The image selected is that of a young Bob Grey. Like many Fundamentalist then and now, they have people in the world they attack and preach against. For him it was Elvis. For many preachers today, it is all sorts of nonsense that tends to nothing but laboring in vain and wasteful ministries. Yeah I said it! What?
In the sense of public ministry, us servants of the Lord, are we (watch as I wax homiletical) Protesting Sin, Provoking Sinners, Promoting Wrath or Proclaiming the Savior? There seems to have been this recent rash of confrontational sensationalism among our ranks. Whether it is in the pulpits, pushing for decision by any means necessary, or it is on the streets, ranting and raving about all sorts of sins and unrighteousness. We are out of the way, thinking we are promoting the way. Who's world do you think this is?
Some years ago I remember quite distinctly, Christians, Protestants, Catholics, and even a state power, the Vatican, all came together as one protesting "Brokeback Mountain" at the theaters worldwide. Many across the nation in protest of this film could be seen holding up signs with negative “sodomite sayings” and the typical, verses of scriptures to lay at the feet of any unrighteous believer. We have our ammo ready all the time.
As I watched it play out, I observed many men attempting to inaudibly speak through a megaphone over the noise of 100 cars driving by with their windows up. In my view, this would only attract more attention to the spectacle! But what do I know right?
Many Christian protests only brought out the news media to show the Christian right acting crazy again. All of these groups were portrayed by the media as fanatical, backwoods, extremist, fundies!
The religious right once again fell right into the snare of the world, the affairs of this life. The wisdom of the world is wiser then the children of men! That’s what happens when you tangle with the world, fame and publicity. This is what happens when you seek occasion for the flesh. This is what happens when you seek the notoriety of being “those who stand against all”.
Men pridefully attempt to put themselves out there, citing "someone has to warn the wicked", “we must let them know." “It's our job to tear these things down.” Then you get upset when some reporter twists your words on the evening news. What do you expect him to do?
"Oh yeah, your absolutely right, I see it your way." They won’t see it our way! They are not of him, most of them.
The “4th Estate” as it records your every word and action could be more damaging than those you threw your Bible at when you were preaching at the “movie house”. A Christian has no business rubbing shoulders with these people in these manners. You know they have no intentions of presenting you in a positive light. You are made out to be a fool, and your face, or voice being on the airways, or youtube can attract or detract from the simplicity in Christ. Which one is it? You will give the lost yet another excuse not to even listen to another Christian. There are very few Christians out there that could handle fame, and notoriety. They are rare. The rest of us would think we are something.
Most men that stand on a street corner with sandwich signs, displaying eye catching catchphrases are usually damning someone who performs a specific sin i.e. (Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve, God hates fags, Fornicators, drunkards, etc.) Forgetting that none of those sins sends someone into condemnation. Forgetting that such were some of you! Rejecting Jesus is the sin that will banish souls into eternity in the lake of fire. The vices of this world are far lesser charges then turning your back on the sacrificial lamb of God. “Sin is sin!”
Some sins however carry a stiffer penalty I think. There are specific sins that God hates, and has extreme aversion to and there are sins that will attract God’s wrathful side. Imagine his wrath, when men, who rejects his Son, the mediator between God and man, the reason God shows us the story of Abraham and Isaac. He was willing to sacrifice his son to draw closer to God. God did allow sinners with wicked hands, to sacrifice a just man, His Son, that He may be closer to man. If man rejects that, and his final destination most assuredly will be hell and the lake of fire. This is not in dispute.
These are the points that are needing to desperately be made. You can show a sinner he is a sinner without being specific. But many of you feel that need to get specific in the 30 minutes you may have with one random sinner. None of us can escape our nature, not even after conversion. We are all filthy rags. Every man at his best state is ALL together vanity. Sin still has stock in our mortal bodies. We should not let it reign however. We are sinners by nature, disobedient, and we need Christ to stand in our place to present us to God as righteous. Through his blood, through faith. This is the message. This is our only message to a lost world. All that other stuff can come after.
If a public ministry of any kind is to preach, it must be Jesus Christ , the preaching of the cross, and the gospel presented to the lost only. “Says who?” you might say! Says Paul the Apostle (See the “Manner of Paul”). Who are you? By what authority do you claim your callings and unctions. Jeremiah, Jonah, Micah? Which one?
Men do these sorts of things to elevate their own consciences in standards and legalism. It’s separating and distinguishing. It is the age old attitude, “there is always someone worse than me”. It makes us feel good in our own self righteousness. It’s Romans 10:3 in us!
Many matters of specific sins need to be focused on the body of Christ. Those who have the holy Spirit of Christ residing in them. A lost man has not the power over any sin in his life. The body of Christ has the gift of the holy spirit to help them be upright and righteous in their ways. The lost are only practicing what they should by their nature. It’s fallen and chalked full of self righteousness. We look at these outward manifestations that sinners commit, and we can only see that. The root problem is the heart and their belief! We are just wasting time when we are treating the symptoms and not the root. Its why Paul said, But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men (1 Corinthians 1)
You arrogant men, don;t you get it? He is the offence and stumblingblock. He is the foolishness, that preaching! We are already fools for Christ sake! When we focus on all these other stuff the world can;t even fathom or understand yet, we are made seem foolish. Not our message! They don;t hear it anymore. They hear the other foolishness we are preaching! I like what C.H. Spurgeon said on the matter;
“Today there is not very much gospel about; the church has given it up; a great many preachers preach everything but living truth. This is sad; but it is a strong reason why you and I should teach more gospel than ever.
