Preach the Word!
By Tom Gilbreath
After years of being rocked by waves of scandal, the Church today feels like it’s facing a tsunami. 1 Peter 4:15-16 draws a distinction between suffering because you did something wrong and suffering “as a Christian.” Being persecuted for the faith is one thing; being prosecuted for wrongdoing is something else entirely. I know that people can be falsely accused. But too often, the accusations are true.
Why is this happening? Rather than question the motives of accusers, the Church needs to assess itself and its current trajectory. Are our churches Christ-focused or money crazy; Christ-exalting or all about the promotion of a man or woman?
When the Bible speaks of “the world,” it can mean one of several things, including the global system that Jesus said Satan presides over as “prince” (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11). 1 John 2:16 is an example of this meaning. “For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not of the Father but is of the world.” When the “pride of life” takes over a pulpit, it opens hearts and minds to “the lust of the flesh” and “the lust of the eyes.”
“The pride of life” wants “all that is in the world.” It evaluates itself according to worldly measurements — things like crowd size, money, popularity, personal power, approval, and accolades. It conforms its morality to the world’s ever-changing systems of ethics. It wants the world to see it as fashionable and witty, hip and trendy. It emphasizes virtue-signaling over actual care for others. It shudders to think that anyone would see it as weird or out of step. The pride of life takes us to a place where mercurial fashions trump eternal verities, where right and wrong are decided by majority opinion. It may have started with churches looking for ways to relate truth to the world, but instead, thousands of churches have become the world.
It’s so easy for a pastor to seek power, control, money, adulation, and fame rather than the approval of God. While some Christians suffer constant threat of death for their faith, other parts of the church are embarrassed to mention the blood of Christ or the hope of His soon return. This comes from seeking the world’s favor rather than God’s.
Jesus must be Lord and Savior. To place anyone or anything else in those positions, no matter how spiritual they may sound, is idolatry. If God condemns the makers of idols (Deuteronomy 27:15), how much more those who make idols of themselves.
1 Timothy 4:1 warns, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.” The King James Bible says, “…giving heed to seducing spirits….” In Paul’s next letter to young Timothy, he gives an admonition that all Christians, especially ministers, must take seriously. 2 Timothy 4:1-2 says, “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!”
May those last three words animate the pens of a million ready writers. May they permeate youth groups, worship teams, Sunday Schools, and all our conversations. May we, the followers of Jesus, go beyond worldly pretense and enter the realm “…of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). God’s omnipotence is always enough. We activate it when we “Preach the Word!”
