Scripture

So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.

Matthew 23:3, NIV

Quote

Some preachers preach cream and live skimmed milk.

~Vance Havner

I have a long standing conviction: I am going to preach the pure ethic of scripture. I refuse to preach only that which I practice. I cannot fulfill the laws demands but I will continue to preach the law because it is our mirror and it reflects our sin and sinful nature. I knew an old hard hearted deacon who hated for any preacher to preach on stewardship. He eased up to me one day and said, “I met a retired Baptist preacher the other day and he told me he had never preached on money.” He continued…that preacher said to me, “There are too many other things in the Bible to preach.” Then he said to me, “What do you think about that?” I said, “You were talking to a preacher who doesn’t tithe. If I didn’t tithe myself, I wouldn’t  preach on it either.” He swallowed hard and walked away. I do try to practice what I preach but it is not possible for me to live up the pure ethic of holy scripture and I will not defraud my congregants by preaching jack instead of Jesus.

In reading John 8 the other day, I had a thought that had never crossed my mind, not that it is a great distance to cross. Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on My own, but He sent Me. Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear Me! For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me! Which of you can truthfully accuse Me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.”

This is my point: Jesus practiced everything He taught and preached. No one could convict Jesus of even one sin and yet they didn’t repent or believe.  So the problem was not the TRUTH presented or practiced but with their unbelief and hardness of heart. This should encourage every preacher of the gospel. Do we preachers fail to measure up to the perfect standard we preach? Sure, every preacher fails in this regard but that is no excuse. When the TRUTH is presented, we are accountable for what we do with that truth. If a preacher says something that is TRUE and the audience fails to get it from lack of attention, hardness of heart and indifference: God will hold them accountable. So on the day of judgment when the rebellious and hard hearted stand before God, they will not be able to use my failure, or that of others  preachers as their excuse. God is going to judge them on the basis of what they did with the truth they heard.

Don’t worry about preachers getting off Scott free; we have an even stricter judgment. We will be held accountable for everything we said that was not true. You do not want to swap places with your pastor. My greatest concern is not impressing people: my greatest concern is to be accurate and true to the scriptures. I will be held accountable.

Extra

What a joy to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. The LORD blessed the POINT yesterday with lots of visitors and a good crowd. We had 18 children in children’s church. That may be a record. God is good.

My very good friend Edith Sandlin was promoted last Friday. I had been to see her on Wednesday and they told me she was out. I assumed she was with one of her daughters but she was in the hospital. I understand it was her heart. She was a sweet lady. Mrs. Edith and I go a long way back. Her husband David passed just before we moved to Danville but I knew her parents and did both of their COLS. I loved visiting with her, she was well versed in the history of Danville. A few weeks ago, she gave me a little platform rocker that I always sit in when I visit her; I wonder if she sensed this was coming. She was an avid Alabama fan and she loved to work jigsaw puzzles. She was working on one the other day {couple of weeks back}. I am going to miss Edith. She kept her age a secret until recently. She was 19 and going to be 29 on May 15. Some people don’t like me inverting ages but Mrs. Edith loved it. I tried it with the other Edith once and it backfired. I told them at the POINT that she was 48 and she chewed me out after the service. She said, “You know I am 84; you get back up there and tell them I am 84.” Unless I lose my memory, I will not do that again.

Did You Know?

William Henry Harrison, the ninth president of the United States died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, the shortest presidency in United States history. He was the last President to be born before America became a nation and the first president to die in office.(February 9, 1773 – April 4, 1841) Only one president was older when he was inaugurated. Who was he? {One hint, he made great speeches} Two other presidents had short tenures: James A. Garfield {200 days} and Zachary Taylor {16 months}. Taylor was the last president to hold slaves while he was in office.

Check Your Vocabulary

• Circuitously
• Vicissitude
• Felicity
• Recreant
• Trismegistus
• Calumny

{These words come from Augustine’s CITY OF GOD}