CHRIST, THE FEARLESS PREACHER

Walking as He walked in the fearless ministry of the word. Who will dare, in this compromising, man-pleasing age, follow Him in this? Where are the men who will unsheath their swords from their scabbards and wade through sham, pretense, formality, and formal godliness, fashion, pride, worldliness and secretism; and, like their Lord, fearlessly unmask, uncover, and expose hypocrisy in high places? If God can find them they shall be the harbingers of a church-wide revival that shall eventually be world-wide.

I.

Jesus Was Both a Destructive and Constructive Preacher. He tore down and built up. There is great objection to what are termed "destructive," or "digging" preachers. We object to them too if it is meant by the expression, those who undermine people's faith and preach them down just for the sake of gloating over the achievement. But, if John-the-Baptist-like, the preacher destroys in love what needs destruction, to build up in the end, there is great need of such preachers. In fact, much in the modern church, and some things in the holiness movement need destruction. The type of men to do this work may be termed iconoclastic and void of love and sympathy. But how blind is this charge! The greater the preacher's love, the firmer and more unflinchingly will he drive the knife to the hilt.

The prevalent judgment that John the Baptist was severe, stern, and harsh, is farthest from the truth. He was a tender-hearted, loving, sympathetic man, with too great love to let the churchmen of his day go quietly to hell unwarned, and unrebuked. He recognized the greatest calamity which could befall the human soul was to be lost forever in hell, and that strenuous, earnest, persistent labor to prevent so dire a calamity was the highest expression of courageous love m pre-eminently a labor of love!

God sent Jeremiah to "root out, pull down, throw down, and destroy," and then, after this necessary work of destruction, to "build up and plant." He was His "battle-axe" to destroy all that needed destruction. The one thing He had against certain false prophets of his day was that they healed slightly and did not discover the iniquity of His people. They were too tender to go to the bottom and offend. God wants destructive preachers of unflinching courage and backbone, who will go to the bottom of the sin question and relieve sin's disease altogether.

A young doctor in Virginia, some years since, expressed a desire to help us. We were suffering intensely from a large carbuncle on the wrist. It had caused us many sleepless nights, fever and loss of appetite, and much inconvenience and pain during preaching. He informed us in order to give us the proffered relief he must cause pain. The knife must be used. It must be cut; the lance must go in deep; and you can get ready to sprawl out on the floor in a dead faint, but I love your best interest and want to help you to sure relief. Did he love me, causing so much pain? O, sure, with real backbone love that would not hesitate to cause temporary pain that permanent relief might be given. Hurt? I should say so. Cry out and squirm? Of course I did. But in a few minutes it was all over, and the corruption being cut to the core, rolled out and almost instant relief came; appetite and sleep returned, the pain and fever left, and all because he was not too chicken-hearted to use the knife. He was momentarily destructive in order to give abiding relief. So the destructive preacher is, according to the analogy of nature. He must cause pain, bring intense conviction and fears, but it must be in love so that afterwards the peaceful fruits of righteousness abound.

The Chicago North-Western Railroad has a magnificent new depot in Chicago: They say it cost upwards of thirty million dollars. But before that magnificent structure of architectural skill and perfection appeared, there was a gigantic work of destruction. It is claimed Eight hundred old, worthless, inferior buildings were destroyed from the site of its present foundation. So the heroic is needed in the ministry, men who will tear down and destroy the worthless and false and inferior and dig deep the foundation in order that a glorious superstructure of Christlike character may appear. SUCH A MINISTRY WAS CHRIST'S, AND SUCH MUST BE THAT OF THOSE WHO WOULD WALK AS HE WALKED IN HIS MINISTRY.

He tore down in order to build up; discovered sin and forgave it; wounded, and healed; made men disconsolate and then comforted them. If one would imitate Him in His matchless ministry, he must not exclusively edify and comfort, as desirable as this would be, but frequently tear down and discourage from wrong conceptions of what following Christ is, and then to build up and comfort. Christ never comforted any in their sins; He never said, "Go in peace," to those who held on to sin. We wonder how .some interpret Him when they give the impression He was all love and pity and compassion and sympathy. True, His severe messages were in love. He said, relative to His ministry:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He sent Me to heat the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised."

