The Negative Side of Positive Preaching (Part 1) by
Wayne Goforth
(Reprinted from the May, 1999 on-line issue of The Gospel Anchor,
http://www.gospelanchor.com/)
The Preliminaries:
In recent years, I have attended many gospel meetings in which a verse was read at the beginning of the lesson...followed by 20 minutes of after dinner stories, and the next verse was at the invitation. Now, they may not have preached any error, but brethren is it enough to just not preach error? Sometimes my children are disappointed when they are told they cannot watch a TV show. They may ask "what's wrong with it?" We tell them that is not the question, but instead, what is right about it? Is it wholesome enough to watch? John said "If anyone comes to you and does NOT BRING this doctrine..." (1 John 10). John did not say if they don't preach error...but rather if they fail to preach the truth! There can be a difference in preaching truth, and preaching THE truth. So many sermons offered today may contain all truth...but it is also may be nothing that a good denominational fellow would disagree with either. Some churches have asked preachers to work with them who held unscriptural positions, only to be told "But I won't preach it!" First of all, no preacher has the right to refuse to teach any Bible subject. Second, no church has the right to tell a preacher he cannot preach what he believes. He should be allowed to preach it, and if it is error, then it must be exposed and dealt with. But third, and this is where so many seem to misunderstand, it is not enough that he does not preach error, he must preach truth...all of it. No one can preach all the truth in a meeting certainly, but over a course of time one must. Paul said he did not fail to teach all that was needed to the Ephesian church, Acts 20:20, nor did he fail to declare the whole counsel of God, vs. 27.
The Problem:
There is a grave danger facing the church of our Lord today....
more subtle than that of false teaching. After all, when one clearly
teaches false doctrine, we can deal with it, expose it and mark
it for what it is. But, with the Positive Mental Attitude (PMA)
type of preaching and writing of today, it is more difficult to
identify the error. I say it is dangerous, for it slouches toward
error, rather than promoting it or denouncing it. It tolerates
and sets up a church for it by not being prepared to deal with
error. It allows for churches to slowly drift (Hebrews 2:1). It
creates an atmosphere in which error cannot be fought. With the
AIDS virus, one generally will not die of the disease itself.
It suppresses the immune system, so the body cannot fight other
diseases that come along. The body no longer is able to fight,
because the ability to recognize and fight an invading host has
been compromised. How much more dangerous is compromise in preaching
to the body of Christ, which has taken away the ability to recognize
in advance and fight error? Brother Irvin Lee said in Things Which
Make For Peace, "Only error will thrive under the wet blanket
of 'no controversy allowed.' "
[Editor's note: Bro. Goforth's lesson will be continued in next
week's issue.]
Fork in Hand - Author Unknown (contributed by The Hubbells)
There was a woman who had been diagnosed with cancer and had been given three months to live. Her doctor told her to start making preparations to die (something we all should be doing all of the time). So she contacted her minister and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what she wanted to be wearing. The woman also told her minister that she wanted to be buried with her favorite Bible. Everything was in order and the minister was preparing to leave when the woman suddenly remembered something very important to her. "There's one more thing," she said excitedly.
"What's that?" came the minister's reply.
"This is very important," the woman continued. "I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand."
The minister stood looking at the woman not knowing quite what to say.
"That shocks you, doesn't it?" the woman asked.
"Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request," said the minister.
The woman explained, "In all my years of attending "potlucks" and functions where food was involved, my favorite part was when whoever was clearing away the dishes of the main course would lean over and say, "you can keep your fork." It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming. When they told me to keep my fork, I knew that something great was about to be given to me. It wasn't Jell-O or pudding; it was cake or pie, something with substance. So I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder "What's with the fork?" Then I want you to tell them: Something better is coming so keep your fork, too."
The minister's eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the woman good-bye. He knew this would be one of the last times he would see her before her death. But he also knew that this woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did. She KNEW that something better was coming.
At the funeral people were walking by the woman's casket, they saw the pretty dress she was wearing, her favorite bible, and the fork placed in her right hand. Over and over the pastor heard the question, "What's with the fork?", and over and over he smiled.
During his short message, the minister told the people of the conversation he had with the woman shortly before she died. He also told them about the fork and what it symbolized to her. The minister told the people how he could not stop thinking about the fork and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either. He was right. So the next time you reach down for your fork, let it remind you, oh so gently, that there is something better coming!
We Wonder Why - Author Unknown (contributed by J. Franklin)
What in the world is happening with our kids today? Let's see...I
think it started when Madelyn Murray O'Hair complained that she
didn't want any prayer in our schools. And we said OK.
Then someone said you had better not read the Bible in school-the
Bible that says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and
love your neighbor as yourself. And we said, OK.
Remember Dr. Benjamin Spock, who said we shouldn't spank our children
when they misbehave, because their little personalities would
be warped and we might damage their self-esteem? And we said,
OK, we won't spank them.
Then someone said that teachers and principals better not discipline
our children when they misbehave. And our administrators said
whoa, no one in this school better touch a student when they misbehave
because we don't want any bad publicity, and we surely don't want
to be sued.
Then someone said, let's let our daughters have abortions if they
want, and we won't even have to tell their parents. And we said,
that's a grand idea.
Then someone else said, let's give our sons all the condoms they
want, so they can have all the "fun" they desire, and
we won't have to tell their parents. And we said, that's another
great idea.
And then some of our top officials said that it doesn't matter
what we do in private as long as we do our jobs. And we said,
as long as I have a job and the economy is good, it doesn't matter
to me what anyone does in private.
So now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience,
why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother
them to kill.
Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "we reap what we sow".
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PARTING THOUGHT
Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. ---John Wooden
Let's take Coach Wooden's advice this week. Do something for the Lord; there is something you can do. Call the sick, write them cards and letters. While your writing cards, write some cards of appreciation to your Bible class teacher, the preacher, the church lawn maintenance crew, the sound system operator, the church librarian and anyone else you can think of that is doing physical or mental labor for the Lord that you are not capable of doing yourself.