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 an 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 nor 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?
