Sound Doctrine
Produces Sound
Churches
Demanding Sound
Doctrine
"I charge you therefore before God and the
Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and
His kingdom: 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.
( 2 Timothy
4:1-4)
A local church is going to
be about as strong and sound as the preaching it receives and is willing to
endure and support. Paul's solemn charge to Timothy had a sense of urgency about
it. Preach the word now, while brethren will endure it, or face a time when they
will
not.
For several years this
writer has been paying particular attention as seasoned brethren (preachers and
otherwise) express their concerns about the churches of today. The one dominant
concern seems to be the caliber of preaching coming from our pulpits of late. As
one old soldier of the cross expressed it to me, "I am getting tired of going to
gospel meetings and hearing `fluff'." He went on to explain what he meant by
"fluff." Preaching that contained very little real Bible
teaching.
Brethren, strong
congregations cannot be built and maintained on "fluff." The sad thing
about it all is that many churches had rather have "fluff" than real spiritual
food. As long a churches demand it, there will be those who are willing to be
paid to spin it out for
them.
Sermons and classes with
real doctrinal content are held in disfavor by many of today's churches. The
demand is for more "relevant"(?) matters. Themes more suited for psychologists
and sociologists are replacing basic Bible topics. Topics that address so-called
"real problems" and "real life concerns" of "today's Christian" are replacing
those that deal with what the Book says about man's basic spiritual problem,
sin; and his real basic needs--conviction of sin and the salvation of his soul.
Lectures aimed more at enhancing man's present happiness and welfare than
ensuring his eternal well-being are by far the most widely received. Preachers
that entertain and make brethren feel good about themselves, rather than
producing godly sorrow leading to repentance or any real depth of scriptural
knowledge, are given the most favored status among brethren. Sermons that really
teach the Bible are considered, "uninteresting", "too-structured" and even
"crude" by some. All too often preachers who resort to such are asked to find
some place else to do their preaching. We have observed a rash of this
lately.
Subjects more suitable for
a civic club seminar than for a gospel meeting are commonly announced. Sunday
after Sunday, if what I hear is accurate, talks that would be welcomed in any
denominational church in town are passed off as gospel
sermons.
A congregation constantly
fed on "fluff" will not develop an appetite for sound doctrine. Any who may have
had an appetite will soon loose it. Without a desire for sound doctrine churches
are vulnerable to all kinds of
fables.
Neither motivational hype
nor emotional manipulation is gospel preaching. Such may produce increased
activity of a sort. It may even build and inspire audiences after a fashion. It
may enhance the speaker's standing with brethren as a dynamic speaker. But, it
will not produce a well-grounded faith based upon a "thus saith the
Lord."
Brethren, our preaching
must follow the pattern that Paul outlined to Timothy. In form, it must have a
well-rounded combination of convincing (reproving--KJV), rebuking and exhorting
(or encouraging). In substance, it must have teaching (doctrine) at the base. It
is no accident that Paul, in the preceding chapter, shows the Scriptures to be
profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness
(2 Tim.
3:16).
Book, chapter, and verse
preaching/teaching that quotes or reads scriptures and then makes clear
applications of the reading seldom sweeps folks along on clouds of ecstasy. Nor
does it flow quite as smoothly as Dale Carnegie trained orations. Nor is it
likely to make folks jump up and down with uncontrollable joy nor roll in the
aisles with laughter. It will likely cause them to mostly sit and ponder on the
validity of the message -- comparing it with the Scriptures before them. Once
convicted of the validity of the message, they will then be motivated to act
with both an intelligent and emotional response to the great message preached.
They are then moved by the power of the gospel preached more than the
charismatic personal power of the preacher/teacher or dynamic qualities of his
delivery.
We need preachers who will
preach it just like Paul and other inspired men wrote it. Preachers who will
preach the word in season and out, without regard to whether churches will
endure and support
it.
We need churches who not
only endure sound doctrine, but demand it of those they support in local work,
in gospel meetings and throughout the world. Unless we have this we will
continue seeing churches slide toward religious error and philosophical
foolishness and away from the sound doctrine based on "what saith the
Scriptures."
---Edward O. Bragwell, Sr.