| Poster | Thread | roadsign
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| | Re: 'against" - what's that? | | Quote:
preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God"
Amen, Jesse, you did not disprove anything I said, although I'm not convinced you believe it all. That's okay. Perhaps it is a matter of different callings.
Yes, we preach repentance = turn around = remission of sins = forgiveness = new Life. Can anyone leave their life of sin (ex unbelief, worry, dead works, self-centeredness etc) apart from turning to Christ? (I realize that many can give up alchohol, etc and remain atheists)
Some questions:
How does Scripture tell us to preach "against" pride?, fear of man? unbelief? What does "against" mean? Where in the Bible is the word, "against" used in this context? (I'm wondering why it is common in our vocabulary)
Diane
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Diane
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|  2006/6/26 15:29 | Profile |
| | Re: | | John Wesley wrote:
Quote:
Thus it was in every part of England when the present revival of religion began about fifty years ago: All the subjects of that revival, -- all the Methodists, so called, in every place, [b]were reprovers of outward sin.[/b] And, indeed, so are all that "being justified by faith, have peace with God through Jesus Christ." Such they are at first; and if they use that precious gift, it will never be taken away. [b]Come, brethren, in the name of God, let us begin again![/b] Rich or poor, let us all arise as one man; and in any wise let every man [b]"rebuke his neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him![/b]" Then shall all Great Britain and Ireland know that we do not "go a warfare at our own cost:" Yea, "God shall bless us, and all the ends of the world shall fear him." Manchester, July 28, 1787
But where are the reprovers of sin today? Where are the preachers who will heed the Apostle Paul and, "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." 2Ti 4:2
I see America turning back to God when preachers in the pulpits and on the street corners, start publicly rebuking sin and start pleading with men to come to Christ.
It's my hope and prayer that we as the body of Christ, take a strong stance for holiness and a sharp stance against sin. We must boldly stand up for Christ and bravely stand against the devil. "Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression," Isa 58:1.
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[u]How does Scripture tell us to preach "against" pride?, fear of man? unbelief? [/u]
We are to preach repentance. That includes the turning away from all sin.
[u]What does "against" mean? [/u]
Dictionary.com says:
a·gainst
In a direction or course opposite to: row against the current.
So as to come into forcible contact with: waves dashing against the shore.
In contact with so as to rest or press on: leaned against the tree.
[b]In hostile opposition or resistance to:[/b] struggle against fate.
[b]Contrary to; opposed to:[/b] against my better judgment.
In competition with: race against the record holder.
In contrast or comparison with the setting or background of: dark colors against a fair skin.
In preparation for; in anticipation of: food stored against winter.
As a defense or safeguard from: protection against the cold.
To the account or debt of: drew a check against my bank balance.
[b]Directly opposite to; facing. [/b]
[u]Where in the Bible is the word, "against" used? (it is common to our vocabulary)[/u]
This is from an article I wrote about a year and a half ago called, "The Anger of the Lord":
Towards who is Gods anger directed? It is a common misconception that God is angry with sin but He is not angry sinners. However God is angry with sin and also with sinners themselves. A man does not merely get angry with deadly poison; he gets angry with the snake from which it comes. [b]Romans 1:18[/b] tells us that God is against sin. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, Then [b]Romans 2:2[/b] tells us that God is against the sinners themselves also. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. So the Lord is against sin and sinners.
[b]Zeph. 4-6[/b] says I will stretch out My hand against
those who have turned back from following the Lord. The prophets would say things like The word of the Lord is against you. Young Jeremiah said "The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city. [b]Jer 26:12[/b]. Ezekiel said thus says the Lord God: 'Indeed I, even I, am against you [b]Eze 5:8.[/b] God would often send people to preach against a certain place or to preach against a certain people. [b]Some examples: Isa 21:13, 22:1, 23:1, Jer 1:18, 22:7, 21:13, 23:2, 26:12, 36:2, 44:11, 50:31, 51:25, 51:62, Eze 4:3, 4:7, 5:8, 5:16, 5:17, 6:3, 7:3, 13:8, 13:9, 13:20, 14:8, 15:7,16:27, 21:3, 21:31, 23:22, 23:25, 25:7, 26:3, 28:22, 29:3, 29:10, 35:3, 38:3, 39:1, Am 3:1, 5:1, 6:14, Mic 1:2, 2:3, Na 2:13, 3:5, Hab 2:16, Zep 2:5, Mal 3:5, Ho 4:1.[/b] Because sinners are for ungodliness, God is against the ungodly. He is against all those who are against Him.
