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Monday, July 2, 2012

Why Preaching is Constantly Needed

2 Timothy 4:3-4 the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

Yesterday we considered that preaching matters because it is commanded by God.  We have also understood that preaching matters due to the character of scripture leading to it.  Today we want to consider the third reason why preaching matters: It is Constantly Needed

Why Preaching is Constantly needed
Sadly, that time is not future – it is now.  Earlier in 2 Timothy 3:13 we read – “But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them”. 

What makes this prediction of our age so sad is that those who increasingly reject sound preaching and doctrine are not only the hardened unbelievers in the world, but moreso the professing Christians connected to the church.  Not all of those professing Jesus with their lips necessarily possess Him by faith in their hearts.  (Matthew 13:26-29; Mark 7:6)  In these last days we are finding more and more professing Christians exchanging the truth of God for lies woven on the looms of men. 

Preaching is constantly needed because error constantly abounds
Many are increasingly denying the existence of hell and promoting the idea that one can be saved apart from hearing the name of Jesus. Our Christian book stores are becoming more characterized by self-help resource centers rather than dying to self at the cross.  Man, not Christ, is how churches at large builds their programs and their progress. 

Preaching is constantly needed because God is constantly raising up men to equip God's people
Every age of the church has called for God called men and God led churches to raise the standard and clarion call of God to a darkening age.2  As the preacher Martin Lloyd Jones once exclaimed: “a lecture or a lesson can be given next week, next month or next time.  But a true sermon must be delivered now!” 

We are living in a day and age that Amos describes as being a “famine in the land”. (Amos 8:12)  Thankfully God appoints and calls forth Godly men and women to proclaim, live out and carry forth the true Gospel in every generation.  The church today needs God-called men who as pastors will feed and equip the God called men and women of God to carry forth a God-centered, Christ exalting, Spirit empowered and Biblically sound Christianity. 
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1 The recent book by popular pastor Rob Bell entitled: "Love Wins" proposes that God will in the end "win over" every creature, demon and even satan himself with His love.  It may take a while, but love will win in the end. To establish his point, Bell denies the reality of hell and exclusivity of the Gospel.

2 In the past 21 centuries of church history, we see examples of Godly men raised up to preach against the darkness of their generation.  Some examples would be: The Apostles in the first century; Athanasius in the 4th century; Augustine in the 5th century; Gottshalk in the 9th century; Anslem of Canterbury in the 13th century; John Wycliffe & John Huss in the 14th century; Martin Luther in the 16th century; Jonathan Edwards in the 17th century; John and Charles Wesley in the 18th century; Charles Spurgeon in the 19th Century; Martin Lloyd Jones; Adrian Rogers & D. James Kennedy; John MacArthur & Charles Stanley in the 20th and 21st centuries.