June 10, 2007
"What We Need from the Church: True Preaching"
2 Timothy 3: 10- 4:5
One of the reasons that Paul wrote this second letter to Timothy was to warn him that false teachers were coming. Now, when you think of false teachers, who are some that come to mind? How many of you remember a man by the name of James Warren Jones— he’s better known as the Rev. Jim Jones. I mentioned him in a previous sermon about false teachings and false teachers. The late Jim Jones was the founder of the People’s Temple. When he began his ministry, he sounded a lot like other ministers and was even ordained in a mainstream church. For a while he was even a leader in civil rights and in ministries to the poor. But somewhere down the line, false ideas crept in. At one point he claimed to be an incarnation of Jesus, Akhenaten, Buddha, Lenin, and Father Divine. In his worship services he performed healings and other miracles, which he claimed proved that his teachings were true. Do you remember the rest of the story? To escape investigation by the IRS for tax evasion he moved his church to the jungle of the South American country of Guyana. His whole story ended after his followers gunned down a U. S. Congressman and several news reporters, who were investigating his church. At the behest of the U.S. government, the Guyanese sent in their army to arrest Jones. But before they could do that, he convinced and coerced 900 of his followers to commit suicide by drinking Koolaid laced with cyanide poison. False ideas can be very dangerous. We could also point to the 9-11 terrorists and to the radical clerics who told them that God would reward them for their evil deed.
We may not feel particularly drawn to such false teachers. But there are others whose messages might be more tempting. One such example is found in an article by Amy Chanan in Compass Magazine. Amy related the sad and painful story of her former husband John, who became hooked on internet pornography and on online chat rooms where he carried on illicit conversations with other women. Now you might think that this was just one those situations where someone didn’t know the real person they married until after the wedding. But it wasn’t. John was a missionary, who was originally attracted to a chat room in an effort to prevent a young woman from marrying her Mormon fiancé.
This whole situation is really an example what Paul is writing about in chapter 3, verses 6- 7.
6They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.
We should remember that in Paul’s day, men held most of the power and women were especially vulnerable-- hence, his example here of women who were won other by smooth talking men. But, weakness is found in both men and women. Today’s internet with its sea of voices can be a power that can easily trample over even those who believe themselves to be spiritually strong. In the words of 1 Corinthians 10,
2So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall
In the words of John’s ex-wife Ann,
“He’s consumed by something that many would claim began harmlessly. Harmless or not, it cost him everything: his job, reputation, marriage, full access to his daughter, his second marriage, and most importantly his self worth.”
False teaching can come in other forms too. The devil isn’t picky as to how he fills our minds with evil destructive ideas. Children and teens, for you false teachers can be those you regard as your friends. As a high school teacher I saw a lot good kids pulled away from Jesus by the circle of kids they hung around with or by a boy friend or a girl friend. For those in business, it can be the people on the job, who want you to compromise on your ethics or moral standards. The devil behind these false teachers knows our weakness. He knows right where their teaching will be most effective.
It is to help strengthen God’s people against such false destructive ideas and insidious power that Paul calls on Timothy to
2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
One of the main reasons we gather in church for worship is to hear the Word of God preached. One the great weapons we have in our struggle against the evil around us and the evil within is the Word of God. In Ephesians 6: 17, Paul refers to the Word of God as the sword of the Spirit. The sword was perhaps the most useful weapon a foot soldier had as he grappled with his enemy. The writer of Hebrews uses the same metaphor in Hebrews 4: 12,
For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
The idea here is that God’s Word penetrates to the very soul of a person. I like the way Eugene Peterson paraphrases this verse in The Message,
“His powerful Word is sharp as surgeon’s scalpel; cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious (cannot be penetrated) by God’s Word. We can’t get away from it no matter what.”
Does the Word have that effect on you? Does it touch you to core of your being? If not, one reason might be that the preacher is not preaching good sermons. What do I mean by that? What is good sermon? Is it one with good jokes that make you laugh; one with good stories? Certainly such things can make a sermon easier to listen to, but they are not what is at the heart of a good sermon. The heart of a good sermon is that “the Word is preached.” But the Word is more than just an idea. The translators of your Bible wanted you know that. That’s one reason they
began the word “Word” with a capital letter. You see, the Word is the Son of God Jesus Christ. As John puts it in John 1: 1, 14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
All good sermons must center on the person of Jesus Christ, the Living Word of God. One of the reasons that preaching today may not seem to be as powerful of a weapon as the Bible claims is that a lot of preaching today does center on the person of Jesus Christ. There’s a lot psychobabble, moralistic instruction, and even political spin that gets passed off as preaching. “Ten Steps to a Happy Marriage” might contain good practical advice, but it is not the makings of a good sermon. Nor is another message I heard by a prominent preacher. He preached from Nehemiah on how the people were called to build the wall around Jerusalem. His message was on why we needed a missile defense system. That’s not a sermon!
