Why Christian Pastors Should Preach BOLDLY, EXPOSITORILY and WITHOUT COMPROMISE
Here's a message for all pastors in the Christian churches- it's time to stop watering down on the preaching job, stop chickening out of persecution and start preaching like the prophets, apostles and most especially like the the Lord Jesus Christ who lived a life without sin and taught the right way for His followers to live! That is pastors must preach boldly, expositorily and without compromise. There should be no watering down of the Book of the Law. Joshua 1:8 is already clear enough saying, "That this Book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth but thou shalt meditate upon it day and night that thou observest to do according to ALL that is written therein, for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous and thou shalt have good success." Now it's time to apply that INTO THE PULPITS! It's time to be serious with Bible studies!
What does it mean to preach expositorily? Expository preaching is defined as, "involving the exposition, or comprehensive explanation, of the Scripture; that is, expository preaching presents the meaning and intent of a biblical text, providing commentary and examples to make the passage clear and understandable." The word exposition is related to the word expose - the expository preacher’s goal is simply to expose the meaning of the Bible, verse by verse." That is, they expound the meaning of the Scriptural passage while interpreting the Bible with ONLY the Bible- that is letting the Bible implement its own theology rather than fitting the Bible into their own theology. It's hard to find a preacher like that these days. As for boldness, this is not about quarreling with scoffers or entering into debates with fools, rather it is presenting the Gospel it is. As said, Christians are given the task to be bold as a lion, be wise as a snake but be harmless like a dove. A lion does not attack its prey directly, it retreats when it can no longer subdue an opponent like a huge elephant, it hides in the grass waiting for a stray member of the herd and then it attacks boldly, confident to grab its prey. It fears not to hunt and it fears not to defend its herd but it will run away when it needs to.
Jesus loves sinners but He hates sin! He still hates it! He was no sissy, He hates sin as much as His Daddy! As said, real love does not rejoice in iniquity but rejoices in the truth (1 Corinthians 13:6). True love CANNOT condone error. Also, Christians should remember the statement in John 15:18-25 saying, ""If the world hate you,ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for My Name's sake,because they know not Him that sent Me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.He that hateth Me hateth My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both Me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated Me without a cause." They are not of the world, therefore they should not seek the approval of worldly men. It would be best for Christian pastors to forget about what the world may speak ill about them like calling them names like terrorists, fanatics, bigots, Usama bin Laden, cult leaders, whatever... they have to continue preaching boldly, expositorily and without compromise labeling every sin, heresy and false religion by name.
Now it's time to talk with three reasons why pastors should preach boldly, expositorily and without compromise:
Reason #1- It's for the training of the Christians to defend their faith
Ephesians 4:11-16 says, "And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love."
God did not appoint the prophets in the Old Testament just to go there, no they brought His word and not their own. In the New Testament, pastors and teachers were added. The apostles were sent to preach. Jesus did not just appoint Peter as the first pastor of the Christian church just to be there. Besides, he told Peter to feed His sheep every time Peter answered, "Yes Lord." (John 21). Paul emphasized the power of the Scriptures and the need to study it in all His epistles especially in 1 Timothy 3:15-16 and in 2 Timothy 2:15-16 on the Scriptures. 1 Peter 3:14-16 that Christians ought to be ready always to give an answer for the hope that is in them and pastors play a part in Christian growth too.
When a pastor preaches expositorily and boldly without compromise, the Christians learn a LOT on how to defend their faith. For example, the key verse of the sermon would be 1 Peter 3:14-16 on defending the Christian faith. By getting the hidden treasures in that passage and matching it with the verses, letting the Bible interpret itself and apply its theology via God the Holy Spirit, Christians learn the Bible not just by the surface but by their hearts. When a pastor preaches not afraid of the world, Christians will also have the courage to stand up for persecution while not facing it without the proper protection.
#2- To uproot heresies and infiltrating heretics within the midst of wolves and sheep
It's a sad reality that heresies and heretics are everywhere causing trouble. 2 Peter 2:1 says, "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction." Jesus warned in Matthew 7:15-16 says, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?" Right now there are many CULTS out there and many of them claim to be Christian but in reality they are nothing more than a work of fiction, a satire and a parody of Christianity like Roman Catholicism, Mormonism, Seventh Day Adventist movement, Westboro Baptist, Pentecostalism, the Kingdom of Apollo Quiboloy, the Iglesia ni Manalo, the Church of Alexander Campbell and the list can go on and on. They are satires of Christianity with their leaders serving as their directors.
