Where preaching goes awry

Posted on August 28, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 2 Comments

This morning as I was reading through Ezekiel this phrase struck me, “. . . then they will seek a vision from a prophet, but the law will be lost from the priest and counsel from the elders.” (Ezekiel 7:26, NASB) The priests had turned away from the Law of God and could no longer bring any advice that was helpful to the people as they sought a word from God.

It’s all about relationship

Inside a religious system, there is a danger that we can miss the intent of Scripture. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is about the beginning, breaking and restoration of our relationship with God. It is about relationship first. Jesus supports this understanding in Matthew 22:36-40 when he identifies love of God and love of neighbor as the two great commands.

If the intent of Scripture is to restore and deepen relationship with God, then it seems obvious to me that the intent of preaching should be to restore and deepen relationship with God. The preaching should be geared toward encouraging transformation, but too often we settle for information.

In Matthew 15:8, Jesus quotes from Isaiah 29:13 when he says: “‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me.” (NASB) The point is that we can be heavily involved in the teaching and reading of Scripture and not have our hearts changed. We can say and do all the right things but have hearts that are far away from God.

A means to an end

Ravi Zacharias has properly said, “Jesus did not come to make bad men good, he came to make dead men live.” Preaching which imparts knowledge may be helpful, but the impartation of knowledge is a means to an end (relationship) not the end in itself. Proper preaching must present Christ as the means of making dead people live.

I have been in many church services where the sermon gave me a lot of information and did not spur me on to a deeper relationship with God. Proper preaching should challenge me to see the parts of my life that have yet to be yielded in submission to God. Part of proclaiming the good news is to help me to see the need for that good news and my inability to provide it for myself.

It is only through relationship with Jesus Christ that we can become spiritually alive. This truth is at the heart of the gospel and if preaching is not calling dead men to live in Jesus, it is doing nothing of eternal value. Even if the teaching causes men to do good works or religious practice but does not cause men to come into relationship with Jesus, it is of no eternal value.

The final exam

We need to keep in mind that there is no theology test to get into Heaven. Jesus reminds us that the test has only two questions (See Matthew 7:21-23). The two questions are: am I in relationship with Jesus and on the basis of that relationship have I been obedient?

To prepare people for that test is the only proper goal of preaching.

Preaching with impact

Posted on August 25, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 4 Comments

Reading and article by J. S. Park subtitled, “The Difference Between a Speech And a Sermon,” got me thinking of my own experience in hearing sermons.

The “A” List

I have had the privilege of sitting under the preaching of some of the men who would be on many people’s “Who’s Who” list of preachers. They are on the “A” list because they are knowledgeable, talented and have the gift of oratory. They know their Bibles and can tell stories which illustrate the meaning that they want to draw out of the Biblical text. They are good at their craft. They are like high-end chefs who prepare gourmet spiritual meals. These sermons are beautiful, presented well and tasty.

One the other hand, the preachers who have had the most impact upon my spiritual growth are not on this list. These preachers were not flashy, they were not always funny, but they always got to the core of the passage and brought it to me in a way that God could use to break through my nonsense and bring real change. As compared to the “A” list preachers, these presented meat and potatoes. Their sermons were not flashy, not elegant, but very nourishing.

The point of this is not to denigrate the “A” list preachers. They are great at what they do and by their popularity it appears that they help a lot of people. I enjoy listening to sermons presented by these men.

The Point

My point is that preaching does not have to be flashy, humorous, witty, or spellbinding to be effective. Switching back to the food analogy, we do not need gourmet food all the time. Basic home cooking serves better in the long run. We need preachers who will faithfully, week after week, bring the word of God to their people. For, it is the Word of God and the Word of God alone that will cause spiritual growth in the hearers (Hebrews 4:12).

Not every man who is called to preach will have the talent and personality to be an “A” list preacher. It is often the case that the preacher with less talent but a greater love of God will produce more lasting fruit.

The Standard

Preachers, do not feel that you are in competition with the “A” listers. Tune your ear to God’s word and bring it to your people. God will take care of the rest. Your job is to be faithful.

