“The Reformation Pulpit” Feb 7, 2009

The Reformation Pulpit! Feb 7, 2009

What’s wrong with the modern pulpit?

The Method & Manner of Preaching the Gospel must be thoroughly biblical!
The Content of the Gospel Message Preached must be thoroughly biblical!
The Emphasis of every part of the Gospel Message Preached must be thoroughly biblical!

WHY IS THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH AND SOME REFORMED CHURCHES NEGLECTING THE DOCTRINE OF REPENTANCE IN THEIR GOSPEL PREACHING?

The Gospel is a Message about Repentance #4
Excerpts from my book, “Preaching the Gospel Message”

The Bible speaks with great clarity that there are some professing believers who are temporary believers and who are hypocrites. These people do not have the root of the matter in them. One of the goals of ministers is to follow what Matthew Poole wrote, “It is the great work of ministers to drive hypocrites from their vain confidences.”[1]

But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away (Luke 8:13).
Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:31, 32).

John Newton describes some of the characteristics of hypocrites:
Many are convinced, who are not truly enlightened: are afraid of the consequences of sin, though they never saw its evil; have a seeming desire of salvation, which is not founded upon a truly spiritual discovery of their own wretchedness, and the excellency of Jesus.[2]

Now when He was in Jerusalem . . . many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all me (John 2:23-24).

John Bunyan describes the shocking reaction of those who die impenitent:
They will look to escape hell, and yet fall just into the mouth of hell. What a disappointment will be here! They will look for heaven, but the gate of heaven will be shut against them . . . they will expect that Christ should have compassion for them, but will find that he hath shut up all bowels of compassion from them. What a disappointment is here! [3]

Edwards:
When person seem for a while to be awakened and terrified, and have more or less of a sense of their sinfulness and vileness, and then afterwards seem much affected with the mercy of God, and appear to find comfort in him, and yet after all, when the novelty is over, their impression decline and pass away, so that there is no abiding change in the heart and life, then it is a sign that they have no true grace.[4]

Joel Beeke:
When John the Baptist preached convictingly, people fled from the wrath to come (Matt. 3:1-12). When Peter preached convictingly on Pentecost, at least three thousand were pricked in their hearts (Acts 2:37). When God is pleased to raise and use such men to bring others to a conviction of sin there is something distinctive about their preaching. Such preaching purposely aims to convict of sin, not just to alarm people, but to awaken them as sinners. Such preaching searches and, as Perkins put it, “rips up the consciences” of men and women, boldly calling sinners to heartfelt repentance.[5]

Some churches do not preach on the doctrine of repentance; its necessity; its nature; and its fruit. They do not explain the true evidence of repentance and its counterfeits. There is very little application to the consciences of the members to obey the biblical duty of self-examination.

Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. (II Cor 13:5).
Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble (2 Peter 1:10).

In some of Reformed churches the church officers and preachers assume that ‘covenant children’ are saved until they outwardly begin to live ungodly lives. Yet the Scriptures teach that there must be the fruit of genuine repentance in the lives of ‘covenant children’ or else they are not saved. Church officers or preachers are not the ultimate standard of the true spiritual state of baptized members of the church.

John Calvin wrote of people in his own day who made a false professions of faith who would not relinquish their hypocritical professions unless they manifested an openly wicked life in turning against God:

For they persuade themselves that the reverence that they show to the Word of God is very piety itself, because they count it no impiety unless there is open and admitted reproach or contempt of his Word.[6]

Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. . . . He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. (1 John 2:3, 4, 9)

If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? (1 John 4:20)

Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones (Luke 3:8).

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven (Matt 7:21, 22).

The above Scriptures clearly emphasizes that it’s not what a person says or professes that matters, but rather the evidence of spiritual fruit manifested in the life. Though we need to be sensitive to the immaturity of children; pastors must not, however, create a separate category of the biblical fruit of salvation for children.