I have often thought to myself – other men teach Socialism, deliver lectures, or collect a band of fiddlers, that they may gather a congregation; but I will preach the gospel. I will preach more gospel than ever if I can; I will stick more to the cardinal point.
The other brethren can attend to the odds and ends, but I will keep to Christ crucified. To the men of vast ability, who are looking to the events of the day, I would say, ‘Allow one poor fool to keep to preaching the gospel.’ Beloved teachers, be fools for Christ, and keep to the gospel.
Don’t be afraid: it has life in it, and it will grow: only you bring it out, and let it grow.”
Some excuses you guys have when you go off the gospel path with your out of order actions simply don’t hold water. Saying, “we have to show them their sinners”. When the reality is most already know they are sinners. And if not, as I said before, there is plenty of scripture that deals with sin and the fact that people are sinners, without being so mind-numbingly specific. There is plenty of scripture that shows the sinner he is one. There is NONE righteous, all our righteousness is as filthy rags, man at his best state is altogether vanity, etc.
You will not change these peoples minds about their sin, until you compel them to trust the Savior who died for their sins. They are almost powerless against sin. Remember how sin ruled your life. Remember the hold and the chokehold it had on you? Remember how low you were when the holy Spirit of God called you for salvation? The despair, misery, the secret lives, the hiding in the darkness, the AA meetings, the self help books, how to stop this and that. They need Christ the same as you. You know salvation alone does not change a life instantaneously. It changes our destination and our standing! What don’t you guys get? You seem so confused on this issue here!
They need the one who said “my grace is sufficient”. “There hath no temptation take you but such is as common to man, HE is faithful, and will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able.” That’s Christians. Not a lost person. A lost person doesn’t have the help of Christ to fight and struggle with their temporal bodies! God is knocking on their door, and Christ is not in their hearts yet!
The world runs to do evil, we see this in scriptures. It is as old as Psalms 2. It is as old as Ecclesiastes. There is no new thing under the sun. It’s as wicked as Genesis 6 was! They aren’t asking God for help with temptations. They are asking the priest, other christs, false teachers and prophets, other gods, education, the religions, the ex addicts, the ex alcoholics, for help. They run to and fro, none seeketh after God, there is none righteous. They seek a worldly repentance that we know “worketh sorrow.”
Preach against sin in the church, to people who have the spirit of God, who can discern spiritual things. Those who are knowledgeable of what SIN is. Those who have half a chance at wrestling sin in ones life, the believer with a Bible! Those who are aware of their surroundings, who know their lot and where they are in the ages. Those whose eyes have been opened to spiritual things. These things that are spiritually discerned to them. The spirit of Christ indwells them. He is a permanent fixture to help, strengthen, guide, instruct, love rebuke, counsel, exhort etc. But not to a lost man.
I have been accused several times of painting it black, or representing things worse then they are. Just by way of example, to show you how bad it is, we expect a random lost person, in a span of 30 minutes to one hour, thats if they stick around for the 30 minutes or longer to hear about 2000 to 2500 words quoted, maybe 50 to 75 verses. Now you know most just walk on by. We are really no different now. Street preachers, street peddlers are everywhere. On the street, it should be all scripture, unless you have liberty to talk individually!
It should all be concerning the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, his gospel. Verses ranging from the blood atonement, belief, the spirit, faith, the resurrection, and then on top of that, we expect all the hearers, hundreds large at times, to understand our speech, inflections, and tones. And then on top of all that, they have to hear it in understanding, and we have to have longsuffering in our preaching (1 Corinthians 14, I Tim4). And it has to be as our Lord with wholesome words! Then we expect men to come to a decision about what they have heard, again, if anyone is listening or sticking around for the meeting.
Understand, when Whitfield, Cartwright and men from the Philadelphian church age (open door) were doing their things in the fields, and on the circuits, their open air ministries, they had people COMING TO HEAR them. They were filling the fields with hearers. It wasn’t so much the men of God in that age, but the movement of God in that age. I know, you will scoff at this to, thinking I am downing those respectable, gentlemen, but I know I am not. You men just use them like you do the other guys, to have a positional backing when your position is threatened by the brethren that have brought many witnesses against you regarding this spirit of error. Ye have no so learned Christ!
Now, even if we were making a stab at this sort of preaching, even the minutest attempt to adhere to orderly, voluntary and acceptable open air preaching, I would still question whether or not our modern logic in meeting hardened sinners head on at their own functions, on their turf to protest is wise.
