A Warning Against Watered Down Evangelism!

Many revivalist pastors have stressed out that watered down preaching is LITERALLY killing the congregation. Why? Well it's time to define what is watered down preaching.

Watered down preaching is as simple as this- presenting the Gospel not the way as it should be to the point it may not lead to a real conversion. In "Hell's Best Kept Secret", Pastor Ray Comfort will cause discomfort to many watered down, sissy preachers who call themselves liberals with the real statement of how watered down evangelism can be- because those clowns could be apostates and there is very high chance they are not saved to begin with. When Jesus and the apostles evangelized, they always presented the fact that men are sinners and that only Jesus is the Savior. However the watered down preaching today or modernistic preaching takes it to a very different angle. Instead of showing the reality of sinful man and the need of the Savior, they simply try to present Christianity without the reality of sin and use the fruits of Christianity as an attraction factor, rather than tell them of the reality that they need to be saved from their sins. Hmmm... is it not surprising lying is very common today.

So an illustration given by Pastor Comfort that was given in one of his sermons was this- would anybody in the right mind want to take the medicine if they did not know they were sick? Another illustration was given this- if a passenger is given a parachute and he's not told what it really is for and the possibilities of a crash could come, he would not appreciate wearing the parachute. Likewise, unless the Law of God is presented, unless sin is preached against, people will not see the real need of conversion. Romans 3 is clear about that especially in verses 10-19 that man by God's standard is hitting T- totally depraved that he needs a Savior. And unless a person really sees that he cannot work his way up into Heaven, he/she will not accept the Savior. It's always a watered down evangelistic approach that has caused the works salvation crowd (note that many of them are also homosexuals, not surprisingly) to prevail in their heresy because they are still not convinced of their need for Jesus, rather they are still what Romans 10:3 is saying about them- trying to establish their own righteousness while many of them are living a very DIRTY lifestyle.

As said, the heart must be prepared to receive the Gospel. If you try to read our salvation plan under "Jesus Christ Saves" on the tab, notice these qualities of preaching- first introducing the reality of death and eternal separation from God, the reality of sin and the cure that is in Jesus Christ. The Law's purpose is to show man what sin is. No- man is not basically good, man is a sinner, eternal Hell is the consequence and Christ is the Savior. If man were basically good, why would he need the Lord Jesus Christ? And unless Jesus as Lord is preached, people will not see they have offended Him and that only He can pardon them. As said, there is also no way any true believer can reject the Lordship of Christ in their lives because when they accept Him as Savior, they also accept Him as Lord. However that of course is not works salvation because Christians serve Jesus as Lord because they're saved not to stay saved. It's His eternal Lordship on them. A real, hard-driven, non-watered down Gospel will defeat even the slickest infiltrators in the pulpits.

Another factor of watered down preaching can be this- not preaching against world religion which has bound man from receiving the Gospel! Indeed it is true. It's common to hear people saying that it's not right to preach against false religion but never mind that, Jesus attacked the religion of the Pharisees and Christians can be confident His Father was 100% pleased. How can one preach Jesus Christ is the answer if they do not even bother to attack heresies? Pastor Victor John Joseph Affonso had won many people to Christ to Jesus, had told the hard solid truth about false religion! Any valid apologetic minstry should do research on false religions as to know if there is any group that teaches any soul damning heresy like the denial of the deity of Christ, adding baptism and/or works (or anything else like passing through Jesus' earthly mother Mary) to simple faith in Christ as a requirement for salvation and any heresy that could keep a person tied into the religious system.

However this does not mean that this ministry agrees to the heresy of works salvation which adds works to simple faith in Christ. As said, there is a balance that needs to be maintained. As said, a Christian cannot lose their salvation regardless of circumstances and their actions speak aloud. If one is truly saved, maybe they may fall down but conviction for sin, endurance during trials and even if they can be inconsistent, it's further displayed by this fact- 1 John 2:19 shows who the false converts were- they left the flock because they were never saved to start with. Also, this ministry does not agree with the use of abrasive methods in evangelism like picketing on the gatherings of unbelievers (ex. fighting with atheist rallies, picketing on the funerals of Muslim terrorists), rather, LOVINGLY tell them the hard truth and if they do not listen still, rather, pray for their salvation before it's too late.