Walking Away from TruthIn Other Words . . . Refuse to Mourn Sin & You Sacrifice the Joy of Salvation

“Is it possible we could experience the joy of our salvation

if we mourned [over our sin] as if someone had died?
We cannot experience joy without mourning.”

~ Pastor Robert Morris,
from Sermon: “Those Who Mourn Are Happy”

Here's the story:
. . . Jody (not her real name) says she left the church because the pastor preached that you cannot be saved unless you read the book of Romans.

Jody disagreed and just up-and-left. Walked out in anger. She abandoned her ministry in the church, uprooted her entire family and changed churches. And -- of course -- people started talking.

You know how it is in churches.

Before long the story also included this: Pastor told Jody she wasn’t a Christian because she listened to Christian radio. Other rumors were even more absurd. And ridiculous. And completely false.

You know how it is in churches.

Here’s the truth. . . the pastor preached a series of sermons from the Book of Romans and -- as is the case whenever the Gospel of Salvation is presented -- some people were offended and turned resentful.

Instead of accepting the truth of Scripture, some people choose to make a pageant of their pride, they get others all stirred up, and they eventually just leave the church. Sometimes they take others with them. They would rather sacrifice the true JOY of Salvation than to MOURN their own sin and depravity.

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

~ I Corinthians 2:14

Sadly, there are many people in churches today who are "without the Spirit." They simply cannot "accept the things that come from the Spirit of God" through Scripture because it is "foolishness to [them]."

. . . See, it's not until we reach the third chapter in Romans that the plan of Salvation is even presented. The JOY comes three whole chapters into the book! It takes the first (l-o--n---g) three chapters to present the problem of SIN and depravity. SIN is the prerequisite to SALVATION. Without sin, what's the point??!!

Lost people do not want to hear that they're sinners! They just want to be "saved." They just want the joy and happiness and Love of God bestowed upon them. They skip the first three Chapters. They never really acknowledge their depravity and sin before God, yet they say they're saved. Are they? Are they really saved? Sometimes people hear the first three chapters -- get angry -- and just walk away.

Until we accept and mourn the fact that we are depraved sinners, we cannot experience the joy of salvation!

The truth is (and most of my readers will “get” this), Jody did not want to accept and confront the fact that she was/is a sinner. . .

No. The pastor did not tell Jody or anyone else -- from the pulpit or anywhere else that you cannot be saved without reading the book of Romans. What he did was [quite eloquently and straightforwardly] explain that. . .

More than any other book in God’s Word, the Book of Romans changes people’s lives. And Satan hates this. Satan is alive and well and kicking with great force in churches where the Bible is opened to the Book of Romans because Satan does not want people to change.

For the most part, Satan does not have a problem with the Bible. In fact, he likes passages about God's great love and acceptance and mercy. . . He likes verses about joy and promises of a full life -- Matthew 11:28-29, John 10:10, John 6:35, John 6:37, Revelation 22:17. Satan likes it when people believe they can be happy and joyful in Jesus outside of true repentance and true salvation.

You must remember that Satan is an angel of light. He is a deceiver. And he can and does use Scripture to deceive. This is why it is so important that we learn to "rightly divide the word of truth." (II Timothy 2:15)

Whenever the Word of God is opened to the Book of Romans, where Real Salvation is available if/when we acknowledge and mourn our sinful and depraved state, Satan always goes into immediate action to hinder and impede the message.

Until we accept and mourn the fact that we are depraved sinners, we cannot experience the joy of salvation!

There is no other book of the Bible which has been so instrumental in changing lives and in impacting the church as Paul’s Letter to the Romans. Most, if not all, of the great revivals and reformation in the history of the church have been directly related to the Book of Romans.

← In 386 A.D., Aurelius Augustine received Jesus Christ as his Savior after reading a passage from the Book of Romans. He went on to become one of the church’s most outstanding leaders and theologians.


A thousand years later, →
Martin Luther wrote, “Night and day I pondered Romans until I grasped the truth. I felt myself to be reborn. This passage of Paul became to me a gateway to heaven.”

← Several centuries later (May 24, 1738 to be precise), a minister named John Wesley wrote this about his study in the Book of Romans: “I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for my salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins. . . . ”

In assessing the importance →
of the Book of Romans, John Calvin said, “When one gains a knowledge of this Epistle, he has an entrance opened to him to all the most hidden treasures of Scripture.”