An example of this would be how the Jesuits according to their oath are trained to convince their enemies they are their friends. They have done all they could to infiltrate the Christian pulpits, preach another gospel which is not another (especially works salvation which is the common denominator of ecumenism) and tries to even make Roman Catholicism look good. What's the best solution to drive out the Jesuit infiltration? Simple- through bold, expository preaching that is without compromise. When the Word of God is upheld, even the best Jesuit spies fall down and their oath made ineffective because God's Word is too powerful. The Word of God is so offensive that it can cause those spies to either get saved or leave.
The other groups of infiltrators are the anti-Catholic cults that claim to be Christian and they are but parodies of Christianity. Though they oppose Roman Catholicism, their motives are different compared to the real Christians. They are simply there to play games, get some form of satisfaction and for some, it's only for the money and like in Roman Catholicism, mark down every last person who opposes them to be working for or siding with the cult that opposes them. Some claim to be born again Christians but they teach a faith plus works Gospel or type 2 legalism which requires Christians to do good works to stay saved rather than teach that a Christian will do good works because they're already saved. They have the habit of lying to certain fundamental Christian churches about who is working with any opposition when they know it's all a lie. Again the bold, expository preaching without compromise can win any members stuck in these anti-Catholic cults too.
However, it's best not to single out heretics one by one but their heresies and naming the names of their groups but NEVER singling out persons. That way, Christians focus on the roots and not the leaves. God should be the judge of these heretics whether they be Jesuits, Dominicans, prosperity gospel preachers, charismatics, Opus Dei members, Freemasons, Knights of Malta, WHATEVER. Remember, these heretics still have their chances to be saved while they are still alive. Some of the best preachers were once the most evil of heretics like the apostle Paul. As said, a Christian can face more than one prey so like a lion, they have to think before they attack the heresies. It would be best to attack doctrine over those who uphold it though as to avoid unnecessary quarrel as much as possible, like how a lion quietly waits for its prey before it gives an intimidating roar. Some of the most common heresies that circulate around are ecumenism, works salvation and Antinomianism to name a few.
#3- Lastly, to be effective in the soul-winning agenda
Isn't soul-winning the top agenda? Yes, it is. Reasons one and two go along with reason three. Unless Christians are ready to defend their faith (but NOT a debate about it) and unless heresies are dealt with according to the Word of God (they always poorly try to apply their theology in the Bible with little or no success while thinking they have succeeded), soul-winning cannot be effective. It's always a hard task to win anybody who is a servant of false religion to the Lord Jesus Christ. They are stuck with traditions and dogma, their priests, whatever that they prefer to throw dirt and trample the blood of the Lord Jesus as if it were an unholy thing.
When Christians know the reason for what they believe and why they believe it, they are not effective. Point 1 points out the edification and for example, Christians if they do not know the fundamentals of subjects like history, geography, science, and mathematics to name a few of the many they cannot defend their faith from scoffers who believe that they're smarter than everybody else. They become better soul-winners when they know the facts and figures that defend Christianity to be the truth like how the enemy devices its wicked ways and everything.
Also, if heresies keep floating around and nobody is there to debunk it, it will persist a lot more and more people will refuse to hear the Gospel. Books like "Answers to My Roman Catholic Friends" and "Truth Encounter" however have helped out the soul win the difficult to win Roman Catholics from trusting in their good works to the Lord Jesus Christ. With the Bible in hand and people going to the local assembly of Christians or local New Testament churches, and they listen to a sermon, they will definitely see their errors.
Also, if the Law is not presented properly, how will people know they are sinners? Unless verses like Romans 3:19 and James 2:10 are presented, people will never see their need to be saved. Unless if the ten commandments are expositorily preached, people will not see their need to be saved. As said, Galatians 3:24 says, "Wherefore the Law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." People need to see their dirt before they can see their need for the cleanser. And with the Law presented properly, soul-winning is a lot more effective. People will see through the presentation of the Law they are sinners and only God's begotten Son, Jesus Christ is the solution that they can have eternal life.