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Search The Scriptures: July 29, 2001
QUESTIONS MOST ASKED PREACHERS
INTRODUCTION:
A. Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I am J.R. Bronger and on behalf of the Danville
church of Christ, I am glad to welcome you to the Search the Scriptures program. As we
begin our day together, let me say to those of you who dropped by our fair booth we are so
happy you did. We hope as a result of this we might forge a friendship and spiritual relationship.
Thanks for dropping by.
B. My friends, tomorrow evening marks an exciting week for us here at the Danville church of
Christ. Beginning tomorrow night, July 30 and continuing through Friday night, August 3, we
will be engaging in a Vacation Bible School. Now, while we will have classes available ranging
from one-year through senior high school - we also will have classes for adults. We have invited
some excellent gospel preachers to speak in our adult classes. Steve Hardin, from the Plainfield
church of Christ will be with us tomorrow night. Tim Smelser, the host of the What is Written
program, which follows us each Sunday morning on WKLU, and who preaches for the Traders
Point church of Christ will be with us Tuesday night. David Lytle from the Eastside church of
Christ in Indianapolis will be speaking Wednesday night. Dwayne Bronger, from the Danville
church of Christ, whose voice you hear to open and close the Search the Scripture’s program
each week will speak Thursday night. And closing on Friday night will be David McPherson,
preacher with the Belleville church of Christ. Also, Dale Robins will be with us to conduct the
VBS and to teach our high school students I can promise that you and your family will be well
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fed from the word of God if you visit with us, so I hope that you and your family will plan on
being with us beginning tomorrow July 30 and continuing through Friday, August 3. The time
each evening will be 7:00 P.M.
C. Have you ever noticed the number of churches that have gymnasiums with running tracts and
weight rooms? Many churches are providing video game rooms and refreshment centers along
with what they allege to be Sunday School Classes. Have you ever wondered why? Also, have
you noticed that more and more churches are scheduling “Life Coping Seminars” with the stated
objective of helping people cope with the problems of life? Their dockets often include such
subjects as: Learning to deal with Depression, or Working through Frustrations. More and more
churches are determined to help people overcome the burdens of guilt, or they are wanting us to
learn to feel good about ourselves, so they provide aerobic courses - helping us to lose weight.
You know - something like “Come sweat away the inches while listening to gospel hymns.” This
is something that is gaining popularity among most Protestant Churches. These churches don’t
know whether they should spread the word or the liniment. Having witnessed the plunge into the
social gospel of most denominational churches, I am no longer surprised by anything they do.
But, I have to admit that when this same emphasis is being adopted by churches of Christ I begin
to feel nauseous. Ladies and gentlemen this is something that has overrun some churches
claiming to be churches of Christ. That is, there are many churches of Christ that have lost their
otherworldly bearing. Instead of emphasizing the spiritual and the eternal, they have begun to
focus upon the Social Gospel. Churches are lining up to take advantage of President Bush’s
faith-based initiative, where churches will receive federal funding to provide social services. The
social gospel mentality is behind the move of churches to provide things from meals on wheels
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to emotional enrichment seminars. The prevalent attitude today seems to be that the primary
responsibility of churches is to minister to the whole man, especially the physical and the
emotional needs of men and women. That is, the champions of the social gospel believe the
function of the church is to minister to the body and to the mind as well as minister to the soul
of man. Frankly, this is what more and more people are beginning to expect of churches. In this
way, people remind me of a tame squirrel living in my mother’s yard. The squirrel will walk
over to the back door and wait to be fed. Instead of foraging for itself - as God intends - this
squirrel has come to expect a hand out. This is how far too many people have come to view the
church. They believe the church has been placed on the earth to provide for the needs of the
bodies and minds of men and women. Several years ago Readers Digest ran a feature article
entitled Questions Most Asked Preachers. When I saw the title, I immediately scanned the
article. Let me run down a list of some of the questions most asked of preachers. They are: Why
do some prayers go unanswered? What can I do when I am discouraged and I feel like giving
up? Some other questions were: How can I recharge my spiritual batteries? What have I done to
deserve the troubles I’m having? And, What can I do to make this a better world? Now, as far as
questions go, these are not too bad, but they tend to blur things that must not become blurred.
