So should the preaching of a church be primarily for seeking and reaching non-Christians? Many churches today say that they exist to reach, and while we should reach the lost, what if the Bible describes a different main directive for preaching?
- Start of Show Notes -
(1.) Bibliology - Scripture is sufficient to tell us how to do church (2 Tim 3:16-17)
(2.) Ecclesiology - Christ is head of the church (Ephesians 5)
(3.) The Great Commission - Jesus commands us what we are to include in the preaching and teaching of the church (Matt 28:18-20)
(4.) Preaching the full counsel of God - Full Bible preaching may make people leave (John 6:66-67)
(5.) The Gathering is for Believers - Primarily, Pastors are to teach and edify believers. Reaching the lost is still an important goal, but it is secondary to this (Cor 14)
(6.) The Church really exists to... - Glorify God. Evangelism is just one of the many ways the church is called to glorify God (1 Cor 10:31)
(7.) Scripture gives us models - The preaching of our churches should model after the preaching in the Bible, such as from Romans or Corinthians, is the content serious, mature and designed to grow the believers of the church (The Pastoral Epistles, 1&2 Tim, Titus)
(8.) Don't hold back! - Pastors are told explicitly to preach the full counsel of God (Acts 20:20, 20:26-27)
(9.) We're in perilous times - Pastors need to be aware of these times (2 Tim 3:1) and to protect the church from many things, such as wolves (Acts 20:28-31) or other things that will try to infiltrate the church.
(10.) For Non-Christians who do visit - They need exposure to actual Christianity, not a watered down version. (Old Testament scriptures especially, or other difficult passages)
(11.) Honest methodology - We do not want to have a tame version when they first hear or are young in the faith, and later showing them that actually this is what Christianity really is - like a bait and switch (2 Cor 4:1-3)
(12.) Should we be nuanced and winsome focused? - Jesus and most of his disciples were killed for what they preached. The Bible and Jesus should be the models for our preaching style, no matter the current culture.
(13.) Soteriology - God changes our hearts when we are saved and gives the believer a love of the truth (2 Thess 2:10) so the church should not cater to the likes and dislikes of people.
(14.) A Church that isn't growing in knowledge is susceptible - Biblical ignorance can harm the church (John 21:15-16) and it also fails to expose visiting non-Christians to real Christianity.
- End of Show Notes -
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