George Whitefield Against Watered Down Preaching
"They (preachers of the day) strengthen the hand of the wicked by promising them eternal life. They comfort people, before the Holy Spirit convicts them. They sow, before they plow and are busy in raising a fabric before laying The Foundation.....These foolish builders strengthen man's carnal security by their soft, selfish, cowardly discourses. They have not the courage or honesty to thrust the Nail of Terror into the sleeping souls of unregenerated professing Christians. They pass over the Law, and casually mention the Ruin and Depravity of Man. They utter not the Sovereignty of God and that Salvation is of The Lord. It be no small wonder, Our Lord will proclaim to most Church goers, 'Depart from me. I never knew you.' (Matthew 7:23)."
~ George Whitefield 1714-1770
I really can only say this that many churches today suffer from watered down preaching. When I quote from historic Christianity, they can say preachers like Whitefield teach "works salvation" or "make salvation complicated". They say that it is possible for a Christian to be saved and not produce any good works. Friends, that is an utter heresy because 1 Corinthians 6:11 declares, "And such were some of you." to the crowd of people who used to be the sinners in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.
What is the problem also of preaching today is when sin is downplayed which in turn downplays the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ for our sins on the cross. The Lord did not die so we may enjoy sin but so we may be saved from it. But many people refuse to get saved because of their love for sin. What a sinister perversion is it to teach people that they can live any way they want after salvation with a false message. It is indeed a false gospel when one says that one can be saved and never have any change. It makes Scriptures a liar because Titus 2:11-14 declares God's grace is a life changing power and not something that permits one to sin indefinitely.
The Law is what shows us our sin. Galatians 3:24, Romans 3:19 and James 2:10-11 shows the severity of sin. Do people even realize the heaviness of sin? It took only one sin to throw our ancestors Adam and Eve out of Eden, only one sin from our ancestor Adam to pollute everyone with sin, only one sin to cause man to fall short of the glory of God and to violate the standards of the Law. The early preaching was always showing the Law to sinners. During the Reformation, Martin Luther reaffirmed the old preaching before his time that the Law is a hammer that shatters our self-righteousness and a mirror that shows us our sin.
See also:
George Whitefield on the Seriousness of Sin
~ George Whitefield 1714-1770
I really can only say this that many churches today suffer from watered down preaching. When I quote from historic Christianity, they can say preachers like Whitefield teach "works salvation" or "make salvation complicated". They say that it is possible for a Christian to be saved and not produce any good works. Friends, that is an utter heresy because 1 Corinthians 6:11 declares, "And such were some of you." to the crowd of people who used to be the sinners in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.
What is the problem also of preaching today is when sin is downplayed which in turn downplays the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ for our sins on the cross. The Lord did not die so we may enjoy sin but so we may be saved from it. But many people refuse to get saved because of their love for sin. What a sinister perversion is it to teach people that they can live any way they want after salvation with a false message. It is indeed a false gospel when one says that one can be saved and never have any change. It makes Scriptures a liar because Titus 2:11-14 declares God's grace is a life changing power and not something that permits one to sin indefinitely.
The Law is what shows us our sin. Galatians 3:24, Romans 3:19 and James 2:10-11 shows the severity of sin. Do people even realize the heaviness of sin? It took only one sin to throw our ancestors Adam and Eve out of Eden, only one sin from our ancestor Adam to pollute everyone with sin, only one sin to cause man to fall short of the glory of God and to violate the standards of the Law. The early preaching was always showing the Law to sinners. During the Reformation, Martin Luther reaffirmed the old preaching before his time that the Law is a hammer that shatters our self-righteousness and a mirror that shows us our sin.
See also:
George Whitefield on the Seriousness of Sin