← The famous sixteenth-century Bible translator William Tyndale wrote of Romans: “It is the principle and most excellent part of the New Testament... No man can read it too oft, or study it too well; for the more it is studied, the easier it is; the more it is chewed, the pleasanter it is. . . the more it is searched, the precious’er things are found….”

It has been said that Romans will delight the greatest logician and captivate the mind of the consummate genius, yet it will bring tears to the humblest soul and refreshment to the simplest mind.

Until we mourn the fact that we are sinners, we cannot experience the joy of salvation!

And Oh! How Satan hates the Book of Romans!

Satan doesn't mind simple sermons about love and happiness and kindness and living our best life now. . . .

Satan doesn't even mind sermons about Biblical history because he can always use science to confuse people.

But the Book of Romans is primarily a book of doctrine - this is where Satan meets God! It's the battle ground of Scripture. And it answers all our questions:

► What is the good news of God?

► Is Jesus really God?
► What is God like?
► How can God send people to hell?

► Why do men reject God and His Son?
► Why are there false religions and idols?
► What is man’s biggest sin?

► Why is there evil in the world?

► What is the standard by which God judges people?

► How can a person who has never heard about God be held spiritually responsible?
► Who is a true Jew?
► Can any person keep God’s laws perfectly?
► How can a person know he is a sinner?
► Where can people find real peace and hope?
► What exactly is grace?
► Why is living a Christian life such a struggle?

If you’ve ever asked yourself these questions, you need to study the Book of Romans. Especially the first three chapters.

"Is it possible we could experience the joy of our salvation if we mourned [over our sin] as if someone had died?
We cannot experience joy without mourning.”

"For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of . . . but the sorrow of the world worketh death."

~ II Corinthians 7:10

"Blessed are the poor in spirit:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. . . ."

~ Matthew 5:3

What is "poor in spirit?" It is the opposite of the haughty, self-assertive, and self-sufficient disposition that the world so much admires and praises. It is the opposite spirit of someone who chooses to walk away from the truth . . . .

~ Esthermay Bentley-Goossen

©2009 the Heart of a Pastor's Wife

This installment of InOtherWords in hosted by Michelle at Because I Love You.

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In Other Words. . . Acknowledge Sin - Gain Freedom!

“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
~ II Corinthians 3:17

. . . in its proper and accurate context, this verse is an explanation of the previous several verses.

In verse 13, Paul points out that back in the Old Testament when God spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai, Moses’ face shown with a reflection of the Glory of God, and Moses would put a veil on his face so that the people would not see the glory fade away. . . for whatever reason. I think theologian's debate over this. Nonetheless. . .

Paul interprets this as a picture of the hardness of the minds of the people: "Their minds were hardened" (v. 14). And he compares it to the fact that there is still a veil between the people’s minds and the true meaning of the law of God in Scripture. Verse 14b: "Until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted."

In other words. . . the true meaning of the law is veiled (i.e., hidden) to the minds of the Jewish people (and Gentiles!) -- until they turn to the Messiah. Verse 14c: "Because [the veil] is removed in Christ."

Verse 16 says: "Whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away." In other words, in Christ the mind is freed to see the true meaning of the Old Testament law. The veil of hardness is removed.
. . . And verse 17 gives an explanation of why that is -- because

". . . the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."

The apostle reminds the Corinthians that, though the veil is over their minds, the Lord is in their hearts and the hope of freedom comes from that great fact. He also brings out the fact that the Lord IS the Spirit.

He’s not confusing the Trinity here. He’s just saying that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are so identified in both purpose and function that they seem to be the same.

“Walking in fellowship with Christ,” and “Walking in the fullness of the Spirit” are not two separate experiences. They are the same.

When we walk in fellowship with Christ, the veil has been removed and we have liberty.

We have freedom!

We have nothing to hide!

What do you hide? Anything? I have often thought that the blog-world is a wonderful place to hide.

In fact, there have been many times over the last 3 years that I have regretted using my real name because I’d like to be more hidden.

