A More Acceptable Message

I want to start with the calling to the church today, something which most churches would probably agree they do with zeal and earnest. This calling can be found in 2 Timothy 4:1,2;

1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2 preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

It tells us to PREACH THE WORD, not on Sundays only and not when you have a full church but at all times. If you look at verse 2 in the Concordant literal translation;

2. Herald the Word. Stand by it, opportunely, inopportunely, expose, rebuke, entreat with all patience and teaching.

the word ‘season’ makes a little more sense. We are told to preach when people want it, when they don’t, when they are expecting it and when they aren’t, when its opportune and when it not. We are told to stand by it and more than that we are told to;

a. Expose - Convicting of what is false.
b. Teach – Teaching doctrine which is True
c. Rebuke - Correction of what is wrong.
d. Entreat - Instruction for what is right.

The first two are Faith based and the second two are Works based, together they complete the profitableness of the Word of God. When you spread the Word of God correctly and completely then it has an effect, it is profitable for our Spirit and Soul.

We also have to take note that two of the above are seemingly negative. Expose and Rebuke don’t sound like nice words, they sound like you’re being turned off. They are but when applied with love they are a positive force to bring about a positive outcome.

Preaching then is a mixture of what I would call ‘patting and slapping’. You get a gentle pat on your back when you do well and a gentle slap when you start to stray. We might not like it but put together we get to our destination, an eternity with God. Turning from Sin is not painless, keeping on the straight and narrow sometimes means going without something you want, God never said it was a walk in the park, but it is worth it.

Is this acceptable today

Unfortunately we can’t tell people off today, apparently it will put them off Church, the result is we only have Teach and Entreat, half of what the scripture tells us we should have. Here we have the modern Church, this is where we are today, thinking for God and leaving out what WE think is unacceptable or unpopular in this day and age.

The problem with this can be found in 2 Timothy 4:3 following on;

3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

People will get rid of the final two points themselves, true doctrine and correct instruction, why? Where is the ‘slap’ to stop them? Where are the guide lines to stop them wandering? When you take away discipline and education you have chaos. They will then start to look for people who will please them, they will be looking for the ‘pat on the back’ as long as it falls in line with what they believe.

There will be many Churches only too willing to accommodate this sort of person, because they themselves have forgotten the Word. They themselves will be looking for like minded people, because in numbers there is comfort and in numbers is the assumption that you are right!

In the previous chapter in 2 Timothy 3:1-7, we have a warning about people in the last times, these days we now live in. Quite simply put people will embrace their sinful nature.

1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,
4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts,
7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

They will do everything which is against the scripture but will try to fit scripture into their lives to give themselves a kind of righteousness. They will put intelligence over Spirituality, in verse 7 we are told that they never go deeper than intellect, it is man’s truth not God’s that counts.

The Church will disappear into a worldly view where no one is wrong, everyone has a view and everyone’s view should be heard. The Church as we are already seeing is compromising its Faith, it is allowing God’s word to be replaced by humanistic thinking, spirituality by emotionalism. Verse 5 is particularly worrying because it tells us they will have a form of godliness but deny the power. How true is that of many Churches today.

How then will this show in the Church

A time is fast approaching where God will be completely left out of the Church. God will become an ‘idea’ and not an absolute. Preaching will be based on man’s thinking about living a good life. As we have heard in 2 Timothy 3:5 they will appear to be godly, they will come over as they are speaking spiritually but in actual fact they will be denying all that God is. Materialistic values will abound. Prosperity preaching will grow, sowing the seed will grow, free worship will abound. People will forget the 4 points we saw earlier;

a. Expose - Convicting of what is false.
b. Teach – Teaching doctrine which is True
c. Rebuke - Correction of what is wrong.
d. Entreat - Instruction for what is right.

To the point that we will have 4 new points based on modern politically correct thinking.

a. Don’t Expose - Convicting is negative and destructive.
b. Don’t Teach - Teaching is against free will.
c. Don’t Rebuke - Correction is a form of oppression.
d. Don’t Entreat – Everyone should have their own view.

The first two destroy your faith, the second destroy your good works and all together they deny the working power of God.

The future message

This is the future of the Church and preaching as mankind waters down the message in an attempt to please people, when they ignore the sound teaching of Timothy and the 4 points mentioned. Today the points are painful to use because they show people their sin and no one wants to be shown their faults. They tell people to change, and no one wants to be told what to do, they show we need to change and we all hate change.

Because of this we are then reminded in 2 Timothy 4:5 that it isn’t going to be easy, and yes there might be affliction. No one ever said preaching the Word was easy. Truth and Sin are like apposing poles of a magnet, you will always have a struggle on you hands.

5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

It is quite clear that we must be different and not preach for the world but to the world, not pander to their wants but show them their needs. The Church should be a haven of Change of difference, it should be a Godly place full of reverence and quiet prayer in a world of noise and irreverence. How can we hope to hear God if we don’t stop and listen. The way of the world is to keep moving, the way of God is to meditate on the Word.

Romans 12:2 is a reminder of how the body of Christ should act in the world.

2. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.

For those Churches who are compromising the Word. Who are leaving God out of the Church so they can get more people into the Church, be warned by John 12:48-50;

48 But all who reject me and my message will be judged at the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken.
49 I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me gave me his own instructions as to what I should say.
50 And I know his instructions lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say!

God told us what to say, and if you don’t say it you will be judged by those same words.