Push Back the Pendulum
It’s sad to me that there is more emphasis today on God’s forgiveness than there is on the need for holiness. I understand the desire to reach out to sinners and assure them that God can forgive them no matter what they’ve done. There is a need for that. I also know that it’s important to extend hope to the Believer who lost his way for a time and now worries that God will have nothing to do with him. We are doing a disservice when we preach forgiveness without repentance, however.
Stories are told about preachers of old who would speak of hell fire and brimstone. No doubt some decided that there needed to be a balance, and so began the lighter preaching that we have today. Unfortunately, the pendulum has swung too far the other way. We should be preaching love and judgment, forgiveness and righteousness. The aim should not be to scare people into the Kingdom, but neither should we coddle those whose hearts are not where they need to be with the Lord.
I have come to appreciate churches who preach through the Bible since it makes it harder to gloss over the portions of Scripture that we would rather not talk about. I miss songwriters like Keith Green who challenged people not to be Asleep in the Light. We are living in an age of overall apathy and contentedness. I would like to challenge us all to dig into the Word, go back to the absolutes as the Freemans sang, learn what is right and what is wrong. God does forgive, and I am so thankful for that, but He first calls us to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Him. If you are a pastor, worship leader, evangelist, or a layperson who has opportunities to share your faith, be sure that you are presenting a balanced message so that your listeners understand what it really means to be a Christian.
You are absolutely right Sony. This last Sunday Pastor Mike spoke from the scriptures and from his heart (less research & more ole fashion “are you ready” wake-up call preachin’). We need to reach as many as we can with the time we have left on this earth. By the end of the service, we had 1 get saved, 2 become church members, 2 rededicated their lives to Christ, and 2 are now excited to be Baptized. We had some shoutin’ and a whole lot of praisin’ goin’ on in the House of the Lord!
The truth can be scary and tough but most want the truth and we need to quit coddling and prepare some to be saints & equip current saints to stand in our Faith, esp. as times wax worse and worse. But yes… with that tough love we know that the Lord is with us always, unto the end! PTL!