This is exactly what Paul is talking about. When a person if free, they don’t have to defend their reputation. They don’t have to hide behind an image. They have nothing to preserve. They can be themselves. That is what freedom is.

Here’s the sad part of living in today's society: “Having freedom” is interpreted as “Being Yourself.” And we're told that the way to be achieve this is to think about “me" and "my" goodness and "my" needs and "my" advantage, "my" efforts, and then defend and demand them.

Good Grief! Does this sound remotely familiar? Does the word "entitlement" mean anything? Does the phrase "felt-needs" mean anything? How about "New Evangelicalism?"

I won't go here now. If you're interested in that, just visit the Index.

The Word of God teaches freedom as an entirely different process. . . . Altogether different from the world's way.

The way to be yourself . . . the way to have real freedom . . . is to NOT be afraid to look at -- acknowledge -- and accept all the evil that is possible in our hearts and in our lives.

To the world, "having freedom" often (way too often!) includes freedom from the condemnation of sin. That's just flat-out against Scripture. Romans 3:23 says, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." To reject sin is to reject God and His Glory and . . . Freedom!

Unless we acknowledge and look directly at the sin in our lives, we have no way to comprehend - appreciate - realize - and receive the acceptance and approval of God. And without Him, there is no freedom, because . . .

. . . the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

~ II Corinthians 3:17

~ Esthermay Bentley-Goossen
© 2008 The Heart of a Pastor’s Wife

For More “In Other Words,” visit Karen at In Love W.I.T.H. Jesus

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Confronting Fundamentalism

I am thankful today for the Blogosphere where all of us are utterly free to express ourselves and agree or disagree with others in the community. We each have the unreserved right to write what we feel and moderate comments however we see fit in keeping with the spirit of our own blog.

The Heart of a Pastor’s Wife received this comment following Tuesday’s Post, “Hanging Christians. . . ”

. . . Don't you think Christians need to let up a little on preaching about sin and start emphasizing more love and acceptance of people who don't believe exactly like we think they should? Not everything is a sin! God is the final judge. Preaching about sin only makes people angry and drives them away from the church. Isn’t God the final judge? I just think that Christians need to learn more about love and acceptance and compassion. Christ was all these things.

With all proper respect to this commenter (who happens to maintain a perfectly attractive and purposeful blog), I disagree.

And in offering an explanation to a comment that I chose otherwise not to publish, I am calling attention to an issue that has effectively altered the Church over the last several decades.

First I should point out that I am not prancing through my church and neighborhood preaching to and labeling everyone I see a "sinner." (My husband did require that I take "Christian Diplomacy 101" as a pastor's wife.)

That said, I do fall into the “Fundamentalist” category when it comes to evangelical labels.

What exactly is a “Fundamentalist?” One meaning the dictionary gives is "one who is immovable from [her] beliefs."

Sadly, the trend over the last 20 years in the “evangelical” church is to lean away from the absolute Truth of God’s Word and the meaning of the term “Fundamentalist” has undergone a change in meaning.

Used to be that the term "fundamental" by definition, meant not only believing in and sharing the Gospel of Christ -- but also pointing out err. That is, showing others -- by the use of Scripture -- that we are by our very nature – intrinsically, inherently and naturally -- sinners.

But the evangelical movement has leaned away from the absolute Truth of God’s Word and has chosen instead to offer the Gospel of Love/Acceptance/Tolerance. The thinking is that to call someone a sinner might offend them. (Oh MY!)

To a Fundamentalist, this sacrifices the Truth of Salvation! And thereby the Truth of Scripture.

How can anyone come to a true faith in Jesus Christ without first seeing their sinful nature and their great need of salvation? The Book of Romans is very clear - and very much addresses sin in full -- and previous to -- the introduction of Grace and Love.

The Gospel of Love and Acceptance alone does NOT offer eternal salvation.

Today, the word “Fundamentalist” is often used as a term of mockery and ridicule – even contempt – against those who still believe that God’s Word is the absolute final authority on all things --including the portions that address behaviors that offend God.

The term “Fundamentalist” is also loosely interpreted to describe anyone who expresses any kind of belief in the teachings of the Bible.

So you can see that there is a collaborative effort made by both the secular media and some “Christians” to smear “Fundamentalists” with the image of being unloving, intolerant, unkind, judgmental, snobbish and unattractive. …All because Fundamentalists believe God’s Word is genuine, accurate and all-inclusive.

