In this lesson I use the term "preach" to include only that which is
directed to accountable people who have not obeyed the gospel of Christ. I
realize that preaching, as we use the word today, may be for the purpose of
comforting the sorrowing, encouraging the faint and strengthening the weak.
By the word "convict," I mean putting people to shame for not being on the
Lord's side in the battle against sin and the devil; to make them feel
guilty of great sin against God and his holy Son.
And by the word "sinners," I mean all accountable people who have not
obeyed the gospel as revealed in the New Testament. And by this, I mean
people who have not believed in Jesus as the sinless Son of God, who have
not confessed that faith, and who have not repented of their sins and have
not been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of their
sins. (Acts 2:38).
The preaching that convicts sinners is preaching that makes them think.
The gospel of Christ is directed to, and appeals to, the intellect of
people. It is composed of facts and truths to be believed. These facts and
truths must be accepted without doubt or quibble.
Not only must people be made to think, but they must be made to feel. The
gospel of Christ contains promises and warnings that appeal to the emotions
of people. The promises of forgiveness of sins, adoption into the family of
God, providential care throughout life and eternal life with the Lord and
all the redeemed of all time should cause people to love God and his Son
who make these things possible.
But thinking and feeling are not enough. People must be brought to action
if they ever become the children of God. Merely saying, "Lord, I believe,
please save me" is not enough. When the gospel was first preached, people
believed it, repented of their sins and were baptized for the remission of
their sins, and were added to the church which Christ saves. (Acts 2:41,
47; Eph. 5:23). What kind of preaching will accomplish this?
- Preaching that makes people realize they are against God. Jesus
said, "He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not
with me scattereth abroad." (Matt. 12:30). There is no middle ground.
One is either for the Lord, or for the devil.
Those who are usually classified as "good moral people" think they are
too good to be sent to hell to be with Satan and all the immoral people for all
eternity. And there are many deeply religious people, like the men at Ephesus,
(Acts 19:1-5), who are satisfied with what they have been taught, but who
have never been baptized into Christ. These people must be made to realize that
they are against God until they come into Christ in God's appointed way.
People will respond in different ways to this kind of preaching. First,
the hearts of some will be broken. They will weep for themselves and their
parents who never heard that kind of preaching. Others will rebel, curse the
preacher and swear that they will never listen to him again. Many treated Jesus
and his apostles like this.
Many preachers today are afraid they will lose their attendance and
their jobs if they do that kind of preaching. They must be made to realize that
if they don't do this kind of preaching they will lose their souls in hell for
not having the courage to do what the Lord wants them to do, and what they must
do if they ever save people from sin.
- Preaching that makes people realize they hate God. Jesus said,
"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the
other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other." (Matt. 6:24).
Every accountable person hates God or the devil; holds to God and despises the
devil, or holds to the devil and despises God. There is no middle ground where
a man hates neither God nor the devil or despises neither God nor the devil.
The "good moral man" says, "I realize I do not obey God, but I still love
him." But Jesus said, "If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments." (John 14:15).
There is no such thing as loving the Lord and refusing, or neglecting, to obey
him. This conclusion must be impressed upon people until they respond to the gospel
call, or openly declare themselves against God and all that is pure and holy. Jesus
said, "Ye are my friends, if ye do the things which I command you." (John 15:14).
Every person is either a friend of the devil, or a friend of the Lord. But if
one does not keep the Lord's commandments he is not a friend of the Lord, but a
friend of the devil.
The devil needs "good moral people" in his army. There are many people who
will not be influenced by murderers, adulterers, and drunkards, but they will be
influenced to stay out of the Lord's army by these "good moral people." This
conclusion must be impressed upon people until they enlist in the Lord's army,
or openly declare that they prefer to serve in the devil's army and go to hell
with him.
- Preaching that makes people realize they are defiled and unfit
for heaven. Sin defiles and pollutes the soul. People at Corinth are said to have
been great sinners, defiled by sin, but they were washed from their uncleanness.
(1 Cor. 6:11).
Paul speaks of the church as having been "cleansed by the washing of water
with the word." (Eph. 5:26). He also says we have been saved by the mercy of God
"through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit."
(Titus 3:5).
Paul says all have sinned and that there is none righteous, no not one, so
all need to be cleansed from the defilement of sin. (Rom. 3:10). If one never
bathes his body he soon becomes unfit for polite society. So one who is never cleansed
from the defilement of sin is unfit for the society of heaven. This truth needs to be
pressed upon people until they confess they are unclean and need to be washed in the
blood of the Lamb, or until they show their true colors and openly reject the Lord.
- Preaching that makes people realize they prefer to be with the devil.
God created men with the ability to compare good and evil, to conclude which they
prefer, and to live according to their preference. When people say they prefer to
live for God, but go on living for the devil, they are self-deceived or they are not
telling the truth.
Jesus died for every man, making it possible for every person to live for
him. Paul said, "He died for all, that they that live should no longer live unto
themselves, but unto him who for their sakes died and rose again," (2 Cor. 5:15).
God has not elected certain individuals to go to heaven and certain others
to go to hell. He gave his Son to die for all that whosoever will may come to the
tree of life and live forever. And those who live for the devil are doing so simply
because they prefer to.
If God had not made us with the ability to choose between him and the devil,
one might be excused for living for the devil. But since we have the ability to choose,
there is no excuse for preferring to live for the devil. This point must be pressed
upon people with unrelenting force after they have been taught how to choose God.
- Preaching that makes people realize that all who live for the
devil will go to the devil when they die. There is no such thing as enjoying the
pleasures of sin in this world and having eternal life with God in the world to come.
The choice we make in this life between God and the devil will determine which one we
will be with in the next world.
There are two general classes who are going to the devil — the religious and the
nonreligious. Jesus said there are some who will say, "Lord, Lord..." but will not be
allowed to enter heaven (Matt. 7:21). Many will claim to have served him, done many
wonderful works in his name, but he will say, "I never knew you: depart from me, ye that
work iniquity." (Matt. 7:23).
That makes it necessary for gospel preachers today to point out unscriptural doctrines
and practices so plainly that all can understand and make a choice between that which is right
and that which is wrong. This is classed by many as "negative preaching," and they avoid it as
they would a plague. But Jesus did it (Matt. 15 and 23), and the apostles did it.
(2 Tim. 2:16-18), and love for religious people who are deceived should force us to do it.
The next class of people going to the devil, of course, are the nonreligious people.
They have chosen to live for the devil because they prefer that kind of life. They are not
deceived, but simply prefer not to have God in their knowledge. They love the world and the
things of this world rather than the things of God. They are unfit for the association of
the Lord and the saints of all ages. The lake that burns with fire and brimstone, where the
devil and his angels are, is the only fit place left for them.
Gospel preachers are duty-bound to press this lesson upon them with such force that
they will either turn from their wicked ways, or openly declare this to be their choice.
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