From Bryan Chapell's Christ-centered preaching.
I realize this is more like a seven course meal than a tidbit. I don't do this often, and they've been piling up for the last couple of weeks. Since they all elevate grace, I think they belong together. I hope you read them. All of them. I assure you it will do you some good.
Preaching without a grace focus concentrates on means of earning divine acceptance, proofs of personal righteousness, and contrasts with those less holy than we.
A message that merely advocates morality and compassion remains sub-Christian even if the preacher can prove that the Bible demands such behaviours. By ignoring the sinfulness of man that makes even our best works tainted before God and by neglecting the grace of God that makes obedience possible and acceptable, such messages necessarily subvert the Christian message...a message that even inadvertantly teaches others that their works win God's acceptance inevitably leads people away from the gospel.
Spirituality based on personal conduct cannot escape its human-centered orbit though it aspires to lift one to divine heights.
Such preaching errs not by detailing what God requires but by implying or directly stating that God's favor is a consequence of our obedience rather than proclaiming that obedience itself is a blessing that results from the favor of God purchased for us in Christ.
Evangelical preaching that implies we are saved by grace but held by our obedience not only undermines the work of God in sanctification but it ultimately casts doubt on the nature of God.
We [must] never inadvertantly teach others to seek answers without his truth, perform his bidding without his strength, or reap his blessings without the acceptance he alone provides.
Self-protection and self-promotion are sad alternitives for "glorifying God and enjoying him forever," but the former alternatives are the definite products of lives devoted to God out of servile dread and slavish fear.
I was forcing people to question, "What action of mine will make me right with God?" No wonder their faith did not mature. Their faith was in what they could do to fix their own situations with God. I was encouraging people to look to themselves rather than to the cross as the place for erasing guilt and finding God's favor.
We may experience more of God's blessings and sense more of his fellowship as a result of our obedience but do not risk God's rejection because of our failures.
Preaching that is faithful to these biblical truths never prods believers toward holiness with the threat of divine rejection, for to do so would be to make works rather than grace the foundation of our relationship with God.
True holiness flows not merely from an awareness of the malignancy of sin, but from a deep apprehension of the ability of grace alone to cure it.
Posted by apelles at October 30, 2003 10:48 PMThank you.
Posted by: Benjamin at October 31, 2003 09:46 AM