You can go to Ezekiel and Jeremiah though and find common ground with them, but not with Christ, and not with Paul. You are not at liberty,as Whitfield was! You do not have that liberty to mock, scorn, ridicule, rebuke, reprove, incite, embarrass, provoke, rail, and then at the last call, mention the precious blood of Christ. You are deplorable sirs!
You are not even going down there to preach a gospel. You guys say this! If you mention a gospel, it is vague, and is never used in scriptural content. Which gospel? Why not be specific, the one with the blood, the one about grace. As much as they are specific about sin, they want be specific about this issue because they are not men that are interested in grace, but only rebuking, and venting their rage on the world.
You can preach the “gospel” all you want. What if it is not in understanding! What if you are as a barbarian to them (I Corinthians 14)? What if you are hindered by traffic, distractions, police trying to remove you, foolish questions that tend to strife, horns honking? It may not bother you in your so called spirit lead testosterone rant, but it’s not about you and your preaching prowess or abilities.
It is about the hearers effectively hearing a gospel presented with the express purpose to turn them towards the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s not about how many scriptures you guys can rattle off at a person who only knows John 3:16. It’s not about clanging swords with the member from a cult to show your biblical superiority. You men have so much knowledge, but zero wisdom! You are only bold in your own minds. You are true fools, but not for Christ. Your actions only reproach him, his name, and believers trying to keep the seeds in that you guys are trying to pluck out.
Discernment is knowing how to give out that knowledge. You lack discernment! You just take such pleasure out of berating the world, because Jesus did! It is such a twisted presentation of preaching and the gospel. A MAN dealing with MEN, or even multitudes, and masses needs to have MUCH wisdom and discernment, and make it a practice to allow discourse and to use discernment. It is not an occasion simply for him to open his mouth and say, “Thus saith the Lord.” Publick ministry in the word of God was a open forum. They were reasoning with people. Public ministry was public example and life in Acts. We have created a monster.
Indulge me while I go to Ephesians 4 here in a passage where we always think of the lost and out condition before salvation. I just want to bring something out of the passage that is relevant here.
Ephesians 4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But ye have not so learned Christ;
Vanity of their minds, understanding darkened, alienated from the LIFE of God through ignorance, the blindness of their heart, NOT their minds! Ye should henceforth walk not! Vain efforts, not understanding basic things like the established social structure and civil authority, alienated from a LIFE of God. Not lost, just bound by their traditions, appointments, standards and legalism. A lot of these confrontational street preachers are Pharisees at the core, they just don’t know it! They think they are doing God’s service, in God’s army!
Notice their blindness is their heart! This is huge hear. They walk int he vainity of their mind, because their hearts are blind. They see what is going on in all the world, but not in their own hearts.
Matthew 15:19-20 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
These are [the things] which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
Mark 7:21-23 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man
You all know what Jesus said about looking upon a woman to lust and hating a brother in your heart. They hate these people, well beyond any talk of hatred for the world. They hate the people. Some of them even say so. They use verse in Eph 5 and Prov 5 and other places to show hatred, and anger as justifiable courses of actions. They even go to Proverbs 1 and personify wisdom.
They personify it in themselves when they are standing in the gate,as wisdom does. It is all total nonsense. We can be murderers and fornicators in that sense too. We lust, we hate. Do we repent! Do we practice what we preach? We use deceit on the street. We cast evil eyes, and give false witnesses and stern faces. We are obstinate! Froward! The Lord mentioned lasciviousness. That is not always sexual! We are fitting this bill here and matching more closely the works of the flesh and here in Matthew and Mark where the Lord is talking about sins of the heart.
Now look in Galatians 5:19-26 Its so clear here and the Lord puts it all in one easy place for us to see the contrast, and yet it still doesn’t blip the radar with these guys. Wiggle yourselves out of this one with Ephesians 5, I dare you! Read this passage, and think of the street preachers you have known and have heard. Think of your own preaching ont he street. Examine yourselves in light of this!
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
(For comments and expounding on the works of the flesh and the fruits of the spirit, see “Intended Effects and Fruit Unto Perfection”)
In the once proud and respectable Baptist society, it used to be humble but sinful men quoting scripture, letting the chips fall, the spirit lead, and the written word do the work. No notoriety, and glory hound shock jock provocateurs with youtube uploads, and Facebook videos to compare. Total nonsense like we see today! You men are walking int he pride of life, alienated from life of God and liberty!
Your insatiable desire to do this in these unfounded, prophet-like confrontational ways, and your inordinate, irrelevant topics you preach against in your protest is not complicit with any fruit of the Spirit that we are to attempt vigorously to produce and posses in our hearts and lives.
This is why we memorize scripture and put it in our hearts. Not to be Bible thumpers making a ruckus, but to led men to a living Savior. Today, now, it is open conflict and admitted confrontational street preaching. You soldiers of the Lord have to have the militant mindset added to his love to feel normal. It’s why you have so many defensive scriptures ready to reference. You view it is a continual war with the world. And if the truth be known, many of you I suspect religiously, like an addict, does not feel normal if he misses Saturday Street preaching or whenever the planned time is. I have some of quoted! Men, this is not the spirit of Christ!