[b]Malachi 3:5[/b] says And I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, against adulterers, against perjurers, against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, and against those who turn away an alien because they do not fear me. Says the Lord of hosts. God is not only against sorceries, God is against sorcerers. God is not only against adulteries, God is against adulterers. God is not only against perjury, God is against perjurers. That applies to all sin. God is not only against drunkenness, God is against drunkards. God is not only against homosexuality, God is against homosexuals. Even Peter wrote But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." [b]1 Peter 3:12.[/b] Notice Peter doesnt say The face of the Lord is against evil as true as that statement would be. Rather Peter wrote The face of the Lord is against those who do evil.
Jesus Christ not only preached against sin, but our Master preached against sinners. Jesus did not say Woe to hypocrisy but He said Woe to you
hypocrites [b]Matt 23:13[/b]. And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them. [b]Mark 12:12[/b]. Christ also preached against cities just like the prophets of old by pronouncing their woes. Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent [b]Matt 11:20.[/b] Jesus also commanded His disciples to speak against people and places. And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them." [b]Luke 9:5.[/b] Stephen in the book of acts not only preached against sin but also against sinners, and that is what got him killed. He said You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears. You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did our fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers. Who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it. [b]Acts 7:51-53. [/b]
It was 1845 when [b]E. W. Hengstenberg[/b] wrote regarding Psalms 7:11. He wrote The prophet takes a lesson from a coarse human similitude, in order that he might inspire terror unto the ungodly. For he speaks against stupid and hardened people, who would not apprehend the reality of a divine judgment of which he had just spoken; but they might possibly be brought to consider this by greater earnestness on the part of man.
Those today that are like Jesus and follow in His footsteps for ministry are not being treated any better then Jesus was. Acceptance by God often is accompanied by rejection by man. It is true that there are few people today that preach against sin and sinners and those who do so are certainly not on Americas most popular preachers list.
[b]David Wilkerson[/b] wrote this, I tell you, America has become sick! You cant tell me that God isnt angry, that Hes simply overlooking it all. I once received a note from a well-known evangelist that read, Dont speak against America. Her best days are ahead. God is pleased! No! That is exactly what the Bible says the false prophets will claim in the last days!
We seem to have it all wrong today! What can the current church do with a scripture like [b]Ps 5:5[/b] that says God hates all workers of iniquity considering modern messages? We say God hates sin but loves the sinner. So what do you do with Ps 5:5? It certainly throws a wrench into our theological gears.
[b]Leonard Ravenhill[/b] said in an interview right before he died the menace of many of our meetings is; we are trying to get people saved who dont know their lost. Come forward. The Lord loves you. The Lord loves you. The Lord hates you! Instead of a bumper stick God loves you, God is angry with the wicked everyday (Ps 7:11) or The wicked shall be turned into hell. (Ps 9:17)
Leonard also said, I dont believe there is a man on the whole TV that preaches salvation. They preach forgiveness. Forgiveness is not salvation. They point out theres a man in bed with some other mans wife in a Motel. Oh you know the Lord loves you just as you are. Well then why get changed? Commit adultery as much as you like. He still loves you. Be a cheat, be a liar, be a thief, and be a failure. He still loves you. But theres a scripture. Isnt it the Psalms 7
.where it says God is angry with the wicked every day. I heard somebody quote today God loves you but hates your sin thats bunken. God hates you for committing the sin. Is God going to take your sins and judge them at the Judgment and leave you alone?
That is what a man of God said after roughly 70 years of being in the ministry. No one can deny his experience, so there are some important truths to learn from those quotes.
I only wish that I could begin to explain the mysteries of God, but I cannot adequately do so. As large ships need large rivers to sail through and can not move in small rivers, the fullness of the truth of God can not be fully comprehended by our shallow minds. Let me appeal to men greater then I to help us understand. In [b]C. H Spurgeons[/b] A Treasury of David he has a quote from William Gurnall for Ps 5:5. [b]William Gurnall[/b] (author of Christian in Complete Armor) wrote this, Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. For what God thinks of sin, see Deut vii. 22; Prov. vi.16; Rev. ii. 6,15; where he expresseth his detestation and hatred of it, from which hatred proceeds all those direful plagues and judgments thundered from the fiery mouth of his most holy law against it; nay, not only the work, but worker also of iniquity becomes the object of his hatred.
