It has become a common practice in some churches to take a survey of the congregation to find out their likes and dislikes and then tailor the preaching to fit what the people want. Therefore, preaching becomes an exercise in "ear tickling" (2 Tim. 4:3) and allows man to set the agenda for preaching topics. Just as in the days of Isaiah, people are clamoring for the "smooth things" (Isaiah 30:10). As a consequence, many preachers are preaching on the popular concerns of the day such as coping with cancer, loneliness, old age, stress, self-esteem, etc. Many preachers make a concerted effort to preach that which is pleasing to all and offensive to none.
The result of this approach to preaching is that there is really no gospel preaching at all. The message [of] the Bible is so watered down with peripheral matters that people can't tell whether they are lost or not. Some preachers seem to be afraid to explain how one can be lost and need salvation. After all, if you let folks know they are lost, they might be offended.
Evidently Paul was not worried about offending folks. He asked "Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?" (Gal. 4:16). He did not take a survey among the Galatian churches to find out what the people wanted to hear, he told them what they needed to hear. He exposed the sins of the Corinthians brethren and called for repentance (2 Cor. 6:1-3). Peter warned of the judgment to come and pleaded with folks to be ready (2 Peter 3:10-13). John named those who were causing trouble in the church (3 John 9), not being concerned about his own popularity. James rebuked those guilty of showing respect of persons and the improper use of the tongue (James 2:1-13; 3:1-12). Jude, without concern for hurting someone's feelings, rebuked the false teachers of his day and exposed their sins (Jude 4).
It is not a matter of being insensitive to people's feelings, but a matter of being sensitive to what God wants preached. It is God that is to be pleased, not men. Preaching that pleases God does not always please men. Jeremiah's message was not pleasing to the king so he put him in prison (Jer. 32). Yet, Jeremiah observed that "it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps" (Jer. 10:23). God commanded Jonah saying, "preach the preaching I bid thee" (Jonah 3:2). It was not a matter of pleasing the people of Nineveh but of pleasing the God of Heaven. Timothy was sent to Ephesus to "preach the word" (2 Tim. 4:2-4) not to take a survey to find out what the people wanted him to preach. His concern was not how to make the people feel good about themselves but how to bring them into conformity with the word of God. Gospel preaching includes "the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27). May we leave man's wisdom concerning what to preach and get back to God's wisdom preached without fear or favor (I Cor. 1:20-21).
| --Via Sound Doctrine Rising Star, Texas |