps there really is not much of an argument about whether we ought to preach or teach the gospel (these are not, in philosophy, two differing views), but our practices show otherwise. What do I mean? While preaching includes teaching, it is not limited to teaching. Rather, preaching includes more than intellectual arguments and exposition of Scripture, though it does most certainly include these, preaching calls for a response to the truth--it makes claims upon the hearer. Teaching and preaching both make claims of absolute truth and man's ability to know such truth (2+2=4, whether you agree or not), but preaching proclaims Jesus Christ as the absolute Lord, and therefore demands that those who hear to humble themselves before Him and fall to their knees in obedience: repentant-faith.

There is a place for conversing about what is truth, who God is, and what is the way to be right with God. We are to teach others what Scripture says and even why it says it--and all of it. Yet if we stop here, we have done an injustice both to God and our hearers. We ought to be humble enough to listen to others, to respect them as persons, and to give them the 'right' to believe what they will, but we must be even more humble, humble enough to submit ourselves to God and His Word as ultimate truth.

Many will falsely call this "arrogance," but arrogance comes not from without, but from within. Christians are claiming an outside authority: God, by His Holy Spirit, Who inspired every jot and tittle of the Bible, through ordinary, yet commissioned men (cf. 2 Peter 1:16-21). It is actually those who claim their own subjective authority, taking their authority from men, rather than God, from themselves and their own philosophy, rather than from revealed truth, who are arrogant. After all, arrogance is self-inflation, not confidence in God and His Word. Christians, do not listen to these worldly voices, but seek glory from God (unlike the Pharisees, John 5:44).

So often I find myself only conversing about Scriptural truths, or teaching them to others who will listen, while I fail to preach the gospel to them. I'll admit before all, I have sinned (and I can do this because I am justified by faith in Jesus Christ, not my own merit). Am I the only one who suffers from this problem? Brothers and sisters, we need three things.

1) Pray to God for boldness--that is, pray to be filled with the Spirit, that He may empower and drive you. When you are filled with the Spirit, He will give you power, love, and discipline to preach the gospel (2 Timothy 1:6-14). Timidity is a sign of a lack of the Holy Spirit's empowerment.

2) This both flows from and grounds #1: Know that the battle is not with flesh and blood--it is not with intellectual arguments and mere worldviews that you fight (though with them we do)--those who are nonbelievers are enslaved to sin (Rom. 6). Satan has blinded them, so use both kindness and stearnness (2 Tim. 2:24-26). They cannot themselves repent on their own, for their are blind--the Spirit of God must open their eyes or they will not be able to accept Spiritual truth (Romans 8:6-8, 1 Cor. 2:14). Thus, the Spirit must work in their hearts, circumcising their hearts (Ezekiel 36:22-36), making them alive (Ezekiel 37, Ephesians 2:1-10) so that they might hear, and only then will they believe.

3) Preach. When the gospel is preached, the Spirit works. He will be resisted, but only so far as He will allow (cf. http://www.tulipedia.org/Irresistible_Grace). Faith then comes from hearing the Word of Christ preached (cf. Rom. 10:1-17).

We do not preach with bold confidence in the Spirit of God because of the pelagian captivity of our own hearts.

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