People, do not judge your pastor by comparing him to the preacher on your iPod or on the radio. Judge your pastor on whether he proclaims the truth of Scripture and leads you in fulfilling the two great commands to love God and love your neighbor.

Feel free to leave a comment with a shout-out to a preacher who has had a positive impact on your life.

Write a guest post for Attempts at Honesty

Posted on August 21, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 21 Comments

If you are a blogger who would like to write a guest post for Attempts at Honesty, I would love to hear from you.

Or, if you are someone who has wondered about becoming a blogger, this is your opportunity to give it a try.

If you are interested in writing a post, please contact me by email, Facebook, Twitter or use the Contact Me form.

The following are the guidelines that I use for my own posts:

I prefer that the post be written for Attempts at Honesty but can be reposted elsewhere.
I target 300 to 600 words for a post. This is not a hard boundary. I’ve gone higher and lower on occasion when it seems appropriate to do so.
I’m very flexible on topics but the core theme of the blog is to encourage Christians to act in such a way as to attract outsiders to Christ. Or, to put it another way, writing about how the Gospel speaks to every day life. This can be through a challenge to something that is broken, an encouragement to a particular path, an apologetic discussion or a general Biblical observation.
The post must be free from personal attack. Disagree with someone’s statements, but do not attack the person. The post should be true, necessary and kind as described in this post.
I like to have the posts based on Scripture and encourage direct references when appropriate.
I don’t mind being edgy if it fits the topic, but I don’t push boundaries just to attract attention.
Once it is posted, check your post from time to time to respond to comments.

If you think that you can work within these guidelines and feel that you have something to say and would like to say it on Attempts at Honesty, let me know. I’m anxious to hear from you.

New news, old news

Posted on August 19, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 2 Comments

New news

Malcolm Muggeridge is attributed as saying, “new news is old news happening to new people.” The writer of Ecclesiastes declares:

“Is there anything of which one might say, “See this, it is new”? Already it has existed for ages Which were before us.” (Ecclesiastes 1:10, NASB)

Humans seem to repeatedly fall into the same traps.

Old news

This morning in my Bible reading, I find the words of Jeremiah 5:31 anticipate what I’ve observed happening in the church at large. Rather than submitting to the word of God, many pastors and theologians stand in judgment of Scripture.

“The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule on their own authority; And My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it?” (Jeremiah 5:31, NASB)

Through Jeremiah, God warned the nation of Israel that many of the prophets were providing a false security. They predicted peace and security, contradicting what the true prophets were saying. Rather than calling the nation to repentance and submission, they validated what the people wanted to hear.

Jeremiah tells us that when they do this, they are operating under their own authority though they claim to speak for God. Does this sound familiar? It should.

Today, we have pastors and theologians who are willing to set aside 2000 years of church tradition and the clear teaching of Scripture on issues such as marriage, family, morality and what it means to be a follower of Christ. When they do this, they are like rogue ambassadors misrepresenting the king who sent them.

Why do these pastors and theologians distort Scripture? Jeremiah tells us that in his day they did it to please the people. These prophets gained popularity and all the social and economic benefits that come with it. One can assume that the motives are similar today.

Judge or submit

We have two options with regard to Scripture. We can either stand in judgment of it or we can submit to it. In the end it comes down to a decision as to where the authority lies. I can assume that authority or I can submit to God’s authority. The one thing that is certain is that we cannot share it. A decision has to be made as to who is in charge.

The modern false prophets, like their predecessors, reap the social and economic benefits of reshaping their message to meet the expectations of the society. The problem is that those expectations cannot change what is really true and what is really false.

The real question

At issue what really is true as opposed to what we want to be true. I want to say that all behaviors are acceptable and that it doesn’t matter how one lives. But that is in contradiction to the truth. Behavior does matter. God has spoken and we ignore his speech to our peril.

The prophets of tolerance and acceptance are those who offer a band-aid as a cure to cancer.It may make it look better but it doesn’t cure the core problem.