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Preachers have a heavy responsibility, but so do listeners. Jesus warned, “Take heed what ye hear” (Mark 14:24). Not only the blind leaders “fall into the ditch,” but the blind followers do also (Mat. 15:14). The people of Berea were commended for not blindly accepting what Paul preached, but for daily studying the Scriptures to see if he was preaching the Truth (Acts 17:10–11). There is a great need for discriminating listeners in the pew as preachers get up to preach. It is sad, but true, that the great erosion of faith in the Bible as God’s infallible Word during past generations, must be blamed. to a large extent, on preachers. Most of the seminaries and theological schools from which the preachers have come are dominated by professors who have lost their faith and who have passed their doubts on to their students. These students who have grown up to be preachers have passed their own doubts on to the people in the pew. A preacher’s attitude toward the Bible as he preaches cannot long be hidden. As you listen to your preacher, listen for the following:
Does he preach as though men originated the message instead of receiving it? Liberals view the Bible as a product of literary evolution, put together by unknown editors from merely human (including mythical) sources. Therefore, when Paul wrote that the husband is the head of the wife (Eph. 5:22–24), it was merely his “male chauvinism” showing, rather than the Word of the Lord he had received. The liberals can dispose of anything in the Bible they disagree with through this ploy. However, if one believes the Bible at all, he must believe it is a message its writers received of God, rather than one they invented. It is so unique and so out-of-step with worldly wisdom that the world counts it foolishness (1 Cor. 1:20–25). It was something men never imagined or dreamed, but that had to be revealed from God (2:6–10). It was received by the Bible writers through the Holy Spirit, even in its very Words (1 Cor.2:12–13; 2 Pet. 1:20–21). What Paul and Peter claim for scripture is the consistent claim of the Bible: it is a delivered message (John 3). It is therefore not to be received as mere human opinion, but as the Word of God (1 The. 2:13).
[Note: I wrote this article for, and it was published in the “Bible Thoughts” Column for the Hood County News, Granbury, Texas, January 27, 1980.]
Attribution: From thescripturecache.com; Dub McClish, owner and administrator.
