“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (2 Timothy 4:1-4)
A local church is going to be about as strong and sound as the preaching it receives and is willing to endure and support. Paul's solemn charge to Timothy had a sense of urgency about it. Preach the word now, while brethren will endure it, or face a time when they will not. For several years I have been paying particular attention to the dominant concerns about the caliber of preachers and their preaching content in churches today. A typical comment expressing this frustration is: “I am getting tired of...hearing ‘fluff’.” This person’s explanation of “fluff” was stated as, preaching that contained very little real Bible teaching.
Strong congregations will not be built nor maintained on “fluff.” The sad thing about it all is that many of today’s churches had rather have “fluff” than real spiritual food. As long as churches demand it, there will be those who are willing to be paid to spin it out for them. Preaching for money is not new, for the prophets of the Old Testament era, spoke of its prevalence. The prophet Micah said, “Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry ‘Peace’ when they have something to eat, but declare war against him who puts nothing into their mouths...its heads give judgment for a bribe; its priests teach for a price; its prophets practice divination for money; yet they lean on the LORD and say, ‘Is not the LORD in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us’.” (Micah 3:5, 11 – ESV)
Sermons and classes with real doctrinal content are held in disfavor by many of today's churches. The demand is for more "relevant"(?) matters. Themes more suited for psychologists and sociologists are replacing basic Bible topics. Topics that address so-called “real problems” and “real life concerns” of “today's Christian” are replacing those that deal with what the Book says about man's basic spiritual problem, sin; and his real basic needs--conviction of sin and the salvation of his soul. Lectures aimed more at enhancing man's present happiness and welfare than ensuring his eternal well-being are by far the most widely received. Preachers that entertain and make brethren feel good about themselves, rather than producing godly sorrow leading to repentance or any real depth of scriptural knowledge, are given the most favored status among brethren. Sermons that really teach the Bible are considered, “uninteresting”, “too-structured” and even “crude” by some. Subjects more suitable for a civic club seminar are commonly announced. All too often preachers who resort to such are asked to find someplace else to do their preaching. A congregation constantly fed on "fluff" will not develop an appetite for sound doctrine. Any who may have had an appetite will soon lose it. Without a desire for sound doctrine churches are vulnerable to all kinds of fables.
Neither motivational hype nor emotional manipulation is gospel preaching. Such may produce increased activity of a sort. It may even build and inspire audiences after a fashion. It may enhance the speaker's standing with brethren as a dynamic speaker. But, it will not produce a well-grounded faith based upon a "thus saith the Lord." All preaching must follow the pattern that Paul outlined to Timothy. In form, it must have a well-rounded combination of reproving, rebuking and exhorting. In substance, it must have teaching (doctrine) at the base. It is no accident that Paul, in the preceding chapter, shows the scriptures to be profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).
Book, chapter, and verse preaching/teaching that quotes or reads scriptures and then makes clear applications of the reading seldom sweeps folks along on clouds of ecstasy, nor does it flow quite as smoothly as Dale Carnegie trained orations. It is not likely to make folks jump up and down with uncontrollable joy nor roll in the aisles with laughter. It will likely cause them to mostly sit and ponder on the validity of the message…comparing it with the scriptures before them. Once convicted of the validity of the message, they will then be motivated to act with both an intelligent and emotional response to the great message preached. They are then moved by the power of the gospel preached more than the charismatic personal power of the preacher/teacher or dynamic qualities of his delivery.
We need preachers who will preach it just like Paul and other inspired men wrote it; preachers who will preach the word in season and out, without regard to whether churches will endure and support it. We need churches that will not only endure sound doctrine, but demand it of those they support in local work, and throughout the world. Unless we have this we will continue seeing churches slide toward religious error and philosophical foolishness and away from the sound doctrine based on "what saith the scriptures."
The current situation and trend of today is not new, as it plagued God’s people Israel in the Old Testament. The prophet Jeremiah described a similar situation of “fluff” preaching in his day and asked a most sobering thought that needs to be given urgent attention. He said, “An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?” (Jeremiah 5:30-31)
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