Ladies and gentlemen, these questions all have - as a common thread - the social gospel. None of
the questions pertained to what I need to do to please God. They all had to do with how can I
feel better. That is, what it seems most people are concerned with is - how to feel better and
have more happiness and enthusiasm while living on earth. Often I receive calls from people
seeking money to pay for utility bills. They expect the church to supply a physical need. Some
have wanted the church to pay their cable television bill. And, during the holiday season many
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people call asking for food baskets or money to travel out of town to see relatives. Others call
wanting to know if the church would help buy Christmas gifts - so that children can have a
memorable Christmas. Many times I am asked if the church at Danville has programs which are
designed to provide for young people. Programs such as softball leagues or associations allowing
for young people to lobby against things like abortion or gun violence. It seems these are the
kinds of questions modern preachers are being asked. When it’s pointed out that we do not
address these social matters, people are highly incredulous. They often respond with contempt
because they sincerely believe this should be the mission of the church. They genuinely believe
the church has been put on earth to minister to the whole man. They have been led to believe that
the church is to minister to the whole person, [the body and the emotions as well as the soul].
This is why, my friends, that many churches are providing the things they do. The reason they
have food pantries as well as a pulpit is because they think the church must feed a body as well
as a soul. The reason that churches have stress seminars along with their preaching is because
they think the church must minister to the psyche as well as to the soul of man. Ladies and
gentlemen, let me tell you this morning that the purpose of the church is not to provide for the
social needs of man, regardless of what those needs might be. The purpose of the church is not to
raise your children or to enhance your self-esteem. Christ did not die on Calvary to purchase the
church so that you could be given a basket of fruit each Thanksgiving Day. Jesus did not give his
life so you could join some group to influence legislation.
I. This popular modern concept that the church is to minister to the whole man (body, mind and
soul) is completely foreign to the word of God. Let’s consider what Jesus said were his mission
and his purpose for coming to this earth. First he said in Jn. 10:10, I have come that they may
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have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. Then in Lk. 19:10, we find Jesus saying
for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. The abundant life that
Jesus promised is not the prosperous and stress free life that is being sought by many today. The
abundant life consists of being set free from sin. The abundant life is the saved life. The
abundant life is the redeemed life. The abundant life is the new life in Christ. My friends, Jesus
came to set our souls free from the bondage of sin. This is why he commissioned his disciples to
preach repentance in Lk. 24:46-47, when he said, thus it is written, and thus it was necessary
for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and
remission of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Jesus
did not commission his disciples to conduct stress seminars or physiological enrichment courses.
And, ladies and gentlemen, the questions that were being asked of the preachers in the New
Testament reflected this. That is, when you consider and compare the questions being asked in
the bible with the questions preachers are being asked today, you will immediately find that the
emphasis was on the soul and not the body. Note, for example, the question asked in Acts 2:37.
Peter, in a soul kindling sermon, had convicted the people of sin; grievous, soul condemning sin.
Their response was, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles,
men and brethren, what shall we do? At which time they were told to repent and be baptized
for the remission of those sins in verse 38. These people did not ask Peter if the apostles would
distribute food baskets. He wasn’t asked about how to handle their anxiety and discouragement
over the events pertaining to the death of Jesus. These people wanted to know how to have their
sins forgiven. Perhaps they asked what they did because of the preaching that was being done.
Frankly, one reason why people today are more interested in their bodies and minds than in their
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souls is because preachers are preaching more about the needs of bodies and minds. And,
because of that emphasis, the needs of the soul are being ignored. The preachers of the first
century, unlike many of their contemporary counterparts, confronted the sins that were
destroying the souls of men and women. In Acts 2, this becomes evident when Peter said in
verse 36 that these people were guilty of crucifying Christ. Today, you are more likely to hear
preachers addressing racial inequality or poverty than you are to hear them preach about sin and
its consequences. Modern preachers are prone to be more concerned with the plight of an
endangered species than they are with endangered souls. Churches today seem to be more
interested in providing children with information about responsible sex, than they are in
providing them with information leading them to Christ. Churches today seem to be more
interested in helping people cope with guilt than in helping people abandon the sin that makes
them guilty. When the social is being preached, then any questions being asked will be social
instead of spiritual. Let’s consider another question that was asked to preachers by those in the
first century - this time in Acts 16:30. There we find a man speaking to the apostle Paul and his
companion Silas. He asked them, sirs, what must I do to be saved? This man did not try to find
answers to such questions as, How can we reform the government? He did not ask: If there is a
God, then why is there so much evil in the world? He did not want to find an answer to How can
I make this a better world? Instead, he wanted to know how to be saved. He wanted to know
how to be reconciled to God. He wanted to know how to have his sins removed and gain the
hope of heaven. My friends, so long as we live in this world, we will encounter problems. Jesus
said so in Jn. 16:33 when he promised, in the world you will have tribulation. This means that
there will be struggles involving things from finances to health, and numerous other problems.