Men, listen to me! Stop with your pride and nonsense; If you want, just say you figured it out on your own in your Bible reading and take all the credit for your new found perspective, like your doing now with your unorthodoxy, and admit you have been deceived, and repent and turn the other way, a complete 180! Open air preaching is the public proclamation of the gospel.
Don’t just banish this as trivial! Stop thinking you only have a command to preach against idolatry and sin as if you where John Wesley or Martin Luther reincarnated for this age. You men who claim to mirror Jesus in his public manners, remember that many times when he was asked, he answered, and his effect was well beyond ours. Know one is even asking you men anything! As happened with jesus, Peter, and Paul. You place your selves in specific locations, because God called you preach against something, some thing in the world that has ruffled your feathers. So you plan your events, and ask God to lead so you can to bushwhack and ambush the lost party goers and revelers of our day. The drunk, the sodomites, the fornicators, the theater goers, the ATM user, the gardeners of businesses, the sports fanatics, the coffee shop, the cults, etc.
Sounds like my neighborhood! You invent this stuff in your head, and deceive people by defraudation, using the scriptures of course, and go about on your street preaching blitzes. Oh, I’m sorry, what I meant to say was your evangelistic crusades! Oh, is that wrong again! Sorry, I meant, ahem, to sound more biblical, “publick (make sure to get the (K) in there) ministry”, or open air preaching. Whatever!!! It is protest and railing! Call a spade a spade!
Our answers to men in our faces usually minister more of the same questioning, divisions, accusing, profanity, railing, pride, testosterone, adrenaline, emotional outburst of the occasion of the flesh then the sweet spirit of our Lord? This isn’t the Great Awakening or Colonial America where the very fabric of society, government, and education was still draped in God, the Bible and a religious theocracy. I’m sorry to have to tell you that!
Snap out of it men!
You cannot recreate the Great Awakening with any so called Great Commission. “Gasp!” Yeah, I said it. What? This is precisely what Fundamental and evangelical men have been doing since the late 1800’s. Oh you see the conspiracy in everything.
Your crazy! Am I? I will quote Kramer here, “Or am I so sane that I just blew your mind.? “It’s impossible.”. Is it? Or is it so possible that your head is pinning like a top? “It can’t be!” Can’t it? Or is it your entire world just came crashing down all around you?”
Regardless of your agreement, it cannot be denied or swept away, that much of our practices by way of how we worship, preach and perform public ministry are simply traditions of men following other men and their ways. You have made an idol out of street preaching. There is no Biblical pattern that is evident. You say I am compromised, I say I grew up and accepted plain evident truth! You still need to listen to another brother in the Lord!
We are just as much Kingdom builders as the previous generation before us, we have just become more cruel, insubordinate, inordinate, intolerant, and more socially inept. We are in fact the Laodiceans who concern ourselves so much with the rights we have. Do you hear us out there? We should respectfully stand against such a spirit in our churches. It is they who cannot be tolerated. They will not take correction or any attempt to restore them to behave.
God does not change, we see this from the word. His dealings with MAN definitely and at times severely changes several times through out the course of human history.
Let me attempt to illustrate or put it into perspective. This nation is only 230+ years old as far as it’s establishment. Religiously speaking, from it’s founding, to the Great Awakening, to the birth of Fundamentalism, and Evangelism to now is a short time. What we read from Genesis to the Revelation of Jesus Christ covers a span in history from 1492 B.C. To 100 A.D. That spans 1600 years, forty different authors and 66 books! God’s dealings with man not only changes at times but these changes are in fact very drastic.
New Testament tactics must be used to win the lost. Preaching against the carnal man’s god’s and idols and specific sins so we can label them the same names as Jesus did, instead of preaching Christ and him crucified is a dangerous game. Preaching wholly against the carnal man’s vices instead of testifying of Christ is out of order!
We don’t live in the Old Testament under a Jewish state where God dealt with man differently, sometimes audibly, and sometimes physically. That age is gone. Yet there remains those who says it is not, or those who live like it is not. The way men act today, as if God called them to the ministry audibly is foolish.
We deal with the word of God, and more importantly for a New Testament Christian living in the age of Laodicea, the age of apostasy, we must look to the Pauline epistles for the traditions left to us. We don’t concern ourselves with how others did it in previous ages. This would be commandments of men taught for doctrine which is exactly what is happening with all this street preaching!
In the Epistles and Acts are found no occasions where Paul, or any like him, or following him, treated the sinners of the day in such ways as we see with the Baptist modern day doomsday street preachers doing. Paul’s manner was to reason, debate, dispute, persuade, plead, etc. And he strongly, and repeatedly advised us to do the same.
We are not called to be strange unto them. They think it strange already that we don’t run with them to the same excess of rioting. We are to shine. A lighthouse shines as a beacon, it doesn’t issue forth war cries to keep broken vessels out at sea. It does not alarm vessels taking in water to turn back out into the current! It’s not the quantity of the conversions that should concern the Christian, but the quality.