The Greek word for preach is karuso, which in the first century referred to the speaking that someone did when representing someone else. It referred to what auctioneers did when they sold someone else possessions, or what an official of the court did, or a spokesman for the governor, or even the priest who spoke for one of the idol gods of the Greeks. So, the original meaning of the Greek word for “preach” seems to indicate good preachers today are those who do what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1: 23,
but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
A good preacher preaches Christ all the time, even when it’s not popular—even when those drawing the crowds might be preaching politics or moralistic condemnations. That’s what Paul means when he says “In season and out of season: whether it’s popular or not.
But then notice the three terms he uses to describe what a good sermon does,
A good sermon corrects— It tells people where they have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God; A good sermon rebukes— I prefer the translation “warns” here. A good sermon warns those who sin of the consequences of their sin. And a good sermon “encourages.” That’s the same word we discussed last week. At its heart a good sermon points us to the forgiveness that is ours in Christ Jesus and to the new life we have when he becomes Lord of our lives. And a good sermon does these things “with great patience”— good preachers remind those who listen that the struggle to be like Jesus is hard and long and takes great effort and a lot of prayer. And good preachers don’t discourage those who struggle. And they diligently explain what it means to be a new creation and to be the body of Christ and to be lights in the middle of this dark world.
One of the marks of a true Christian church is that the Word of God is faithfully and truly preached. Now, that is what you must expect from me. Elders, those are things that you must listen for. One of your jobs is to ensure that the Word of God is preached in this church. And if I’m not doing it, you need to tell me that.
But, notice that Paul goes on to say,
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
They will turn their ears form the truth and turn aside to myths. One of the great myths that is preached in our wealthy society today is the myth “Jesus and…” You can have Jesus and money. You can have Jesus and the pleasures of this world… you can have Jesus and keep all your old friends and do all the old things you once did…Preachers with good gift of gab and poor grasp on theology preach the “health and wealth” gospel to thousands. Why? Because that’s what people want to hear.
Jesus preached against this.
“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
Jesus told the rich young ruler to give away all his money to the poor and come and follow him. But, we find ways to keep that from applying to us.
Preachers who deemphasize sin and emphasize “self esteem” preach to thousands. Why? Because that’s what they want to hear. No there’s nothing wrong with self esteem. As Christians, we believe that we were created in God’s image and we believe that Jesus saved us to be like himself. So we should have a good self image. But, that cannot come at the expense of failing to call sin, sin, and with failing to call you and me to repentance. Remember that our scripture tells us that good sermon “rebukes” and “warns.”
Kids applaud speakers who make fun of their parent’s generation—who try to tell them how out of the touch their parents are. They like teachers who say things that are contrary to what their parents have taught them. The Bible, however, tells us to honor our fathers and mothers and listen to their instruction.
We applaud preachers who attack the evils of our secular world, but ignore sins that plague us as Christians. Yes, homosexual acts are wrong. Gay marriage is wrong. But, it’s not these things that really plague our Christian homes today. Rather, it’s things like infidelity, pornography, abuse, and self-centeredness. That’s what is ruining our families. Jesus tells us to remove the log in our own eye, before we try to remove the speck in our neighbor’s eye. (Matthew 7: 3- 5)
Do we leave sermons thinking, “Oh that was a great sermon for so and so to hear?” Or do we listen to hear for how the Word of God—how Jesus speak to us and he calls me to repentance. I could keep giving examples, but I think the point is made. It all comes down to a single question that each of us must answer honestly in his/her own heart. Are we seeking to be comfortable, to have an emotional experience, to be entertained? Or are we seeking to be like Jesus-- are we seeking to follow him?
Before the stock market crashed in 1929, there were those who warned investors against some of the practices that eventually led to the crash. And they had very good reasons for what they were saying. But, the wealthy investors, who were making more money than they ever had before, didn’t listen. We know the rest of the story, don’t we? The market crashed. And many of these investors lost everything. Some even committed suicide.
Today, in a world of false teachers who tell us what we want to hear, our Lord calls,
3“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
15“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. (Matthew 7: 15- 20)
People of God, to whom are you listening? What road are you following? AMEN!