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And, one thing for certain is that life is anything but fair. We might be forced to endure a lifetime
of griefs and adversities. Tension can be and often is a daily part of our life. Whether it comes in
the form of downsizing, or disease, or distress or death; stress will accompany our life. But the
most pressing needs we have are the needs of the soul. And these needs brought Jesus to this
earth. Therefore, what you and I must be concerned with - are our souls. Instead of being
engulfed in such matters as Awareness Enrichment Seminars - we need to become troubled
over the condition of our souls. Of all the questions asked of Jesus while he sojourned among
men the most important one is found in Matt. 19:16. There we find a troubled young man asking
Jesus, good teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? Is this your major
concern this morning? If it is, then you need to be given the same answer that was given when
the question was asked by those living in bible times. When it was asked in Acts 2:37, the
divinely inspired answer (as we early noted) was given in verse 38. There, these depressed
sinners were told to repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for
the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. They were not counseled
in how to cope with global warming and ethical cooling. They were not lectured on the seven
steps to good mental health. Instead they were told how to be forgiven of sins and be right before
the God of heaven. They were told to repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name
of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. And, this is precisely the same answer given to Saul of
Tarsus in Acts 22:16. After receiving a vision of the risen Savior on the road to Damascus, he
asked in Acts 9:6, Lord, what do you want me to do? Saul was not given an answer to this
question immediately. Instead Jesus told him in verse 6 to arise and go into the city, and you
will be told what you must do. After entering the city, at the appropriate time, Christ sent an
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inspired preacher to this hurting man informing him what he needed to do. This brings us to Acts
22:16. There the preacher told Saul, why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash
away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. If you are asking this same question, then you
need to be given the same answer.
II. Also, there was another very interesting question that was asked of preachers in the New
Testament, and it is found in Acts 4:7. At this time two of the apostles - Peter and John - were
doing some things that did not sit well with the religious clergymen of their day. They had, by
the power of God, healed a lame man sitting at the gate of the Temple. Peter and John used this
miracle to preach salvation in Jesus. They were filling Jerusalem with preaching about Christ.
After being detained by some officials, the apostles were asked, by what power or by what name
have you done this? This is a great question. This is a question that we should be happy to
answer today. These men asking this question wanted John and Peter to produce authority for
what they were doing and saying. This is basically the same question Jesus was asked in Matt.
21:23, when the chief priests and elders came to him wanting to know by what authority are you
doing these things? And who gave you this authority? Sadly, my friends, this is not a question
being asked in many religious circles today. Unlike those in bible times, men and women today
are no longer interested in having authority for what is being done in churches. Whenever Jesus
was questioned about authority - he turned the question on those who came to him. He responded
in Matt. 21:25 with this critical question. The baptism of John; where was it from? From
heaven or from men? Jesus did not ask this in an effort to sidestep their question. Instead, Jesus
was illustrating their hypocrisy. But, by asking this question Jesus also indicated to everyone the
source of all authority. Everything we do religiously is authorized by either heaven (That is, by
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God), or it is authorized by men. Now, knowing this, let’s return to the inquiry made of the
apostles John and Peter. Remember, they were asked for the authority for what they were doing.
Let’s read again Acts 4:7. Those clergymen came to Peter and John asking, by what power or by
what name have you done this? That is, they wanted to know who was authorizing these
apostles? And, like John the Baptist, they received their authority from God! Also, as we said a
few minutes ago, this is a question that is seldom - if ever - asked today. Men and women are
giving no thought to authority when it comes to religion. Authority is never considered when
churches begin to engage in their desired activities. Most of what is being done by many
churches today is not anchored in bible authority. Instead most religious activity today originates
directly from what the body or the mind of man desires. Instead of asking for bible authority for
what is being done today - men are asking about the good being done. I have heard preachers
say, they would rather do something, even if it were wrong, than not doing anything at all. What
kind of distorted reasoning is that? This dishonest statement twists the truth because these are
not the only two options available. The third option is, we can work as authorized by God in his
word - the bible. My friends, I want to ask you this same question today. By what authority are
you doing what you are doing? By what authority does your church provide the things it is
providing? Where is the authority for your family life centers? Where is the authority for your
AIDS awareness programs? Where is your authority for your sports programs? Where do you
get authority for your bus ministry? Where are your day care centers authorized in scripture?