When the Apostle Paul was leaving the church in Ephesus, where he had ministered for three years, he reminded the Christians there, “I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.” (Acts 20:27) What he was saying was, “I have spoken the truth of God’s Good News to you. I spoke the whole truth. I left nothing out. I gave you all the facts.

Sounds a lot like,” Do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?”

Works well in the state and federal court systems.

Not so well in all churches.

The whole counsel of scripture includes a great deal about sin. If you really examine the major themes of the New Testament, you would find a great number of passages addressing people (including “Christians") who are not living as True Believers.

The entire Old Testament is a chronicle – the complete story – of mankind's sin against God. Beginning in the Garden of Eden and narrated right up to the destruction and rebuilding of the temple in The Book of Nehemiah.

Proverbs and Psalm are abounding with cautions and warnings and reprimands.

The entire New Testament in confrontive in nature. Every New Testament Epistle was written to a local church body with problems. (See I and II Corinthians, James, I and II Peter.)

Turn to the Gospels: In Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Jesus confronted people with Truth. Remember the Woman at the Well. (John 4:1-42) Jesus confronted her. He did it, of course, with abundant compassion, concern and kindness. But he did not offer that compassion, concern and kindness by itself. Had he done that, she would have walked away believing she was "okay in HIS sight." And she was not. He confronted her sin.

Remember Zacchaeus (Luke 19)? Remember Nicodemus (John 3)? How about the scathing rebuke of the Pharisees in Matthew 23?

As a writer with discernment, I fall on the side of "confrontive" rather than "tolerant and accepting." I never want anything I’ve written to be misconstrued. I never want anyone to misinterpret Scripture based on something I’ve written. A misunderstanding of God’s Word can/will have eternal consequences.

As a Christian Counselor, I recognize and appreciate that working with people is a delicate zone that love must guide.

Confronting in Love. What a calling!

It is not a bad thing to be a fundamentalist!

I am thankful that God's Words as revealed in the Bible are just as true today as when they were first spoken by chosen men of God under divine inspiration.

I am thankful that the solutions God provides in His Word are suitable for all the problems we face today.

I am thankful to be counted as one who believes in the absolute inerrant reliability of God’s Word.

- Esthermay Bentley-Goossen

© Copyright 2008 The Heart of a Pastor's Wife

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Is Preaching All That Important?

"Word and worship belong indissolubly to each other. All worship is an intelligent and loving response to the revelation of God, because it is the adoration of his Name. Therefore, acceptable worship is impossible without preaching. For preaching is making known the Name of the Lord, and worship is praising the Name of the Lord made known. Far from being an alien intrusion into worship, the reading and preaching of the Word are actually indispensable to it. The two cannot be divorced. Indeed, it is their unnatural divorce which accounts for the low level of so much contemporary worship. Our worship is poor because our knowledge of God is poor, and our knowledge of God is poor because our preaching is poor. But when the Word of God is expounded to its fullness, and the congregation begins to glimpse the glory of the living God, they bow down in solemn awe and joyful wonder before his throne, It is preaching which accomplishes this, the proclamation of the Word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit of God. That is why preaching is unique and irreplaceable."
- From "I Believe in Preaching" London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1982), p. 82

Teaching historical and sound doctrine should be the passion of every church. A generation has arisen that seeks answers. And real answers are not found in a cursory understanding of God’s Word. Yet a generation has arisen that does not grasp simple Biblical concepts. A generation has arisen that has not been taught sound doctrine. A generation has arisen that cannot even sit still long enough to hear and listen to a sermon or Bible lesson and when they do, they hear topical sermons that with only a glance into God’s Word for a simple answers to complex contemporary issues. This produces superficial Christians who are no better than the world we are instructed to “go into.” (Matthew 28:19)

Defining Expository Preaching
Let me define expository preaching: Expository preaching is a kind of preaching that expounds upon the meaning of a particular text or passage of Scripture. It gives full meaning -- in context -- to what God's Word actually says and what it actually means. The defining characteristic of expository preaching is that it does not dwell on non-biblical examples. It does not focus on stories, jokes and anecdotes. Instead, it seeks to stay focused on Biblical text. In other words, expository preaching brings God's Word alive! It applies God's Word to today! And because every word of Scripture is God-breathed, expository preaching is the only avenue by which we really know God's heart. Don't you want to know all about Him?! Or do you prefer an out-of-context-soundbites understanding of the creator of the universe?

