The doctor, looking at the routine test
results, announces to the patient, "Hey, man, give me five. Have I got
good news for you? Your blood pleasure is super. Your pulse rate is
fantastic. And, man, what a fabulous gall bladder. It is beautiful to
behold. You are in marvelous shape."
Now the patient really feels good about
himself. In fact, it confirmed what he had thought all along there was
nothing wrong with him. He only went in to satisfy his wife. She is one
of those health nuts that thinks one should have a periodic checkup even
when he is feeling good about himself.
Then the doctor says, "Sit down, I want to
tell some really good news about our treatment plan for folks like you
you will love it and hardly feel a pain I tell you it is sensational."
The patient asks, "Treatment for what, Doc?"
"You just said I was in great shape."
"Well, you are, or at least we believe you
need to think you are (haven't you ever heard of Positive Mental
Attitude), but everyone needs a treatment plan," replies the doctor.
"How much is this going to cost me, Doc?"
"You don't need to concern yourself about
the cost now, I will explain that to you a bit at a time while you are
recovering from the initial surgery."
"From initial what?"
"Initial surgery for that nice tumor that I
think you may have isn't that super! Can you say `super'?"
"To tell you the truth, Doc, `swell' is
about the best I can do until I find out what will happen if I don't
have surgery. What will likely happen?"
"Do I detect that you are beginning to feel
a bit uncomfortable about your-self? I was afraid of that. We can't have
that!"
"But, Doc, why didn't you tell me to start
with that I had a tumor and needed an operation?"
"What kind of doctor do you think I am? I am
of the new school that tells patients how well they are, rather than
that old negative school that tells folks how sick they are. How can I
claim to be a `good news' doctor if I keep telling folks the `bad news'
about their health and what all it is going to take for them to get
well?"
"Doc, I think news about the surgery and its
cost would have been `good news' to me had you honestly told me first,
with convincing evidence, the `bad news' about my illness."
The Doctor Is The Preacher
The above fictional doctor's approach
parallels a growing approach to preaching among us. One who sees no flaw
in the doctor's approach will likely see no flaw in this new style of
preaching.
The idea that we can help sinners without
first convicting them of sin is both unscriptural and illogical. The
first order of business of the Holy Spirit given to the apostles was to
"convict the world of sin" (John 16:8). As they went forth preaching
under the direct guidance of the Spirit, they first convicted men and
women of their sins; then they gave them the good news about how to be
saved from sin.
Notice the order in Acts 2. Peter first
convicted them of their sin by plainly pointing out, with ample
evidence, that the One they had rejected and crucified was the Christ of
prophecy. He concluded "that God has made this Jesus, whom you
crucified, both Lord and Christ." That made them rather uncomfortable
about themselves. It even cut them to the heart. They asked, "Men and
brethren, what shall we do?" (v. 37) They were now ready for the good
news. There was a way out of their sinful condition (v.38). They gladly
did what they were told to do (v. 41).
Of course, they were not made to feel bad
about themselves and left hanging. They were given good news of the way
out of their sinful and lost state. They would not have been ready for
the good news until they no longer felt good about having crucified
Jesus. As long as they felt that they were innocent of wrong doing they
would have felt no need for the gospel. They would have not considered
it good news.
Once men and women are faced with the guilt
and consequences of their sins when they understand that they are lost
and hell bound, then the news of the gospel plan of salvation indeed
becomes great news. It is good news even when they understand that
discipleship involves effort, hard-ships and sacrifices.
No, we are not saying that every sermon or
every article or every class lesson must be to convict one of sin. There
are other purposes in preaching and teaching. But, there is entirely too
much emphasis in today's preaching upon trying to make people feel good
about themselves rather than convicting them of sin. Too much psychology
and not enough gospel in lessons directed to those in and out of the
church. A preacher friend recently told me about hearing a young
visiting preacher preach an entire sermon on "the grace of God" without
even mentioning the plan of salvation. A few years ago I stopped at a
place on a Sunday night and heard a sermon on "the new birth" without
baptism being mentioned much less showing that people needed it and
urging them to do it. There is less and less emphasis upon what we must
leave behind and what is involved in being saved from sin and
condemnation.
The world hasn't changed so much since the
first century that it does not need convicting of sin. The church has
not changed so much that there are no brethren who need convicting of
sin. The word of God has not changed so much that it is not still
designed to make us see what manner of men we are prompting us to do
something about it (cf. Jas. 1:25).
If our preaching makes one still in his sins
feel good about himself then we have done him an injustice. It is
like-wise an injustice to make one think that salvation and discipleship
are without cost. But once one understands the gravity of his sinful
condition and the rewards of salvation, he will eagerly accept the cost
of obeying the Lord. The gospel, with all its conditions, tribulations,
and blessings will indeed be good news to him, because he has fully
understood the bad news of his condemnation.
It is time that we quit trying to spare the
sinner the pain of honestly facing the reality of his condemnation; so
that we might introduce him to the glorious relief in the gospel of
Christ. It is time that we quit trying to make disciples of Christ
without painful decisions having to be made. Repentance is not painless.
It is prompted by godly sorrow (2 Cor. 7:9,10).
When one obeys the gospel there are sinful
pleasures that must be sacrificed. There are often beloved, hindering
relationships that must be severed. When preachers preach and people
understand the whole picture, the Lord will be pleased and souls will be
saved. When one understands the profitableness of godliness for the life
that now is and that which is to come (cf. 1 Tim. 4:8), he will gladly
count the cost worth it all. But one can hardly understand and
appreciate the profitableness of godliness until he understands the unprofitableness of ungodliness.
Maybe we need to be more concerned that our
preaching be profitable rather than painless.
Guardian of Truth - October 19, 1995
Other Articles by Edward O.
Bragwell, Sr.
A Convenient Doctrine
Cutting Wood and Restoring
N. T. Christianity
About Christians Feeling
Unworthy and Undone
Holding a Church Hostage
What Can God do?
Undercover Agents for Christ
Reformation or Transformation?
Be Careful With the Blame
Game
Is Unrestricted Loyalty a Virtue?
A New Dogma
How to Raise a Heartache
The Right Baptism
Standing Alone
- Caffin,
B.C. (1950), II Peter – Pulpit Commentary, H.D.M. Spence
and Joseph Exell, eds. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans).
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