Good Pastors And Preachers Know The Difference Between Taunting And Preaching

From the pulpit, to video/audio posts on the internet, to the street corner and beyond, many preachers and pastors seek to spread the news about Jesus Christ! Sincere, passionate, courageous, AND __________ (you fill in the blank) these men continue this work without reservation of mind. In the midst of such a noble endeavor, a question has been forced upon me. “Is it possible to do something right and go about it the wrong way?” In reference to a specific situation I recently encountered, I write this post and make the following statement: Good pastors and preachers KNOW the difference between taunting and preaching!


Is God Honored By My Preaching?

For a while now, I have be thinking about the privilege of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Divinely Inspired Word. What an honor it is that God would want ME to preach for HIM! I wonder though… “Is God honored by my preaching?” Every preacher must ask himself that question from time to time. If he does not, then he is likely to be doing what he loves to do, but causing more harm than good. Nobody wants to be guilty of this. NOBODY!

Am I Detracting From The Gospel?

Proclaiming the gospel under: the promise from God that His Word will not return void (Isaiah 55:11); the fact that the gospel has power (Romans 1:16); the plain command to preach it (Isaiah 58:1; 2 Timothy 4:2); and a plethora of Biblical examples of leather-lunged prophets who dared to herald forth God’s message, many have taken refuge to condone and excuse their taunts, rants, and mean spirits. While the above scriptural references are all true and believed by this preacher, they are not to be used to grant a license for non-Biblical methodology. It is entirely possible to preach God’s Word without taunting people and acting like a 6 year old on a playground. You can preach BOLDLY and DIRECTLY without detracting the gospel.

Why Do Some Pastors And Preachers, At Times, Taunt Their Audience?

I do not know for sure why people do this sometimes. It might be from anger and they are lashing out. It could be from insecurity issues. Publicity stunts for a camera shot are certainly not out of the question. I feel that it is mostly from personality quirks left unchecked. Whatever the reason, it is FLESH, FLESH, FLESH! God the Holy Ghost CAN use this type preaching because He is God. After all, He used a donkey to reach a man in the Old Testament. Though God CAN use taunts and tirades to reach people, it is certainly not the normal way God worked as seen in the Biblical pattern.

Is Street Preaching A Breeding Ground For This Behavior?

Street preaching is a venue that is Biblical and needed more and more in this country (USA). I am for it 1,000,000 percent! It is difficult to do and not for the faint of heart. Due to the audience you, many times, have when street preaching, there is a tendency to be reactionary. Getting off script, so to speak, results in dialogue that was not intended or would not normally be engaged in. Most of the street preachers in this country, who are preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, do what needs to be done in a Biblical way, and are not kooks nor cultists. It is a severe minority, who use this great method of evangelism to pontificate, that I feel gives a bad name for everyone else.

Conclusion

Anytime you criticize, constructively or non-constructively, someone’s motives and/or methods you will run the risk of being taken the wrong way. In view of this fact, I want to be clearly understood. Giving the benefit of the doubt, and operating under the assumption that pastors and preachers who taunt, at times, while they are preaching are sincere and genuine, I wholeheartedly applaud their desire to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. I am, however, very much opposed to their taunts. Let us be CLEAR, to my knowledge, in the King James Bible I possess, I do not recall an incident where Jesus Christ ever, I repeat, EVER taunted anyone! There is absolutely NOBiblical justification for taunting while preaching from the Holy Word of God!

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This present books brings Gibb’s encyclopedic knowledge of the subject within our reach. Gibb’s seriousness, thoroughness, energy, and urgency breath from this book. First entitled A Primer on Preaching, as Gibbs matured so his study of the sacred art of preaching grew. His final edition was completed just months before his sudden homecall in an auto accident enroute to Hamilton, Ontario, for a two week series of Gospel meetings.

Pastor, There Is Power In The Word Of God

A couple of years ago, I heard a preacher friend speak of God’s Word in an unusual way. Don’t get me wrong here. He was not speaking about something I did not know, but rather, it was HOW he said it. This man of God was speaking about his plans for taking the gospel into a gang infested area of his community. This man spoke with a godly authority and great faith. He was not being presumptuous nor proud, just confident in the POWER of GOD’S WORD! WOW!

Due to the current tasks which lay before me, I have been reminded of that afternoon when I heard my preacher friend share his prayer request about going into gang territory with the good news about Jesus Christ. It has encouraged me greatly! All of God’s men need to rely upon the dynamite power of God’s Word!

We Can Be Confident…

Not only have I been stirred by my colleague’s example, but when you read the final portion of the last chapter of Acts, you find these great words… “Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.” The Apostle Paul was sharing the Word of God with people with CONFIDENCE. This is no different than a medical doctor giving a drug to cure a patient. Paul was sure in the powerful truths of God’s Word.

We Can Be Resolved…

(Isaiah 55:11) “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”  (KJV)

A golf instructor may give advice about how to correct a man’s swing, but he may not be completely resolved that it will, in fact, help the novice. As God’s preachers, we are not like this. We can be resolved that God’s Word will get the job done! As a President may commission an ambassador to accomplish a particular order of business, so the Word of God does on God’s behalf! It will work!

We Can Be Open And Transparent…

(Romans 1:16) “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”  (KJV)

In some avenues people find themselves holding back because they are not sure if they want EVERYONE to know that they are in agreement with or are a party to some particular thing. Pastors do not have to be this way at all. We can be OPEN about who we are and what we believe because of the power of God’s Word! If God’s Word can transform our lives as believers, then there is no reason to cower away, or be intimidated by the world around us.

Conclusion

May each person who takes time to read this post find a greater measure of faith in God’s infallible truth. There IS power in the Word of God! While proclaimers of God’s Word may have great oratory or have great insight to add color to the message, it is ultimately the Words of God that will get the job DONE! PUT YOUR FAITH IN GOD’S WORD AND KEEP IT THERE!

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This one-volume edition of a beloved classic features a trimmer size, and includes everything from the original multivolume commentary! (Only the KJV text has been eliminated to save space.) Combining practical application, devotional insight, and scholarship, Henry offers profound wisdom on the content, message, and nature of God’s divine revelation in Scripture.
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A Preacher Should Preach And Keep On Preaching – By Pastor Andrew Schank

Pastor Andrew SchankGod gave this message to me on one Thursday evening before the preacher’s fellowship meeting in September of 2006. I was to be the moderator of the meeting and had not planned on preaching. God showed me that I was to preach and I was sure glad that I listened to Him. God used the message and I have been allowed to preach in in many places. May God use it to encourage every man of God to keep on preaching!

[sermons id=21]

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Whether you’re preaching from the Old Testament or the New, clear, concise outlines are the cornerstone to well-developed messages. Now you can glean insights from one of today’s most popular Bible teachers with this collection of 200 summaries. Whether short and pithy or longer and detailed, they’ll all help you deliver powerful, life-changing sermons. 112 pages each, two softcovers from Kregel.

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