Street preachers must take into account history, cults, the age of apostasy, etc. The Baptist are not the only ones standing on street corners anymore. There is no door that can not be shut as in the Philadelphian church age.
We act like children who must voice their cry the loudest for attention from our Father! As much as it pains us, we do not live in those glorious past ages that we read of and covet after. During some of these times in history, there was no physical Church in certain parts of the world aside from a state church. It was forbid to have a Bible. It was forbid to preach Christ crucified. It was forbid to go against the Church. It was forbid to meet outside the professing church.
Why would we dwell on historical evidence of open air preaching done by Spurgeon, Whitfield, Carey, Calvinistic men who were off on a lot of other areas too, the Waldenses when their reasons for preaching publickly seem to be far different from ours. No one is denying these men were used of God, but what traditions are you following, theirs, or the books?
Many men preached publicly due to it being the only option at the time. We must recognize these facts! We all have our precious buildings now to preach in right? That we waste so much money on with upkeep and remodels! Why are we in the streets. “Because Jesus said Go!” See, the never ending cycle of reasoning and endless debate just keeps perpetuating itself. Look, when they bar the doors, take the Bibles, say we can’t worship in our homes, then we can cry aloud, spare not and lift up our voices like a trumpet!
Men are not understanding the difference between open air services where congregations where to large to fit into a building. Where people were coming by the hundreds and thousands. Why do we adopt their style of street preaching, hammering sin and actions that “turns the world upside down” like those in Acts. Remember, that is what the people said of them, not what they said of themselves.
A lot of the so called street preachers were nothing more than open air preachers delivering the gospel to large multitudes in their day. They weren’t like us, they didn’t believe like we do. Many of these men didn’t have salvation nailed down. They did not teach street preaching as doctrine, but only their voluntary means of propagating the gospel. Our street preaching today is more protesting everything then preaching any gospel of Christ.
Some had to preach outside because they weren’t allowed in the Temples, or the Churches due to persecution. Those that did “street preach” did not use the tactics that are being employed today by modern day macho Baptist who love to be seen of men, gloriously going to battle, fighting the devil in the streets, so they can compare scars and persecutions, and maintain their militarism. “Fighting for the Lord, on the front lines, standing against the devil and his demons”.
The age of the computer is an interesting age (1980 to present). The truth is readily available to any who seek it. Bibles are online, reference Bibles online, Matthew Henry, Spurgeon, Larkin, Wesley, Scofield, even Ruckman all accessible online. You wonder how this will play out under the thought of “they are without excuse.” You also have all the lunatics on every channel and website you can imagine spouting their lunacy, and rage filled tirades against the world.
No one is stopping a man from preaching in a church. You have that freedom. You aren’t being jailed for preaching the gospel unless you are actively seeking incarceration. A man who has charity will never be arrested for street preaching or acting on the Lord’s behalf. Think about that for a minute! I mean let it sink in. Ponder it!
These street preachers that will do anything to get thrown in jail so they can brag about it are operating in the flesh! I have witnessed this. I have been guilty of the same attitude. Again, Wesley and such men were preaching during a time where there was a great an effectual door. There was a door of utterance to the people. People were gladly coming, sitting, standing, and listening. They were coming to God, and Christ in droves. Salvation was occurring daily in their street meetings.
Now a days, we bold, unapologetic, street preachers boast about our calling NOT being the conversion of the soul but the preaching of righteousness. We have no scripture to support this attitude or practices. You may find biblical occasion that mirrors your actions and words, but the doctrinal permission and liberty of God is nonexistent and your overall affect and impact is vain!
You won’t to be bold and stand against persecution, and be a martyr, go to Saudi Arabia, already and shut your mouth about it. Get it over with and go to the Gaza Strip. This is the land of the free that you so vehemently preach in! Do we forget this? These people have a right to reject, the same way you have the right to preach. Yeah, even the sodomite! You have the right to preach, you don’t have the right, according to God’s word, and the Bill of Rights to be hateful, proud, and belligerent and to embarrass.
You imply that other should follow this Biblical doctrine of street preaching? How are these actions an attempt at “living peaceably with all men”? Everyone else can go to hell in a hand basket. This is their mindset. “If you don’t like it, lump it and leave. I’m gonna preach until I die!”. Yeah, actual quotes here!
We should preach hard about sin in Church, and hard about Christ on the streets. But when most stand and preach, a Christian or unbeliever gives them a sincere question, they ignore them and keep preaching as if they are Moses on the mountain. As if they have a word from God and can never be interrupted.
If the confrontational street preacher does decide to answer them, they usually will dominate the conversation, and wait for slip ups, so they can pounce with all their righteous, puffed up, indignation.
I have witness men correct sinners when they misquote a verse. I have watched as they calculated the coming error. They almost could not contain themselves. They speak before the sinner is through talking. The slip up had occurred that will allow him to pounce.
You can’t suffer these poor sinners for one second to ask you something? Let them feel like you are at least listening to them! Don’t cut them off. Let them talk! Maybe you will find that you can reason with them, ya know, like Paul did. I mean, are these people we are, ahem, witnessing to, are they supposed to know verse and reference as we? C’mon! Our arrogance has become a visible badge and a reproach to real Christianity and real conversion of sinners!
