The kind of preaching needed today

Need For Specific Preaching

Several years ago I was delivering a lesson on "Distinctive Preaching." One young preacher in the audience took issue with some points that I made and said, "I just preach principles, I don't make application. I let each person do that for himself." I replied, "Don't you think David was glad that Nathan didn't do that?" He wanted to know what I meant. I reminded him of Nathan coming to King David after David had taken another man's wife and later had that man put in a position to be killed. Nathan came to David and spoke of a rich man who had many flocks and herds and a poor man that had just one little ewe lamb that was like a child to him (2 Samuel 12). When the rich man had the opportunity to entertain a stranger he did not take from his many flocks and herds but took the poor man's one little ewe lamb. David understood the principle. In fact the Bible says, "And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, ‘As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity’" (2 Samuel 12:5,6). It was not until Nathan said, "Thou art the man" that David made the application to himself and acknowledged his sin (see Psalm 51).

Yes, sometimes we must be very specific in our preaching if we expect people to understand and make application. Many will say "Amen" when we teach that we must respect the authority of God's word in all things, but will get upset when we start examining various practices or doctrines in the light of God's word. It is great, to them, to have you say that we need to reject the doctrines of men, but when you identify some of these (instrumental music in worship, church support of human institutions, church sponsored recreation and entertainment, etc.) they get angry as David did. I know from personal experience that just because preaching makes one angry doesn't mean that the preaching did no good. It may cause one to study and examine his life in light of the truth and make the necessary changes in his life.

- by James Hahn