What is good preaching?

Elenctics? Have you heard of it? I would venture to say that most haven’t. It is a theological term that means to make a case for the gospel. A word you might have heard of is apologetics. Apologetics is not apologizing for the gospel but defending the gospel against undue criticism and attack. Let’s says that someone says the Bible is discriminatory against women. I can point out many scriptures throughout the New Testament where women were given a place of honor and even leadership. There is enough evidence to silence the unfair criticism. This is called Apologetics.

 Elenctics is the opposite of apologetics. Instead of waiting to defend against an attack, Elenctics seeks to propagate the gospel message by presenting a case for consideration. It is an offensive rather than a defensive strategy.

The origin of the word Elenctics is a Greek word that means “to bring to shame.” As I contemplated this thought, I realized that herein lies the true message of the gospel. The gospel is supposed to cause us to realize our sins, feel not just shame but sorrow for our sins, and then repent. When the true gospel is preached is should make us uncomfortable enough with who we are that we fall on the mercy of God and beg him to cleanse us of our sins through his blood; it should also be a catalyst for us to change.

There are not many who are comfortable with this kind of preaching in our day. The message of the hour seems to be, “make me feel good preacher.” Much of what is called preaching in our day is actually self-help instruction. It is intended to make one feel good about oneself, rather than bringing conviction of sin. While I agree that there is a place for encouraging, feel-good preaching, there is even more cause for convicting, soul searching preaching.

Let’s consider a few scriptures where the preaching of the gospel brought strong conviction:

·         In John 16:8 Jesus told us that the Holy Spirit would come to reprove the world of sin. This word reprove means “to cause to feel shame or regret.”

·         Acts 2: 37 - When the Apostle Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost the people were so convicted that they cried aloud asking Peter what they could do. The scripture says they were “cut to the heart.” This sounds like a very convicting message.

·         Acts 16: 29-30 – The Philippian jailer came to Paul and Silas trembling, wanting to know how he could be saved. This sounds like a very stirring, emotional experience.

In the few examples we have considered one thing seems to stand out. With the preaching of the gospel came a very powerful conviction that brought a change of heart and lifestyle. The gospel message shined light on a heart that was full of sin and caused the person to want to repent and live holy before God.

As a child I remember hearing older people refer to certain preachers as “hell fire and brim stone preachers.” From some of the messages I remember hearing, the description seems to fit. They would preach so hard that I could almost feel the flames of hell and sense the smoke. By the time the message was finished I wanted to run to the altar and repent, even if I couldn’t think of anything I had done wrong. I didn’t want to a take a chance on not being right with God and going to hell.

We don’t hear that kind of preaching much anymore. Truth be told, none of us wants to. If I had to choose a label for people to put on my preaching, I’m not sure I’d want to wear the hell-fire and brimstone label. It just doesn’t sound very flattering. I’d rather people talk about how much I encourage them, how well my presentation is, my study habits and ability to tell a story. There is just one problem: while there is nothing wrong with this, it gets the cart before the horse.

The Apostle Paul gave his young protégé, Timothy, instruction on what a sermon should be like. We can find it in 4:2 where Timothy is told to preach the word by reproving, rebuking, and exhorting. Notice that reproof and rebuke come before exhorting; reproof and rebuke both mean correction.  A good message should be two-thirds correction and one-third encouragement. Before a positive message can be delivered, a convicting message must be preached. The preacher must make me want to repent and then encourage me to do better.

This is the essence of that fancy word, Eclenctics, we started with. I want the preaching of the gospel to be offensive (the opposite of defensive). My prayer is that I would always be convicted when the gospel is preached and never allow myself to be hardened against the message. If the message makes me uncomfortable, good! It gives me a chance to repent and this is the greatest privilege in the world.

In Christ’s Service,

Sullivan Jones

 

Preaching the Gospel Requires Words

The Preaching of the Gospel Requires Words

Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words …

This saying, usually attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, has become extremely popular over the last few years. You’ve probably seen it on t-shirts, bumper stickers, and the like. It is popular for several reasons. For one, it is a catchy saying that basically means, “don’t preach to me; do something for me.” We like that. In our culture where anything and everything goes, no one wants to be “preached at.” And the quickest way to feel better about ourselves is to think about the good we do for others. So we have a nice catchy little phrase that basically means, “I don’t need preaching; I need you to do something for me.”