Why would you not answer someone who asketh of the reason of hope that lieth within you? You quote scripture out of context to a lost and dying world! You give them the Law and the Prophets! You pervert his words? You give them a gospel of repentance only? You don’t think you will be held just as accountable to God for your idle words?
Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures. You are to be a peculiar people, not a spectacular people! Not a spectacle. You are supposed to be separated, set apart, not grouped in with another nut job on the street corner. See the difference below? We are to separate, set apart, for a service, not seek to become a separatist!
Peculiar (1828) - Appropriate; belonging to a person and to him only. 2. Singular; particular. The man has something peculiar in his deportment. Particular; special.
Spectacle (1828) - A public performance or display, especially one on a large or lavish scale. A regrettable public display, as of bad behavior:
2 Peter 2:1-2~But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
The way of truth shall be evil spoken of because of false teachers that are AMONG us!
Pernicious from verse (2) means according to Websters 1828; Destructive; having the quality of killing, destroying or injuring; very injurious or mischievous. Food, drink or air may be pernicious to life or health.
Destructive; tending to injure or destroy. Evil examples are pernicious to morals. Intemperance is a pernicious vice.
It’s much worse then you think it is! We look at our public ministries in our thousands of churches across this world. Look at how we act! I wish these were a few exaggerated accounts of a few men, but it is a spirit among men that is attributing this disorder and conduct.
This is the reason that I have never been a fan of Christians putting themselves in the lime light for all to see. It’s why the internet can be dangerous in a different way we never consider. The way that we reproach our Lord! You do one thing wrong, and the “way of truth is evil spoken of.” You parade your zeal in front of a world full of apostasy and hate towards God, Church, Organized Religion, further adding in the spread of apostasy. What do you think the apostle Paul meant when he said, “Give none offense that the ministry be not blamed”! What do you think he was talking about when he said “lest I make myself a castaway.”?
Don’t let these unorthodox prophets tell you it is because they care for sinners that they street preach. They lie and simply do not the truth. They care that the sinners hear their words though. Why? So they can quote 100 verses verbatim, and take the ridicule, and the spit?
What are these verses you quote? Do you take the time to explain what you are quoting? Do you offer context if prompted for it? You go after certain sins and certain individuals. We lack understanding!
One street preacher said this about himself on a website:
I am an unapologetic Bible-believing Christian. I stand against false religion (Muslims, Catholics, etc) and the wicked sins that damn individuals and are a curse to our nation (fornication, sodomy, drunkenness etc.)
We are so backwards in our thinking! We don’t see anything wrong with this do we? As if our own sins and lack of obedience to the book has had no ill effect on the overall sin problem on this Earth. We are to blame as much, if not a little more. You know what is curse to any nation. Sin! Not just the sinners in it, but SIN. You dolts!
Indeed these prevalent sins in American society are doing MUCH damage. But to stand against the “wicked sins that damn individuals? What? What sins might those be? What sins will damn an individual? This could very well be a damnable heresy as spoken of in II Peter 2.
There is not one place where Paul ever hinted at such preaching. His preaching was always concerning Christ and him crucified. His testimony was always that involving Christ. He went to the law and prophets only to manifest Christ, not his Bible knowledge and a masked superiority complex.
What is the wicked sins that damn an individual? The confrontational street preacher will talk in this manner so he can have excuses to pick the sin of the week when he preaches. Because he has to have something he is standing against or he may lose his support!
So it is usually the sodomite, the drunkards, the sports fans, the movie goers, the pot smokers, or just those who generally disagree with his vain religion. All the things this preacher knows he is NOT doing. All the things he has conquered, he berates others for not yet attaining. People, this is nothing more then simple pride. Pride of life!
Only one sin can damn a persons eternal soul! You are denying the Lord that bought them! Paul never told us to preach on sin. He told us to preach the word, and sound doctrine! We lack understanding about Paul’s manner and our Lord’s manner! (See The Manner of Paul)
I have even seen pastors and street preachers go after Hollywood actors after they have “passed away” due to various reasons, declaring their eternal destination was Hell as if they had the mind of God on the matter. We are a stain in the world when we act like this. We wonder why Christians are hated so. We wonder we we are disdained so. The damage we are doing is incomprehensible. These people may have gone to Hell, and HOW sad this is to rest in that fact. You are no better then Al Sharpton taking the death of a young black boy and trying to incite a race war! Just keep your mouth shut. Your inciting and provoking. What if one of these actors mothers walked by? What if?
So a lost movie star dies, or a rock star finally passes on. Days after a passing of one of these people, some act as if they can’t wait to get on the street and tell the world how right they were when they prophesied of their imminent death and eternal destruction. They died you idiot, like everyone else. Sure they may have ODed, but your so obviously waiting for the illustration it is demented.
