Good Advice or Good News?

I have come to the conclusion that most of what is said in the pulpits of most churches today is nothing more than good advice NOT the Good News of the Gospel. Most sermons are filled with moral reform, church life, psychology, self help, man centered, how to be a better citizen, funny stories, clever points, history, current events, or some experience they had. Lets not forget the next big spiritual fads, purpose driven, seeker friendly, relevant, or who ever has written the next big book on Heaven, purpose, prayer, health, wealth, and prosperity. Sunday after Sunday that is what we hear with the Gospel “tacked on at the end “of the sermon. That is not the Good News. Whatever happened to hermeneutics, expository, or exegesis preaching of the Word of God? Preaching the Word of God verse by verse and letting the Bible define the text not adding to it or taking away from it in doing so losing its true meaning and replacing it with our own. The next time you hear a sermon when it is over ask yourself these questions. What redemptive quality did that have? Did it speak to the wrath to come, sin, hell, or repentance? Did it tell you about Jesus Christ and Him crucified? Did it point you to God and His Word as your only hope for the answers to life and death? If not you did NOT hear the Good News of the Gospel. It was just good advice. The late Leonard Ravenhill said this “If Jesus preached the same message minister’s preach today, he would have never been crucified.”