Spurgeon also put a quote from [b]David Clarkson[/b], B.D. 1621-1686, in his commentaries who said, Those whom the Lord hates must perish. But he hates impenitent sinners, Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Now, who are so properly workers of iniquity as those who are so eager at it that they will not leave this work, though they be in danger to perish for it? Christ puts it out of doubt. The workers of iniquity must perish. Luke xiii. 27. Those whom the Lord will tear in his wrath must perish with a witness; but those whom he hates, he tears &c. Job xvi. 8. What more due to such impenitent sinners than hatred! What more proper than wrath, since they treasure up wrath? Rom ii. Will he entertain those in the bosom of love whom his soul hates? No; destruction is their portion. Prov. Xxi. 15. If all the curses of the law, all the threatening of the gospel, all the judgments in earth or in hell, will be the ruin of him, he must perish. If the Lords arm be strong enough to wound him dead, he must die. Psalms lxviii. 21
Avoid all that Christ hates. If you love, approve, entertain that which is hateful to Christ, how can he love you? What is that which Christ hates? The psalmist (Psalm xlv. 7) tells us, making it one of Christs attributes, to hate wickedness
. as Christ hates iniquity, so the workers of iniquity." You must not love them, so as to be intimate with them, delight in the company of evil doers, openly profane, scorners of godliness, obstructers of the power of it. 2 Cor. vi. 14-18. If you love so near relations to wicked men, Christ will have no relation to you. If you would have communion with Christ in sweet acts of love, you must have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, or those that act them.
Sin and sinners are both opposed to the Lord. God will not only cast sin into the fires of hell, but He Himself will cast sinners into the fires of hell. The Law is opposed to criminals who commit crimes, and are not just opposed to the crimes themselves. [b]Rev. 21:8[/b] says But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. It does not say that cowardice, murders, fornication, adultery, idolatry, and lies will be tossed into the lake of fire, but cowards, murderers, fornicators, adulterers, idolaters! You must pull a plant up by the roots or it will grow back again. God goes for the root, not just the branches. Sins are the branches that spring up from the heart of the sinner. If you are outside of Christ, you are in desperate need of a heart transplant because the heart you have now is flooded with the waters of iniquity. Its too sick to give you life.
God commands all men everywhere to repent [b]Act 17:30.[/b] But He is not merely asking that you give up a few bad habits. Jesus said unless a man is born-again he will by no means see the Kingdom of God. [b]John 3:3[/b].
[b]In the light of the truth that God is against sin and sinners, the message of the new birth takes a new appearance[/b]. Being born-again is becoming a new person, receiving a new heart with a new mind! Its so much more then simply straightening out your life. Its receiving new life! Its more then giving up sins, its no longer being a sinner. Because God is not only against sins but He is against sinners, we must be born again and made new creations. We must be able to say the old has past and the new has come or else we are still left abiding under the wrath of God. Both sins small and great can fit through the wide gates of hell. The heavy weight of even the least of your sins is enough to weigh your soul down so that you sink into hell. The unconverted must be made to know that they are not saved even if they have cleaned up their lives by getting ride of their major sins, but must know that God desires to give them knew lives all together."
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| | 2006/6/26 15:52 | | RevKerrigan
Member
Joined: 2006/4/13
Posts: 58
South Central Kentucky
| | Re: | | I have read through most of this post and it seems like some people who have posted on this thread want to just "let their light shine." God forbid! We must obey Jesus in Preaching the Gospel to all creation! Did Jesus, the apostles or other great men of God throughout the ages, just "let their light shine"? For those who have posted on here and disagree with what Jesse is saying, let me ask you this: How often do YOU go out and Open Air Preach? I was in sales at one point in my life and was mentored by a wise and very experienced salesman. He told me this: "If someone gives you advice and you do what they advise, you will get what they got." God forbid anyone gives advice to someone on something when they have no experience doing it themselves. I don't know most on here because I am new, so it's just a question, not an accusation. For all I know, all of you could be Open Air Preachers. It also seems like some are concerned that all Jesse does is preach against sin. This is not so. I have preached alongside of him and heard him preach many times. He does preach hard and long against sin, but he does preach the grace and love of God as well. I specifically remember preaching with him and the Open Air Outreach crew at UNC-Chapel Hill. After a long day of preaching to the students, Jesse finished it up. He preached hard against sin and even lost some of his crowd. But, the end was wonderful. He finished up with his testimony, which I could visually see touched many in the crowd. We can't just preach "belief" or "believing in Jesus Christ." God forbid we do! That is not the Full Gospel of Jesus Christ. We must preach Repentance and Faith and then we must help the crowd understand what those two things mean. Repentance- Full Turn from sin. They must hate sin so much that they are willing to cut it off. They must love their own soul more then their own sin. Faith- Not mere believing certain doctrinal, mental or intellectual concepts. Not even believing "with all your heart" that Jesus can save you. Saving faith Changes! It makes you a New Creation. All things have passed away, behold ALL things have become New! Anything else is selling God short. Doesn't the Resurrection Power of Jesus Christ TOTALLY change a person forever?! Anything less then Repentance and Faith is giving someone a false hope! They will go to Hell through the Gates of Heaven! Now let's ALL go out there and preach the Gospel to ALL Creation like God commands us to. Anything less is sin (James 4:17).