But He also spoke of bringing a sword, and He could and did administer the most scathing and withering denunciation and rebuke wherever necessary. "God so loved the world, and also God is angry every day with the wicked." In one breath He could say: "How can ye escape the damnation of hell?" in the next, with tears in heart, eyes, and voice, "O, Jerusalem, how often would I have "gathered you as a hen doth gather her brood." He would cry, "Woe, woe, woe unto scribes, Pharisees, and hypocrites," and then stretch out His arms in loving, beckoning, forgiving, inviting attitude, and say, "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

O, for this Christlike combination of fearlessness, courageousness, boldness, fidelity, and yet with all commingled a heavenly sweetness, love, and tenderness! Almost invariably the love and tenderness side of Christ's character are magnified to the exclusion of His firmness. Love is no fool. Love has backbone. That is a peculiar kind of love indeed that looks on silently in the church when surrounded by unmistakable evidences of worldliness and pride; which lets the poor, deceived ones go to hell rather than speak out plainly in express, unmistakable terms against specific forms of sin. That is a type of love Jesus never possessed. REAL CHRISTLIKE LOVE WILL CONSTRAIN THE PREACHER TO GIVE NO QUARTER TO SIN; TO "CRY ALOUD AND SPARE NOT: AND LIFT UP HIS VOICE LIKE A TRUMPET AND SHOW MY PEOPLE THEIR SINS." He will not hesitate in love to use the knife. Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, or, margin, "Keeps back his sword from blood."

There is great pressure on the minister to please all classes, which, if he yields to, he cannot please God. To do this he is urged to be wise, discreet, tactful, cautious, judicious, a mixer, all things to all men; join the lodges to win the lodge men, preach them special laudatory sermons, etc. But the world is never wan to Christ this way, however much surface evidence of success there may be from this method, God has said the foundation that is not secure, which is daubed with untempered mortar, shall not stand. That portion of the world which is really won to Christ is won by going against and exposing its error with Christlike courage. He cared for no man's person or standing or social position or wealth, but rebuked all alike.

II.

Christ was a direct preacher. He did not spend His time discoursing about imaginary characters, or talking to those not present, or of some vague third person, but He employed the SECOND PERSON, "THOU ART THE MAN." He specialized sin and people in His preaching so they knew of what he spoke and to whom He spoke. He was unlike that church in a large city which professes to represent Him, whose pastor assures the hearers by advance announcement that they may attend services there with the assurance that they will not be made uncomfortable or put in an embarrassing position. Indeed, this is just what must take place before salvation is theirs. Jesus used plain terms, lust, adultery, fornication, evil thoughts, covetousness, called out scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites, lawyers, whited sepulchers. He said, "Woe unto thee, Chorazin, Bethsaida, and thou, Capernaum." "O, Jerusalem, which stonest the prophets and killest them which are sent to thee." To the Jews He deliberately said, "Ye are of your father, the devil, and his lusts ye will do."

How are they mistaken who adopt euphemistic, smooth-sounding, toothless, powerless words to describe what God, in unmistakable words, calls sin. Vague, indefinite, unspecific preaching will not bring the agonizing throes of old-fashioned conviction for sin. How, through vain conceit of learning, traditions and opinions of men is the counsel of God made of none effect -- powerless! We are reminded of one of these worldly wise preachers, who said to his elite, cultured audience, "If you do not repent you will go to the place which I have too much self-respect to mention before this cultured audience.

