This is longer than I usually put in but it is an awesome article that I got from our son Ken Z Scott that was actually from his friend, Jim. I was asked to post it and I thought this was a good spot.
He is covering a topic on which I have been considering writing. I may still write something but this is certainly something that should stir all of our hearts and cause us to examine our hearts. We need revival. Where does it begin? In me.
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THE PRIMARY MISSION OF THE PREACHER IS TO PREACH THE GOSPEL!
Jesus came into this world to seek and to save the lost. The Son of God didn’t come into the world to condemn the world, but to save it! The world was, and is, ALREADY condemned. Jesus Christ came to die for the UNGODLY. Most of the people I have the opportunity to speak or preach to fall solidly in that category. Jesus was THE sacrifice lamb, the sins of the ungodly were laid on him, and in the shedding of his blood there is redemption and reconciliation; “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him.” Like the song says, “He is mighty to save!” Jesus is mighty to save! I am not ashamed of the gospel OF CHRIST, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.
You, like Paul, have been given “the ministry of reconciliation.” Like the apostle, you are an “ambassador for Christ,” speaking in Christ’s behalf as though he himself were speaking and imploring men to be reconciled to God through you. Your task is to display Christ crucified before the world, as the ONLY remedy for sin; the ONLY redemption from sin; and the ONLY salvation from eternal death! It is not your mission to condemn the world, it is already condemned. It IS your mission to reconcile men to God.
At this late season in my life, I refuse to be concerned with the censures of others that claim the “good news” of the gospel is really the “bad news” that “you’re going to hell because of your sins.” Strictly speaking, that isn’t the GOSPEL, it’s the LAW. The law is good when it is used lawfully, that is for the purpose it was given: to be “our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” The law brings the knowledge of sin, and that is how it should be used: to bring men to the point of desperation where they realize what they are, and who God is.
God’s word is sharp. Will you wield it as a butcher in your zeal, or will you use it as a wise surgeon does–to repair and to heal, and sometimes to excise malignant cancers?
Do you care more for how you appear to men? Do you care more that your preaching be “polished?” Do you care more for whether your peers esteem you or your message? Do you spend your leisure time with the TV, DVDs, and video games? Do you indulge any sin in secret? Are you guilty of gluttony? Do your time and money belong to the Lord? Are you a vessel meet for the Master’s use? Do you labor in fervent prayer with God? Do you diligently study to show yourself approved UNTO GOD? Do you expect to meet God in prayer and in his word each and every day? These are some of the questions the Holy Spirit has impressed on me concerning myself. Examine yourself.
Separate yourself unto God. Forego the pleasures of earth even though they may be lawful. Set your sights on eternity. Like Abraham, seek after that city whose builder and maker is GOD! Draw near to God for HE is your exceeding great reward!
Be compelled to tell the lost about the abundant love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, and apply it indiscriminately to all–you are commanded by the Lord to preach the gospel to “every” creature.
When you warn the lost about the wages of their sins, is it after you’ve agonized in prayer pleading and interceding for them before God–that HE will open their eyes and save them! Of George Whitefield it is said, “He seldom if ever got through a sermon without tears.” WHERE ARE YOUR TEARS, PREACHER?
Dare you stand before men on behalf of Christ without your heart melted in your breast? Do you have the mind which Jeremiah had? Consider his heart for the obstinate sinners of his day: “But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the LORD’S flock is carried away captive.” (Jer 13:17)
The professing church is captivated by the world. Pastors, Evangelists and teachers are in bondage to pornography and the fires of heart holiness are extinguished.. The church has become a center for drama and entertainment, instead of a bastion of righteousness. Sound biblical doctrine is jettisoned in favor of messages of self-help so that men can have their “best life now.” Many men of God today are light and vain persons that make people laugh and feel good–gone are the days when preachers were sober-minded and diligent to guard the flock from wolves, imploring men to repent and put their faith in Christ. Today people are “made” Christians and “told” they are saved, by repeating a prayer and occupying a pew on Sunday morning, even though they have never felt godly sorrow for their sins, they have never hungered and thirst after righteousness, they have never loathed their sins, nor abhorred their self on account of them, they have never come to hate sin, and they have never found, as John Flavel put it, “Christ altogether lovely!” HAVE YOU STILL NO TEARS, PREACHER?
When YOU plead with the lost to repent, is it because you’ve fixed your eyes firmly on eternity, having removed them from the vanities of this earth? When you plead with them to repent and believe the gospel is it because hell’s fire is so real in your mind your can feel the heat scorching the bottom of your feet, and because you can hear the weeping and wailing cries of the eternally damned ringing in your ears? If you’re overcome with passion is it because some of your hearers may never hear the gospel again, and because you may never have another chance to preach the gospel again? HAVE YOU STILL NO TEARS, PREACHER?
We warn the lost of sin’s consequences, of God’s holy standard of perfect righteousness by which every person’s life will be measured, of the judgment to come, and of the bliss of heaven and the torment of hell.
But the central message of the gospel of Christ is the GRACE OF GOD, the MERCY OF GOD, and the LOVE OF GOD demonstrated in the cross! There Christ expiated sin and propitiated the wrath of God, so that now, whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life!
Like the angel said, “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people, for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” This is the “good news” of the gospel of Christ.
So my street preaching brethren, proclaim the good news of the gospel of God’s grace to those who are still the slaves of sin, as all of us once were. Away with the “God hates you and has an awful, horrible eternity planned for you” message. When you warn the lost, do it in earnest compassion. If you feel compelled to be the “thundering Old Testament prophet pronouncing God’s wrath and judgment on the nations,” remember to sprinkle your pronouncements with the gospel of peace; after all, we are New Covenant believers and carry the primary message of the cross to a world that is without God, without Christ, and without hope.
