On Gospel Preaching (“The Legalism of the Gospel”)

The following is from Foy E. Wallace Jr., BULWARKS OF THE FAITH, pages 245-246.

The subjects that have been handled in this meeting are weighty, dealing with issues of vast importance to the church, to society, to all individuals, young or old, great or small.  I have felt an appreciation of your interest in them, and your forbearance with me in the extra time required to discuss them.

The subjects that have had to do with denominational dogmas and doctrines involve issues and controversies that have been debated through the years; but concerning which he young generation has not had the advantage of the thorough indoctrination, such as had our fathers before us, under the early preachers of the church, preachers under whom some of you were reared, and under whose preaching I was tutored.  They indoctrinated us.  We knew what it was all about.  I am firmly convinced that the rising generation should have the opportunity of hearing these issues thoroughly discussed and debated, that they may be anchored to the truth and able to meet “every wind of doctrine” in modern forms of error.

I was brought up under the preaching of men in Texas well known to many of you, who baptized many more people than are being baptized today; men who debated; men who “called names,” whether in the polemics of debate or preaching in the pulpit.  They were men of fervor and faith.  We should not forget their crusading spirit.  I want to see their spirit revived.  Like the spirit of Elijah in John the Baptist, and the spirit of Huss in Luther, I want to see the spirit of the early gospel preachers revived in the young men of today.  They put power in their preaching.  They moved men.  The did not preach sermonettes; they were not preacherettes.

I can remember when preachers wore cuffs attached to the sleeve by a device of some sort, stiffly laundered cuffs.  That way the preacher could wear the same shirt the whole meeting, just change the cuffs!  In these difficult days of the rationing of laundry it would be rather convenient for that system to be in vogue.  But some of the early preachers preached with such force that they would send a stiffly laundered cuff sailing out over the crowd!   It is a bold contrast with some of the milquetoast elocution heard in pulpits today.

A young man once came to A.J. McCarty, and asked him how to go about making a preacher.  Jack McCarty said, in all bluntness that characterized him, “Young man, get brimful and running over with the word of God and it will come out”!  And it will come out.  It may be spontaneous combustion, but it will “bust” everything it hits.  That is the preaching needed today, rather than this “go away around by the Joneses” sort of a preaching; this speak softly, tread lightly, step careful, kind of preaching.  I do not believe in croaking out insults against people, but I do believe in the kind of preaching that draws the issue, and draws the blood when the occasion requires it.  The purpose of this meeting has simply been to call us back to these old principles.

It Did Not Come Into My Mind
Joe R. Price

When man abandons a knowledge of the true God and a willingness to submit to His revelation of truth, they will surely spiral deeper and deeper into moral degeneracy and religious abomination (see Rom. 1:18-32).

Such appears to be have been the case of the Chimu people who inhabited the coastal region of modern-day Peru some 650 years ago.  This past week the largest find of human sacrifices yet discovered in South America were unearthed on a beach about 170 miles north of Lima, Peru.  The remains of 200 fishermen were found stabbed through the collarbone straight into the heart, their hands bound behind them; an apparent mass human sacrifice to the sea god Ni.  (“Peru Finds 200 Fishermen Sacrificed to Sea God,” Missy Ryan, http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=humannews&StoryID=1519150)

Ancient Judah fell into the practice of similar abominations when they caused “their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech”, the Ammonite fire-god (Jer. 32:35).  How people could conclude that human sacrifice honored deity indicates a dramatic lack of respect of human life as well as a warped and perverted sense of deity.  The Lord God said that the sacrifice of human life in the form of innocent children was not commanded by Him, “nor did it come into My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin” (Jer. 32:35).

Although God made man upright, man has “sought out many schemes” (Eccl. 7:29).  We must be constantly vigilant to fear God and yield to His word of truth rather than follow the wisdom and will of men (Col. 2:8-10).  Otherwise, by forsaking divine truth for human wisdom (not unlike the ancient Chimu), we will surely find ourselves worshipping in ways which never entered the mind of the true and living God.  (Jno. 4:23-24)