Maurice Roberts:
After all, Nicodemus was a church child and yet he was totally unacquainted with the saving grace which the new birth alone could give him. Is not this the case with many thousands of church children like him? [7]

Spurgeon:
Now, there are some in this house this morning who are not Christians: they are not with Christ, and consequently they are against him; but still they are the nearest related to Christ of any unconverted people in the world, because from their childhood they have attended religious worship, they have joined in the songs, and prayers, and services of the Lord’s house; moreover, they are fully persuaded of the authenticity and divinity of the word of God, and they have no doubt but what the Savior was sent from God, and that he can save, and is the appointed Savior. They are not troubled with doubts, skeptical thoughts do not perplex them; they are, in fact, Agrippas, almost persuaded to be Christians. They are not Christians, but they are the nearest related to Christians of any people living upon the face of the earth. You would naturally expect that they would be the best people to preach to, but they have not proved to be so. They have not proved to be so in my case, for some such attending here are less likely to be brought to decision that those who are afar off. You know to whom I refer, for some of you, as you look me in the face, might well think, “Master, in saying so, thou rebukest us also. . . . ” You know the whole story of the Savior, and have known it ever since your childhood. More than that, the doctrines of the gospel are theoretically well understood by you. You can discuss gospel truths, and you delight to do so, for you take a deep interest in them. When you read the Scripture, it is not to you a dark, mysterious volume, which you cannot at all comprehend, but you are able to
teach others which are the first principles of the truth; and yet, for all that, how strangely sad it is, that, knowing so much, you should practice so little. I am afraid that some of you know the gospel so well, that for this very reason it has lost much of its power with you, for it is as well known as a thrice-told tale. If you heard it for the first time, its very novelty would strike you, but such interest you cannot now feel. . . . Yet here is the matter: it is sad indeed that men so nearly related to Christianity, who know so much about Christ, should yet reject the Redeemer [8].

It is the duty of every preacher of the gospel to proclaim the message of repentance (Mark 1:15). It is the preacher’s duty, because God commands that repentance is a vital part of preaching the gospel message (Luke 24:47).

Without experiencing biblical repentance there is no salvation for any sinner! Repentance does not save neither can we be saved without repentance (Luke 13:3-5). Preachers must call men to true biblical repentance or they will face eternal judgment (Acts 17:30, 31). Preachers must call church members; baptized children; church officers; and all others to experience genuine repentance. Preachers must insist with John the Baptist, that repentance must prove itself by a life of genuine fruit bearing (Phil 1:11).

First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds (NIV; Acts 26: 20).

Preachers must biblically compel men to examine themselves to see if their repentance is genuine or counterfeit. Each person in the pew needs to be made to feel that the preacher is talking to him, and him only. Nathan the prophet said to David, “You are the man” (2 Sam 12:7). “The Preacher, who aims at doing good, will endeavour above all things to insulate his hearers, to place each of them apart, and render it impossible for him to escape by losing himself in the crowd.”[9]

Preaching the gospel message means that sinners must be called to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. A professed repentance and faith must be shown to be real from the biblical fruit that it produces.

Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. 10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter (2 Cor 7:9-11).

John Bunyan comments on those who refuse the call to repent:
Repentance will not be found in heaven among them that come to God by Christ. No! Hell is the place of untimely repentance! It is there where the tears will be mixed with gnashing of teeth; while they consider how mad, and worse, they were, in not coming to God by Jesus Christ. Then will their hearts and mouths be full of, “Lord, Lord, open unto us!” But the answer will be, ‘Ye shut me out of doors; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: besides, you refused to come to my Father by me; wherefore now you must go from my Father by me.’ They that will not be saved by Christ, must be damned by Christ. No man can escape one of the two.[10]

It is the biblical responsibility of preachers to call all men to repentance (Acts 17:30, 31). Furthermore, it is their duty to biblically proclaim the true nature and counterfeit aspects of repentance. All of this needs to be wisely applied to the consciences of sinners and saints alike. The openly unconverted, and hypocritical church members, need to be earnestly warned of the danger in failing to repent and believe in the gospel (Luke 13:1-5). Saints need to be comforted and instructed so that they understand the difference between genuine and counterfeit repentance. Who is sufficient for these things without the need of the Spirit of God (2 Cor 2:16; 3:5, 6)?

Are Evangelical and Reformed preachers clearly and regularly proclaiming the biblical doctrine of repentance in their preaching of the Gospel Message?

Is your pastor fully preaching the Gospel Message (Acts 17:11)?
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