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Kerrigan Skelly
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| | 2006/6/26 16:28 | Profile | letsgetbusy
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Joined: 2004/9/28
Posts: 957
Cleveland, Georgia
| | Re: | | rk,
I will piggyback off of you with the words of Jesus. To those who think Jesus did not offend with His words:
(some paraphrasing)
Rich young ruler: Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
Jesus: There is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments...
Rich young ruler: All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
Jesus: If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
(But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful...)
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Jesus: ...thou hast had five husbands
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"The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
"The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder..."
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Disciples: This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
Jesus: Doth this offend you?
(...From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.)
Jesus to remaining disciples: Will ye also go away?
Now, I would say that we should be speaking to the conscience, not just cutting people's legs off from under them for the sake of swinging the gospel hammer.
Peter struck the servant's ear with the sword. How can the gospel sword be understood if it cuts off the ear. It is designed to stab the heart. Let's just make sure we are aiming at men's understanding, and not at offending for the sake of seeing some visible results.
Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
Pricked here means pierced. If we are not stabbing the hearts, but rather cutting off ears with the sword of the Lord, we are wasting our time.
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Hal Bachman
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| | 2006/6/26 17:45 | Profile |
| | Re: | | I used to say often, "We must preach hard truths with soft hearts". I think that is a good balance. And I think that is what we are all trying to communicated. |
| | 2006/6/26 18:12 | | Graftedbranc
Member
Joined: 2005/11/8
Posts: 619
| | Re: Unbiblical Preaching Against Sin | | Unbiblical praching against sin is preaching based in law with nothing of Christ.
In other words, unbiblical preaching against sin simply condems this or that sin with no view to Christ as God's answer to the problem of sin, no veiw of Christ's atonement, no view of Christ's resurrection life and our union with Him.
Unbiblcial praching of sin simply attemtps to modify behaviour and fails to lead one to Christ.
This type of preaching is no different from any religion's attempt to produce moral change with nothing of God's economy, that is the dispensing of Christ as redemption and Life.
God's answer to sin is Christ. God's answer to unholiness is Christ. God's answer to mans fallen condition is Christ. If anything other than Christ is presented or preached, it is "unbiblical" in the New Testament sense.
Un biblical praching agaist sin is based in the tree of the knowlege of good and evil and has nothing to do with the Tree of Life which is Christ.
Graftedbranch |
| | 2006/6/27 12:24 | Profile |
| | Re: | | Graftedbranch,
Great post!
Example:
A big event in many cities today are homosexual parades. I've seen and heard a number of preachers at these parades. It seems some only preach condemnation for sin, but we must also preach salvation from sin! And that Salvation is found only in Christ, in fact Salvation is not merely found only in Christ, but Salvation is Christ Himself. When we die and He lives in us. That is Salvation. |
| | 2006/6/27 12:42 | | RevKerrigan
Member
Joined: 2006/4/13
Posts: 58
South Central Kentucky
| | Re: | | Amen Grafted Branch!
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Kerrigan Skelly
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| | 2006/6/27 13:02 | Profile |
| | Re: | | Tozer defined heresy this way: heresy is when one biblical truth is so highly exalted that other biblical truths become either ignored or entirely neglected.
If that is the definition of heresy, then I'd say that today most of the modern Church are love-heretics! They want to hear about love, love, love, because they like to sin, sin, sin.
On the other hand, the anger and holy hatred of God can become so highly exalted that other biblical truths such as God's care and concern can be ignored or neglected.
We must not be unbalanced. We must preach against sin and we must preach against it hard. We must rebuke sinners and call them to get right with God. We must be angry at sin (Acts 17:16). But we also must have care and concern in our hearts for their well-being and deeply long for them to come into right standing with the Lord. We must desire deeply from our hearts their reconciliation.
If we do not, we are nothing more then Jonahs at heart - calling people to get right with God and yet desiring their destruction.
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| | 2006/6/27 15:06 | | sermonindex
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Posts: 39795
Canada
Online! | | Re: | | Quote:
A big event in many cities today are homosexual parades. I've seen and heard a number of preachers at these parades. It seems some only preach condemnation for sin, but we must also preach salvation from sin! And that Salvation is found only in Christ, in fact Salvation is not merely found only in Christ, but Salvation is Christ Himself. When we die and He lives in us. That is Salvation.
Is it wrong to go to a event like this and just preach the good news message that God came down to die for us because we have all sinned and not focus on the fact that sin is the problem but rather our willingness to submit and accept what God has done on the cross for us. And to come to the Cross to leave down our burdens of sin and recieve a new life in Christ.
Some people are hurting and weighed down under the burden of sin and know that they need release and for some preaching Christ in that way could be something they would readily understand? is that heresy to preach that? Just shooting that idea out there. ;-)
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| | 2006/6/27 15:10 | Profile |
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