Let me make a comparison: I am homeschooling my children. At this point, they understand basic math: 1+1=2, 2+2=4, 4-1=3. I would not attempt at this point -- and no teacher begins -- teaching math by explaining long division or calculus. You need to understand the "whole counsel" of math beginning with counting to ten before you can solve quadratic equations.

In the same way, you cannot understand perplexing difficulties in your life or your children's lives or the life of your church if you simply open your Bible to one passage and rely solely upon it to address and solve the problem. Yet we do this all the time! We take pieces of Scripture -- out of both textural and historical context -- and attempt apply it to our lives and circumstances and we wonder why God doesn't bless us. Christians need the whole counsel of God's Word.

Studies prove that most "Christians" do not read their Bibles. To say that Bible illiteracy is rampant in America is black eye for a nation that thinks of itself as Christian. Sixty-five percent of Americans agree that the Bible "answers all or most of the basic questions of life." Amazingly, 28% of Americans who believe the Bible “answers all or most of the basic questions of life” say they rarely or never read the Bible. Therein lies the problem. An even smaller number actually study the Bible. The percentage of frequent readers, those who read the Bible at least once a week, has decreased from 40% in 1990 to 37% today. Only one American in seven reports an involvement with the Bible that goes beyond reading it (The Gallup Organization, October 20, 2000). These statistics are nearly a decade old! You know that they can only have gotten worse in the society in which we live.

So they're getting fed in church. Right? Think again. Most church members frown on the idea of studying the Bible in depth. Contact any church and ask about the attendance at its mid-week Bible Study. Or its Sunday evening service. It is a fact born of study and statistics that the majority of "Christians" in America prefer a feel-good-about-myself sermon about "God's Love" over an expository study of -- lets just choose . . . the Book of Romans or I Corinthians. And even then, the preaching should never come before or take precedence over the music/worship/drama portion of the Sunday morning church service.

The preaching in most churches is a secondary portion of the service when most people feel it's okay to leave either early or altogether. Yet -- for those who want the feel-good sermon about God's Love -- what a far more astounding understanding and grasp of "God's Love" when we understand the depths of ugly that He overlooked when bestowing such Love! The "Love of God" has profound and inexpressible meaning once you've read and fully understand the entire story! Have you ever read the book of Hosea in the context of a lesson on John 3:16? A good expository preacher has. If you have a good expository preacher, you have. The vast majority of Christians have not. And the vast majority of Christians don't care to read it either. They want sermons fed to them that make them feel good about themselves. They want sermons that do not offend anyone. They want a watered-down doctrine that does not confront or label or condemn. The sorry news for these people is that the Bible absolutely does confront and label and condemn.

Paul addressed this in II Timothy: "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." (II Timothy 4:3-4)

Here's what Martyn Lloyd Jones says about expository preaching: "One advantage in preaching through a book of the Bible… is that it compels us to face every single statement, come what may, and stand before it, and look at it, and allow it to speak to us. Indeed it is interesting to observe that not infrequently certain well-known Bible teachers never face certain Epistles at all in their expositions because there are difficulties which they are resolved to avoid."

e.g. Preaching Romans. . .
"Bible teachers never face certain Epistles at all in there expositions because there are difficulties which they are resolved to avoid." That's interesting. No wonder people are so Biblically illiterate. Pastors are afraid to preach God's Word! My own husband faced criticism when he preached from the Book of Romans. (Any surprises here?) Sadly -- so sadly -- people just didn't want to hear what Roman's had to say to them. Romans is but one example. And denominational boundries and theological differences are illigitimate arguments when people are unhappy over Scripturally-based preaching. When a body of belivers is confronted with the Truth of Scripture, troublemakers always rise to the surface. It's an old preachers' saying that "when you throw out the Word of God, the ones who 'yip' are the ones that got hit." Whether you're Methodist or Baptist or Lutheran -- Calvinist or Armenian, God's Word is God's Word. Truth is Truth -- and but for a few churches which could be categorized as cults, the entire Bible -- from Genesis to Revelation -- is still God's Word. (And "troublemakers" aren't so much troublemakers as they are blinded by satan to the Truth of God's Word.)

