Matthew 3:3 KJV
For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
I read the other day another writer calling for some "old fashioned" pastors. The author did not give much of a definition of what that would be except to say we needed them and it might mean something different to different people. Being "old fashioned" is not necessarily positive.
• Some "old fashioned" pastors were holy rollers
• Some were little better than purveyors of snake oil
• Some "old fashioned" pastors led their people to persecute those who disagreed with them
Old fashioned is not a virtue. Back to the Bible is.
And we can't get back to being an old fashioned Bible preacher without being a John the Baptist preacher. Some, even in the Baptist schools, have swallowed the Protestant view that John the Baptist is in spiritual limbo; neither a full fledged Old Testament prophet nor a legitimate New Testament preacher. I disagree. Mark chapter one says, "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ.... John did baptize… and preach." The New Testament gospel begins with the preacher John. Therefore John becomes the example of old fashioned preaching.
And all four gospels quote this Old Testament prophecy as applicable to the preaching of John the Baptist. The "old fashioned" preacher I am looking for calls for people to prepare and make straight the way of the Lord. The work the Lord does in a life is His own. No man can make himself fit for Christ. But a man can prepare himself for the work Christ does.
• Through the cultivation of the Holy Spirit
• Through the preaching of the Word of God
• Through the humility of the heart
a man may prepare for the Lord's work in his soul.
There is too much haughtiness among men. There are too few preachers who will confront the worldliness and self love of people today. There are too few preachers who will make hell hot and right at our toes. Too much preaching caters to the self love among people. It appeals to and feeds the human nature. Granted, it might gather a group, but they become no true congregation; they are all about self.
I am all for some old fashioned preaching and pastoring but I believe we need to define that and I believe it is best defined by the example of John the Baptist.
For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
I read the other day another writer calling for some "old fashioned" pastors. The author did not give much of a definition of what that would be except to say we needed them and it might mean something different to different people. Being "old fashioned" is not necessarily positive.
• Some "old fashioned" pastors were holy rollers
• Some were little better than purveyors of snake oil
• Some "old fashioned" pastors led their people to persecute those who disagreed with them
Old fashioned is not a virtue. Back to the Bible is.
And we can't get back to being an old fashioned Bible preacher without being a John the Baptist preacher. Some, even in the Baptist schools, have swallowed the Protestant view that John the Baptist is in spiritual limbo; neither a full fledged Old Testament prophet nor a legitimate New Testament preacher. I disagree. Mark chapter one says, "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ.... John did baptize… and preach." The New Testament gospel begins with the preacher John. Therefore John becomes the example of old fashioned preaching.
And all four gospels quote this Old Testament prophecy as applicable to the preaching of John the Baptist. The "old fashioned" preacher I am looking for calls for people to prepare and make straight the way of the Lord. The work the Lord does in a life is His own. No man can make himself fit for Christ. But a man can prepare himself for the work Christ does.
• Through the cultivation of the Holy Spirit
• Through the preaching of the Word of God
• Through the humility of the heart
a man may prepare for the Lord's work in his soul.
There is too much haughtiness among men. There are too few preachers who will confront the worldliness and self love of people today. There are too few preachers who will make hell hot and right at our toes. Too much preaching caters to the self love among people. It appeals to and feeds the human nature. Granted, it might gather a group, but they become no true congregation; they are all about self.
I am all for some old fashioned preaching and pastoring but I believe we need to define that and I believe it is best defined by the example of John the Baptist.
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