There are a couple of problems with this saying, however. Number one, there is no record of St. Francis ever saying it. St. Francis was a member of a preaching order. It was not uncommon for him to preach up to five times a day. He understood the power of the spoken word and utilized it. The saying doesn’t fit with St. Francis’ lifestyle. [1]

Besides all that, the most troubling thing about this saying is that it is simply not Biblical. The gospel means the “Good news.” It is the story of Jesus' birth, life, death, resurrection, and second coming. It is the good news that Jesus Christ came into the world to save us from our sins. Jesus' final commandment to his disciples was to “Go and teach all nations.” The word “teach” in this instance could also be preach. It is a word that means proclaiming with words. It takes words to transfer a thought from one person to another. The preaching of the gospel always requires words.

I understand the thought behind the aforementioned saying. As Christians we are commanded to love one another. If we see a brother or a sister with a need, and we can help, we are supposed to do what we can (James 15:16). But this is not preaching the gospel; neither is it the primary purpose of the church. The purpose of the church is to preach the gospel and tell people how to be saved.

If we do good deeds for people they may feel good about us. They may even say something like, “I know those people are real Christians.” But have we really accomplished anything if we haven’t told them how to be saved? After all, this is the most important thing isn’t it? The salvation of the eternal soul.

I believe Christians should be the most friendly, helpful people on earth. We should always be willing to lend a hand in time of need without expecting anything in return. Truthfully, we as the church could (and maybe even should) do more for our communities and families in need. We cannot, however, buy into the line that we are the church because we do good deeds. We are the church because we have been born again and called out of the world to be a separate people, committed to living a holy life dedicated to the service of our God. This is what makes us the church.

We have a story to tell. It may be a little different for each of us but the fundamental message is the same. It is the story of how we were once lost in sin. Then someone preached the gospel to us. We responded and were born into the family of God. Now we strive to tell everyone else how they can be a part of this family. This is the gospel message. You must be born again!

When was the last time you told your story to someone else? Don’t be afraid to tell someone what God has done for you. This is the way the church has been replicated for 2,000 plus years. One person tells another and then and then another about his relationship with Christ. This is, in its simplest form, the preaching of the gospel.

Tell someone about Jesus today! And use words! They are powerful!

Sincerely,

Rev. Sullivan Jones

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[1] "Preach the Gospel, and Since It's Necessary, Use Words by Ed Stetzer." Ligonier Ministries. Accessed June 08, 2016. http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/preach-the-gospel-and-since-its-necessary-use-words/.

Dorothy kills a witch

My sister posted a mock newspaper article on Facebook this morning that caught my attention. The picture was a snapshot of Judy Garland in her role as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz; almost anyone in North America would recognize the scene. The headline above the photo read:

“Mugshot of runaway girl who killed an elderly woman and stole her shoes, claiming it was an accident, 1939.”

Naturally, I laughed when I saw it. I found it so amusing that I had to show it to my co-workers. My first thought was, this is how the media distorts things. One little shred of “information” is taken and a story is concocted that appeals to our universal sense of right and wrong. It doesn’t matter if the story behind the headlines actually fits the facts or not. The purpose is to sell news and it seems the more horrifying or scandalous the story, the more people want to read about it.

The world we live in is full of information. While I am thankful for the freedom of the press, much that we read, hear, or see in the news is intentionally distorted to promote a certain agenda. The liberal mindset desires to keep people on edge and knows how to frame a situation to its advantage to get a reaction from the public. There is so much contention and strife in our world, so much information to sort through. Can we trust any of it?  No wonder that Snopes.com is such a popular cite. In this day of hype and instant internet information one almost cannot be too careful in fact checking before sharing.

In the case of Dorothy, she really did run away from home but she came back before the cyclone hit. She also did drop a house on the Wicked Witch of the West but it certainly wasn’t intentional; she didn’t take the shoes on purpose either. While the caption was meant to be humorous, it can also teach us all a vital lesson; there is always a different way to look at a situation. Whether it be a situation that arises at work, at church, or in society at large, we rarely get all the information we need to make a snap judgment. This is why juries are supposed to be selected at random and supposed to hear all the evidence before reaching a verdict. A first impression can create a false perception.

While I am all for being up-to-date on current events, we would all do well to remember that not everything we read, see, or hear is true. It is always best to listen to another source before taking a stance. Even more importantly, the Christian should remember that the only true and unbiased reports on daily life come from the word of God. If we want to fact-check something it is best to go to the source of ultimate truth. The word of God has never let us down and never will. Its wisdom is priceless and ageless. It is relevant to every culture and every age and will never be obsolete. Are you wandering what news you can trust? Go to the source. God’s facts are always trustworthy!

Blessings,

Spanish Pastor Jones