Hey Preacher

A prominent radio preacher frequently makes the statement that 85% of the people never darken a church door. Just could be that they’ve been starved out.

Tell me now, how long is it since you preached a sermon on the Sovereignty of God, the Majesty of God, the Holiness of God, the Justice of God, the Immutability of God, and the eternal electing Love of God? Most of the preaching of our day in evangelical, as well as in liberal churches, is man-centered, not God-centered. Christian people have been entertained and whipped and broken and crucified and psychoanalyzed and sensitivity-trainingized, etc., etc., until they hardly know who God is or who they are, and when it comes right down to it, they know little or nothing about God.

The inevitable outcome of this might be reduced to the Three D’s:

I. The Drop-Outs – People who have been talked into signing ‘the four spiritual laws’; or who walked an aisle in an emotional high-pressure atmosphere, who, later fell by the wayside, and who now say, ‘I tried it, but it didn’t work for me.’

II. The Despairing Ones – Sincere, sensitive people who have turned in on themselves, who have tried desperately to produce what the preachers said they lacked, and who eventually sank into a dead-end alley of introspection, subjectivism and despair.

III. The Deluded Ones -Those who find ‘renewal’ by lopping off the sin branches in group confession sessions and self-criticism, while the root gets stronger and stronger. Those who won’t rock the denominational boat, people who kow-tow, to the subtle final authority of Protestant popery. People who are encased in moulds of cement, who ask questions. People who have been so brainwashed that they are almost incapable of any original thought. People who take up their man-made crosses and plod, obediently on.

What we need today is not only preaching that tells us what we should do, but preaching that will enable us to know Who God is..

Give us some solid doctrinal preaching on the doctrines of grace.’ Preach to us about our total depravity and God’s sovereign electing mercy and grace. Preach to us not only of the necessity of the new birth, but also past, present and future justification by faith alone. Assure us the Jehovah-Tsidkenu is The Lord our Righteousness. Free us from our do-it-yourself dead-end alleys of subjectivism, legalism and intro-spectionism. That only will enable us to enter into the rest for the ‘people of God’ and empower us to line up as armored soldiers in the church militant.

We are weary of entertainment. We are weary of jokes and clever outlines. We are weary of emotionally-geared anecdotes . We are weary of ‘higher-life’ preaching which keeps your head, and ours too, in the clouds grasping for mystical experiences . . . We are weary of ‘deeper-life’ preaching that keeps you and us so far down under that we never surface to become involved with the practical issues of life. We are weary of your illustrations that safely only show up what is evil 10,000 miles away. We are weary of your theological dishonesty, psychological trickery and new morality.

We are starving for constructive, elucidating preaching that makes God the Sovereign and center of His universe: and His Glory, not our happiness, the goal-preaching that puts God back on His throne. This is the gospel that Paul and Luther and Calvin and Whitefield and Spurgeon preached. This is the only gospel, the gospel that centers around the Word of God; the Word which is ratified by God’s deeds for us in history, the momentous once-for-all deeds of Christ’s incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension and the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

Preach to us about the glorious Victory of the Last Adam: and our identification with Him in it. Preach to us about Christ, who lived and died not only as our substitute, but also as our Representative. Teach us the objectivity of the gospel in its historical, representative and covenantal aspects. Show us the Risen Christ as our Great High Priest, our Advocate, our Anchor within the veil, our Mediator, our Intercessor, our Surety, our Forerunner and the ‘firstfruits of them that sleep.’ Teach us about Christ’s prayer and pledge that they should share His glory. This alone will reclaim the Drop-outs, free the Despairing Ones, and restore dignity, decisiveness and individuality to the Deluded Ones.

Then only will we be enabled to live like the people that God re-created us to be, His elect, His called-out ones, His portion, His inheritance, His children of the covenant, His bride, His jewels, His chosen generation, His royal priesthood, His holy nation, His peculiar people.

And then, preacher friend, ‘Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem, in the hand of thy God.’- Isaiah 62:3.