You just can;t judge that simply. I didn’t say you can’t judge. I said you can;t do it so hastily and simply! You can’t look to their works on Earth, never having spoke to them, or desired to know anything of them and simply dismiss them as lost heathen now burning in the Lake of Fire. “By their fruits ye shall know them” they say. Ignoring the basic premise of eternal salvation. Nothing can separate us from him, if we are IN HIM! Placing people in some Kingdom reign, pigeonholing people with the book of Matthew! Its wicked fundamentalist practices that need to be stopped. But it most likely will just get worse. I am a realist. It’s inevitable that apostasy and corruption is going to continue to rule the day.
No sin is imputed to a person who has believed in Christ and his shed blood. I don’t care what sinner it is. How don;t care what he is actively doing in front of your beady little eyes. Do you really believe in this bible doctrine? Do you believe the blood cleanses all sin or just your sin?
Do you believe that the precious blood of Christ has the power to cleanse from all unrighteousness? Are you really so bold to claim that you know these peoples spiritual walk or eternal destination? Do you not grasp a sinners standing and his state?
Maybe the sinner on the street simply doesn’t want to discuss anything with YOU because of your loud megaphone induced protesting! Maybe it isn’t their hatred towards God or his book, maybe it’s simply the man toting the book, mis-using the book.
Maybe he talks to other Christians all the time, he just doesn’t want to talk to you! The abrasive, loud, Elijah looking stern street preacher. Why do you think, if you are not down there preaching, they will not hear? “They must hear!” we say! You cannot use the urgency of salvation as an excuse to be unorthodox in doctrine or practice.
These people on the streets are not YOUR congregation. You have made them your congregation do to lack of a real congregation. They have lives you are unfamiliar with, and many go to church, and as well many believe in Christ, just not like you. How did you become the authority that can tell of someone's salvation. We can only go by professions, not by their works, because salvation is not of works, lest any man should boast. Why do you guys have to hang around in Matthew and Acts like the cults to defend your sandbox positions? Preachers lack of respect for things eternal is unnerving.
You really believe you are justified in your intolerance of Muslims, Sodomites, Catholics, and any others who reject the gospel? Yes you do preacher, yes you do! You claim of a “Great Commission” for your justification to disrupt worldly gatherings or other denominations while holding different church service! Who are you serving? You are not serving the Lord Jesus Christ, nor are you adhering to anything that Paul mentioned about a holy conversation of life. You are merely, and selfishly serving your own pride, not the Jesus that Paul preached. The Jesus who wants all men everywhere to be saved. The God who takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked.
You claim to film yourself at conventions, Mardi Gras, other events, and street meetings for your protection, and then you post yourself preaching on youtube, or some other website for more sinners to reproach HIS name, who have not the spirit of God, so they can further blaspheme God for what Man does? It’s lunacy to behold such! We need to examine our ways!
It’s foolishness unto them, the world already! Not you the gospel! You are only magnifying the foolishness so much so to where it becomes you being the fool and not the foolishness of God. They don’t have his spirit! They are not seeking him with their heart! The Lord did not direct them to these places to hear from you! Your living in a dreamscape!
They reject anyone who says they are a Christian, but believes differently then they. They play the Holy spirit saying all men should be street preaching, and going about publickly daily witnessing for him. Usually laden with Old Testament references and the few “high ways and by ways” verses to maintain the illusion of similitude's.
They brag to each other among themselves (comparing persecutions) about being spit on, hit, yelled at, cussed at, as if they are medals of accommodations to pin to their swelling chests. Then the young men involved in such ministries usually follow suit and do the same.
They brag of creating havoc, and turning the world upside down like Jason did in Acts, by causing car accidents at stop lights while they have 3 megaphones and 5 preachers going at once (not an exaggeration). We should be able to recognize these acts as men seeking preeminence and esteem.
We have the spirit of truth and error in us. They do works to be seen of men.
As mentioned briefly before, street preaching men often go to Jason for their excuse to turn the world upside down. Jason didn’t turn the world upside down in the sense as they make it sound. Street preachers can twist the word as well as any cult out there. This was his accusation from his accusers to begin with, and secondly, Acts was a paradigm shift from the Mosaic law to the New Covenant.
It, the new covenant, did turn the world upside down, quite literally, from the Old Covenants, to the New. There was a old established religion that was loosing many to the Christianity showing up. They were creating change that had not been seen before. It was strong, moving, sweeping, and literally changing early church communities. The Apostles were transitioning hope in One, who was sinless instead of a law that man kept breaking.
If you have similar men in your assembly you will see how they’re attempts to justify their delusional heroic actions are clearly seen to be unlearned, and out of context and empty with vanity. They should be seen for what they are, reproachers and offenders, and possibly surplanters and subverters of the gospel of Christ, who have little to no real concern for the lost and their true conversion to Christ but just desired continuance of their ministries. .
We aren’t commanded any place in the New Testament, in the age of Grace, to use such methods. The picture is not even there. In fact, you don’t see Paul the Apostle referencing judgment and Hell in his 12 letters as some preachers will spend 30 minutes saying nothing but. Just making a point! Why would we take one verse in Jude about “pulling them out of the fire”, and reject the 50 that Paul gave to you about grace, love and preaching Christ? This is out of balance.
