Would You Fellowship Timothy In Your Pulpit? By Arnold Cochran
(Reprinted from Watchman magazine July, 2000 http://www.watchmanmag.com/)
In the last epistle that the Apostle Paul wrote unto Timothy, he charged him to preach the truth in a simplistic manner that would distinguish it from the perverted and soft preaching of his day. "Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." (2 Timothy 4:2-5).
Is it possible brethren, that we have become so carnal that Timothy would not be considered an acceptable preacher for our pulpits? What kind of preaching does our youth need? What kind of preaching does we young preachers need to preach?
It has become a popular manner for both young and old preachers to present lessons so vague in application that one would never know the truth or what they believe about the subject. They do not make a distinct application, therefore there is no conviction produced in their audience. The only time these preachers become fiery is when they preach on subjects that have to do with carnal relationships. However, many times their message concerning one's spiritual relationship with God usually puts Him in the role of being all forgiving, merciful, patient, and loving. However, you will never hear the other side of that message which states that man is accountable to a God of justice, judgment, and wrath. (Acts 24:25; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Hebrews 10:29-31).
These same preachers never make a plain application to the individual. Again they are vague so as not to offend. So what kind of preaching does our youth need today? They need to have sin and temptation defined to the point there is no confusion or ignorance on the subject (Ezekiel 18:20; James 1:12-15; 1 John 2:1-3; 1 John 3:4). They need to be taught the God's word means exactly what it says (Ephesians 3:3-5). The preacher of today needs to be able to adequately produce within the hearts of his audience a sense of urgency and seriousness that will cause them to accurately apply God's teachings to their situation (Acts 2:36-41).
We preachers need to remember that it is the "truth" that we abide in that sets us free and makes us His disciples (John 8:31,32)! Let our preaching not consist of our opinions on truth, nor our flighty ideals, nor our rhetoric (Philippians 3:8,9)! We are in the profession of preaching to a lost and dying world. Our job is to convict men and women of their sin and point the way to heaven. We are not in the business of selling them a piece of it on earth!
In explaining the importance of the gospel, Paul wrote, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek" (Romans 1:16). You might say, "I'm not ashamed of the gospel!" Are you ashamed of the doctrine? There is no distinction made between the gospel and the doctrine of Christ. To be ashamed of one is to be ashamed of the other! To not preach the one is not to preach the other! When the Lord commanded that the all nations be taught and made believers in Matthew 28:19, He also commanded that those believers be instructed in all things concerning Him! "Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen" (Matthew 28:20). So there you have it, both gospel and doctrine hand and hand!
Finally, a gospel preacher must never take his purpose lightly. He must strive hard to never let popular opinion sway his message. If he does, he might wake up one day to find that his audience has left him for one with even softer preaching. Our purpose is simply to preach the word as God revealed it. Let the unadulterated seed, the word of God, have the opportunity to be sown into the hearts of the hearers, just as God meant it to be.
While I can say that there are congregations that would hire Timothy, will we be able to say this in 10, 20, 30 years? I would be more interested in knowing if Timothy would even consider working with us! Either way we need to get some backbone about us. When it all boils down to it our people need firm, sound preaching that gives them a solid foundation! Will you be so bold as to do this as a gospel preacher? And will you "amen" this as a member of the Lord's church?
Not Too Holy by Doy Moyer
(Reprinted from Focus Magazine on-line: http://www.focusmagazine.org/)
I was teaching a Sunday morning class, and a disheveled "streetwise" man walked in. His hair was frazzled, and it appeared that it had been some time since his last "cleansing." No matter. We were happy to have there (and it's times like that when James 2 really hits home). He didn't say anything, and I suppose that deep down I figured him to be another one from the streets looking for a little handout. After a few minutes he drew our attention because he began peeling off what seemed like several layers of shirts, sweaters, and who knows what all. I guess he was getting comfortable (that auditorium was notorious for being too hot). We continued through the end of class, and I walked over to him to welcome him there. I was expecting some kind of request, but he just shook my hand and stayed put.
Our worship began like normal. The song leader announced the song, which happened to be "Take Time to be Holy." After about a verse and a half, the man arose and started on his way out. One of the men in the back kindly told him, "You're welcome to stay." The man simply replied, "I don't want to get all too holy at once." Then he left. We never saw him again.
That incident has been in my mind fairly often over the years. I don't think that man was trying to be funny, though at first it seemed a little amusing. But the more I thought about it, the more serious of a chord it struck. The sad thing is that this man would probably never become holy at all. "Too much" holiness is hardly a concern there.
Make no mistake. God wants us to be holy. "You shall be holy, for I am holy" (1 Pet. 1:16). All of the laws and regulations in Leviticus are founded upon this principle, and stated in what I believe to be the key passage in that book. "Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy" (11:44-45). God wanted His people set apart for His service; therefore they were not to be defiled by "unclean" things which would destroy that. This principle is carried over into the new covenant and expressed in such passages as Romans 12:1-2 and 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1.
Now I wonder if we sometimes think more like this man off the street than we care to admit. Apparently he was there because he felt like he needed a little "religion," whatever form that would take in his mind. But he had about all he could take, and he hadn't even sat through one of my sermons yet! (I can only imagine what he would have thought then.)
We know we need to be holy. We can read it in the Book. We know God wants us to be set apart for Him, not conformed to the world. But … let's be careful not to be "too" holy. After all, we don't want to offend modern sensibilities. We don't want to appear to be radical or anything. Let's be holy. But let's not overdo it.
I suppose there is some truth to this. If by "too" holy, we mean that we don't want to be self-righteous, "holier than thou" kind of people, then I agree. Our attitudes must not reflect a self-righteous pride that looks down with contempt on those poor, godless people of the world. There is a sense in which we blend with the world. We need not walk around with robes and backward collars to show we are different. Generally (with some exceptions), we'll wear the same clothes and speak the same language as most others do. And like most other preachers, I enjoy that Sunday afternoon nap with the football game on in the background (one of the pleasures of modern life).
On the other hand, the idea of being "too" holy may conjure up images of being too dedicated, too committed to being Christians. That might mean that we have to spend too much time studying, praying, and attending classes and assemblies. This could mean that we might be inconvenienced at times. After all, we have other things to attend to. We don't want to cut into work, school, or recreation; so while we know it is important to be Christians, let's just not be too demanding, ok? "Be holy, but not too holy."
That point sinks in with me. I'm tempted to go for the convenient things of being a Christian, and shying away from the demanding matters. When I find myself thinking that way, I think back to that man off the streets. He taught a pretty good lesson that day, though he will probably never realize it. Not only do we need to "take time to be holy," we need to pray, "more holiness give me." In the end, there is no such thing as being "too holy." Either we are holy or not. Holiness is to be pursued, not avoided or partitioned off into little time-slots in our lives. Without holiness, we will not see the Lord (Heb. 12:14). How can there be too much of that?