Popular Preaching

Popular preaching frequently focuses on our performance as the source of God’s blessings. The exhortation is man-centered, rather than God-centered. We are to follow a plan, a series of steps to reach human improvement and success. Scripture proclaims the opposite: you are dead and your life is hidden in Christ. All our righteousness is filthy rags, etc.

We rarely get to “pick our own fruit” and God uses us in ways we seldom fully realize. Yet, when I consider the times when God has used me to impact others, the common element is the certainty that “wow, that was not me!”  His Spirit prompted that.  I was simply given the joy of participation.

                                              God’s Word

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”  How?  Through the knowledge of Him!

“For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificence promises, so that by them you may become partners of the divine nature…” II Peter  1:2-4   By His promises (not our performance), we, right now, have everything pertaining to life and godliness!

Scripture clearly says we are called to “the obedience of faith.”  Not human performance. Yes, we are to avoid sin. How?  Once again the answer is in the Scriptures, “…let us lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…” Heb 12:1b-2a  He is the perfecter, as we abide in Him.

John the Baptist is a model, saying “He (Jesus) must become greater, I must become less.”

Self-improvement, self-fulfillment, self-realization all have roots in self. This is the “original sin” of Satan, “I will become like the Most High God.”  Pride!   Satan was immediately cast out from heaven.

This attractive, enticing, false gospel of “now that you are saved(?), you can perform,” has nothing of the “I die daily” of Apostle Paul. Many, very popular leaders have exhorted, “follow me, and I will lead you to greatness.”  This has great attraction to those who are not immersed in Truth. “My word is truth,” and “I am the way, the truth, and the life” declared our Lord. Our life is to be built on death to self (read Romans 6), and life in Christ.   “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, we shall be like Him.” Col. 3

The first chapter of I Corinthians clearly declares in verse 30, “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.” So our  wisdom, our righteousness is a Person, not our performance! 

Our performance is a result of His life expressed in us,by our abiding yieldedness, not our self generated efforts. 

Paul progressed from being the “least of the Apostles” to finally, near the end of his life, “the greatest of sinners.”   He that “would be greatest, must be least of all” are the words of Jesus.  Our life is to daily express our indwelling Lord, as we live in vital union with Him. Not self-improvement, but self-replacement!

So when you hear the enticing words of becoming great or successful, pause, and smell the sulfur of our enemy’s trap. He wants to replace the indwelling like of Christ with human achievement!

                                 “Cease striving and KNOW that I AM God”

            What a Gospel!  

Rejoicing,

Gary