I’m aware of the preaching of Christ, and the times in the New Testament where Paul, Peter or Jesus got rough with folks. This does not justify these actions for what we see everyday in our “public ministries”. Jesus was not preaching the gospel of the grace of God, and furthermore, when these actions were taken by the Lord, or Paul, they dealt primarily with lost, religious Jews. They are not the rules.
You take all instances of Paul and Jesus in this harsh manner, and compare it to the instances where Jesus, Paul and even the more rash Peter all advocated gentleness, patience, long suffering, grace, and humility, and the other occasions, such as Jesus turning over tables, with Paul being rude in speech, calling men evil beast and slow bellies. Those isolated acts pale in comparison to the others. It’s not even a competition.
I fear we have learned the word of God so well, that no one is reading the simple precepts in it anymore. We know the word, but have know wisdom with it and we can quote it so much, so why read it anymore. Most of you guys butcher the book even when you quote it, half verses segmented, just to get your little, “Nay except ye repent” phrases out in the open air. You have a call. You have a word to preach. Sinners must be saved. When in reality I fear we are just another age of Bible toting crusaders hell-bent on a reforming others.
One of the most deplorable practices I have seen among our protesting ways is the unorthodox confrontational Independent Baptist public ministry magistrate uses “bait” tactics to make themselves seem like the authority with the Bible (which, in reality, they most times are). Ashamedly, the Baptist street preachers know the word of God very well. Understanding it, discerning it, believing it, and giving it out to others is a entirely different story.
A street preacher will say, “Where’s the book of Hezekiah? Old Testament or New?” Street preachers now use such trick questions to elevate themselves in apparent knowledge of the scriptures. To make themselves the authority. The simple minded sinner who has most likely never read a Bible will always say “Old”. Then the street preacher snidely responds, “There is no book of Hezekiah you fool, and you claim to be a Christian and to know his words.”
To witness over the years how our street preaching has gone from a simple directive of quoting Scriptures and testifying or declaring the gospel to how we implore trick questions full of subtlety and deceit designed to humiliate the lost or ignorant Christian. You bring offense to yourself and the Lord that you serve. Paul warned of not having any offense. Among all men, and them that are without! Striving at it. We are not to use guile or craftiness with the word for any reason! Especially when dealing with hearts of men! But who cares about maintaining Bible integrity anymore? Who cares about what a backslidden detractor is saying?
What does this do to the sinner, saved or lost when they are embarrassed. It angers them. Then we reply, “See! Your mad because your convicted”. You arrogantly try to imitate Jesus as he tricked the Pharisee. You bring a great offense! You preach for notoriety of your peers! These sort of men right here should be exposed for who they are!
A sodomite will take the freedom of speech card and run with it the same way a street preacher will. Something is wrong with this. It is Laodicean Christianity. Immoral men misuse and misquote our documents to justify their immorality. Christian men may in turn misuse our documents and think that anyone who disagrees with you is infringing on your rights.
You go street preaching and purposefully try to be as shocking and as confrontational as you can be because you know you will be protected by the 1st amendment. You want their heads to turn in their cars and hear your cries! You lift up your voice like a trumpet, then you add a megaphone?
You do the same thing a sodomite or a liberal artist does in citing freedom of speech and expression. You just add God’s name to it, implore the shock factor, and then argue your rights with public servant officers? All while the lost witness this (false witnesses Eph 4) To wrap the word of God in the Constitution, the founding fathers, and patriotism does not make our practices right! It’s Bible first, Constitution second!
It’s understood that we preach against unrighteousness to Christians, but preaching against unrighteousness to the unrighteous is laboring in vain. It’s like telling a 2 year old when he is outside in the dirt not to get dirty. It’s what they do. It’s like telling a dog to not eat it’s own vomit. It’s what they do.
Freedom of speech was not designed just for the Baptist for your intolerance to all religions and sodomy, contrary to what many preachers think, You are lifted up in your pride when you think you have entitlement or rights beyond that of others.
I will take it a step further, in this country, you have the same rights afforded you as a Muslim or a homosexual. There is the way things ought to be, and there is the way things are, and this is just the way things are in America. Freedom of religion was not written for the Baptist or the Christian in the sense of one elect, preeminent, predestinated, succeeding group.
George Washington and the forgotten Treaty of Tripoli proves this. THIS IS NOT A CHRISTIAN NATION. There are Christians who predominantly live in this nation because of the ideals of freedom. But that is it. The state is full on, systematically removing God from the traces of American history. We should expect these things to come.
This is not the Middle East or Israel, but a gentile nation of all cultures, creeds and origins, America. A 233 year old nation that had a Godly founding, largely carried about by the direct influence of the Geneva Bible first, and then the King James later, but we have gone the way of all nations as we see in Acts 14:16, and this pattern is seen in Judges as well.
Acts 14:16 - Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.
Hate to say it, but America will be standing with all the other Nations that forgot God when all is said an done. But not yet. Not yet. God help us all!
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