Christlike, direct, specific preaching may grate on refined sensibilities and shock cultured ears, but they had better be severely shocked than damned. Nothing is a greater menace to the progress of His kingdom than the compromising, man fearing, gingerly manner with which the awful fact of sin is dealt with in many modern pulpits. How often we are informed, "The ordinary preaching does not trouble me, but when I go to the holiness camps and revivals my conscience is troubled; I lose sleep and appetite and feel dreadfully unright with God." The explanation is in the direct, Christlike, apostolic method of pointed preaching. "Repent YE: Ye crucified: YE have slain: Thou art in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity: YE shall all likewise perish except ye repent: It is not lawful for THEE to have her."

III.

Christ never learned how to preach so as to offend none. Whoever will be God's preacher may as well know at the outset to preach the preaching that God bids him will mean opposition and offended hearers. A holy life and ministry, by virtue of their nature, antagonize sin and stir the devil. Mr. Wesley's rule for determining a successful sermon was, "Is anybody made angry?" His sons repudiate this rule and seem to think the more they please the people the more successful they are. Jesus offended his hearers. They sought to kill Him. Led Him out to the brow of the precipice to cast Him down, and said He had a devil, after one of His searching messages.

Christ, however, provoked little or no opposition until He was baptized with the Holy Ghost, and in a new sense spoke in the synagogue as His custom was. This time there is a "searching, penetrating unction in His speech which cuts His hearers to the heart" and results in the arousing of their anger and their leading Him out to the brow of the hill to cast Him down. The Baptism of the Holy Ghost and the consequent tongue of fire and OFFENDED HEARERS seem to go hand in hand. The Disciples had little opposition, comparatively until their reception of the Pentecostal Baptism. Then there was furor, tumults, arrests, imprisonments, threats, and commands that they speak no more. The writer spoke many times in a certain church, and almost invariably with warm commendation and compliments, before he received the sanctifying Spirit, and then the aspect was entirely changed. They were offended; "He has joined that holiness propaganda; too bad, such a promising young man has lost his influence, and his mind (very kindly)."

But, brethren, because the time has come (as a Methodist Bishop said) when they will not endure sound doctrine, are offended at it, is no reason we should not give it to them; whether they will hear or forebear, we must to keep God's smile on our hearts, declare the whole counsel of God. If we mean to follow Jesus in the use of the anointed tongue of fire, in testimony, prayer, and preaching, we will have offended hearers, must have them, and as long as we maintain this result in our ministry there will be no danger of compromise. Let none suppose he can so wisely present the doctrine of the holy life as to offend none. If so, he has learned what Jesus and the apostles and reformers never learned and what, please God, the writer of this exhortation never wants to learn. "Woe unto you when all men speak well of you." "From that time forth many of His disciples went back and walked no more with Him." They were offended at Him; "Knowest thou not that thy disciples were offended at thee?" Surely if any one could so wisely and judiciously preach as to commend the Gospel to all classes and offend honed Christ ought to be that one. But this He never succeeded in doing. He antagonized the world and unspiritual church and had their hatred. "Me it hateth because I testify of it that the works thereof are evil." It is not superior wisdom or tact or resourcefulness or judiciousness that preaches so as not to offend, but man fearing temporizing compromise oftentimes. His warning "Woe" is given all who so do.

IV.

He was God's Mouthpiece. "Whatsoever I speak, even as the Father tells me so I speak." "I speak not of myself, but the Father dwelling in me He doeth the works." "He gave me a commandment what I should say and what I should speak." "He whom God has sent speaketh the words of God." To all who would be His representatives He still, as in the days of old, says, "Hear the word at my mouth and give them warning from Me." "All I command thee, thou shalt speak, diminish not a word of it," keep back none of it, declare the whole counsel of God whether they will hear or whether they will forbear." "Eat the book, digest it, preach it; multiplicity even of good books make a famine for the pure word of God. Preach the word, it is quick and powerful, the chosen power of God to salvation: the sword of the spirit, the hammer to break rocky hearts in pieces, the fire, to burn conviction home. O, be not wiser than Jesus, be not above preaching the simple story; shun science, philosophy, vain conceit, wisdom of words, lest the word be made void.