For Christians, an understanding of the Book of Romans is the crucial hinge on which Salvation rests: If you don't understand the book of Romans - you're not intellectually capable of understanding salvation. That's sounds more complicated and harsh than it is. And this is not to say you must sit and read vast passages of this Book everyday and study and research the original Greek meaning of every word in every passage. But. . . it is the very simple and elementary understanding that being human equals being full of sin, that makes the entire plan of salvation even necessary. How can you be saved, if you don't know what you are being saved from? But people don't want to hear about sin. Most pastors who've been preaching for a while will tell you that it is easier to reach an un-churched and completely biblically illiterate sinner on the street with the message of salvation than it is to reach the religious sinner sitting in a pew with a fifth-grade knowledge of Scripture. Maybe because sin is embodied in many activities which are practiced so readily in churches: envy, strife, deceit, malice, gossip, slander, insolence, arrogance, pride. Romans tells us that people invent ways of doing evil, that they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. (Romans 1:29-31)

Maybe its the gossip or envy part people don't like because they're engaged it . . . For whatever reason, something just hits too close to home and people get uncomfortable -- then they get angry -- then they gossip more -- then they begin to feel arrogant and heartless -- then they begin to slander -- and then they begin to invent ways of doing evil -- and before you know it, the preacher has created strife in the church. If the pastor just wouldn't preach from the Bible - none of this would happen.

Feel Good Sermons
"I fear that sometimes people in our church. . . want to be flattered more than they want to hear the truth. When you go to the doctor, do you just want a good report so you feel good when going home or do you want the truth?"

-- Mark Dever, Capital Hill Baptist Church, Feb 26, 2008, Southeastern Seminary Chapel

"The early church was met with persecution. Modern churches are met with a yawn."

-- Frank Page, SBC President and pastor of Taylors First Baptist, Taylors, SC, Feb 12, Southeastern Chapel

Modern day church-goers simply don't want to hear anything negative. My father (a pastor) was reprimanded once by a woman after he preached a sermon about hell! She thought it was wrong for a pastor to be so negative. Quite honestly, there's more negative in God's Word than there is positive when it comes to the human condition. And -- news alert! . . hell is real!

If pastors have to avoid expository preaching because -- as Martyn Lloyd Jones puts it -- "there are difficulties which they are resolved to avoid," what does that say about the future of the church? If pastors are having to water-down their messages to keep church attendance up, what does that say about the future of that rising generation with all the questions -- those in their teens and twenties who have little or no grounding in the Truth? And what happens when members of this rising generation are put into positions of leadership? It is a sad realization and a sad fact that pastors and ministries everywhere are attacked when the full Truth of God's Word is preached. As a result, ministries are abandoned, pastors leave the ministry, leaders and teachers leave churches. And in many cases, God's Word is compromised -- a divine calling ignored -- and a pastor caters to church members who want "Love of God" sermons to the exclusion of the other 90% of Scripture that might actually bring about revival and change in the church.

And How Does This Apply to Me?
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (II Timothy 3:16-17)

Sounds like the role of the church is to equip us. Yes, there is room for worship... Worship is scripturally based, however, churches should not be so concerned about drawing crowds with -- or losing people because of -- a certain type of worship style: Contemporary, Classical, Heritage, Hymns. . . you know what I'm talking about. Google "Worship Wars," and see what I mean. (The worship wars are for another time and another post.)

If you're in ministry: Preach the Word! "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction." II Timothy 4:2.

If you're a church member: tell your pastor you'd like to hear more expository preaching.

If you're searching for a church: ask if the pastor preaches topically or expositionally.

If you're more into the worship part of Sunday morning than you are the preaching: re-read the entire post!

Acceptable worship is impossible without preaching. The two cannot be divorced. Indeed, it is their unnatural divorce which accounts for the low level of so much contemporary worship. Our worship is poor because our knowledge of God is poor, and our knowledge of God is poor because our preaching is poor. But when the Word of God is expounded to its fullness, and the congregation begins to glimpse the glory of the living God!

- Esthermay Bentley-Goossen

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