And, by what authority are you building your retirement homes? While each of these may have
their place in any society, including ours, they are out-of-place in the church. The church was not
created by Christ to provide these needs. While on earth, Jesus often had compassion on the
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down trodden, He often had pity on the sick and hurting. But Jesus did not come to this earth to
provide relief for the sick, either physical sickness or mental distress. There are two instances in
his life that serve to illustrate this. One is something he said, and the other something he did.
Note first what Jesus said in Matt. 26:11, for ye have the poor always with you. Regardless of
what is being done, it is impossible to rid the world of poverty. Jesus did not try to accomplish
this, and he did not commission the church to eliminate poverty in the world. Frankly, according
to Jesus, it cannot be done. His word mandates that Christians are to work and then share with
the impoverished, according to Eph. 4:28 that says believers are to labor, working with his
hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. But, this is
addressed to individual believers and not to the church. That is, whoever is to work with his
hands is who is to give to the needy. Churches that have made it their ministry to provide
unlimited access to money for the poor, are creating a group of people who refuse to work, and
then live exclusively from the benevolence of churches. My friends, you and I both know that
often churches receive appeals for assistance from those who simply go from church to church
looking for a hand out. Granted, there are those who are impoverished, but there are also the
deadbeats who would rather fleece the church than work a job. Instead of giving to these the
bible says in 2 Thess. 3:10 that if anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. This is God telling
us that if men and women are too lazy to work, then they are not to be underwritten by the
church. Paul, here, says if one won’t work, let him go hungry! But, I believe the strongest
indication given by Christ that the church is not to be involved in social matters is the example
he left us in Luke 12. In verse 13 we read, then one from the crowd said to him, teacher, tell
my brother to divide the inheritance with me. Here was a man who wanted only to be treated
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fairly. He only wanted his brother to be fair in distributing their father’s inheritance. But
consider carefully, the Lord’s response. Verse 14 says, But he [Jesus] said to him, man, who
made me a judge or an arbitrator over you? That is, Jesus told the man, “this is not my purpose.
I haven’t come to see that life is fair to you.” As a matter of fact, such a view of life is carnal.
The Lord continues in verse 15. And he said to them, take heed and beware of covetousness,
for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses. The two words, to
them would include the one who made the request. He was as covetous as the brother who
sought to cheat him. But the point of our discussion is - Jesus did not come to earth to reform
social injustice, instead he came to reform sinful souls. Also, there was another time when Jesus
was busy healing the sick, but the scriptures tell us that when people began to believe this was
his primary mission that he abruptly stopped healing people. Note what’s said in Lk. 4:42. Now
when it was day, he departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought him and
came to him, and tried to keep him from leaving them. Why did Jesus leave this village that had
so many poor and sick people in it? Verse 43 provides us with the answer. Jesus says, I must
preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.
This, my friends, serves to inform us that Jesus recognized the greatest need of man was not the
distress of daily living. The greatest need known to man is neither his health nor his lack of
money. Mankind’s greatest problem is sin and its consequences. Man’s greatest need is
forgiveness. Paul said in Rom. 6:23, for the wages of sin is death. Ever since the Garden of
Eden man has been struggling with sin. And sin results in man being separated from God. This
has always been true, as can be seen in what the prophet Ezekiel said in Ezek. 18:20. There he
wrote this truth. The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor
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the father bear the guilt of the son. Jesus came to cure the problem of sin. Rom. 6:23 not only
informs us of the consequence of sin; death. But, it also tells us the remedy. The verse concludes
with this tremendous promise. But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Ladies and gentlemen, the reason people are asking the wrong questions today, is because they
have no idea what the major problem in the world is. The reason churches are addressing
everything but sin today, is because churches don’t have a clue what man’s greatest need is.
Today, ladies and gentlemen, men and women need to be told about the problem of sin. Every
man and every woman needs to hear that they are sinners, and that Christ came to give his
precious life to redeem all from the fires of hell. Every man and every woman needs to be told
that rejection of Christ will result in damnation. Jesus said in Matt. 10:28, and do not fear those
who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul
and body in hell. Every man and every woman needs to be told what Paul wrote in 2 Thess. 1:7-
9 that there is coming a day when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty
angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do
not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting
destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. This is the message
the world desperately needs to hear. But, it is a negative and often disturbing message, and
people are not wanting to be told they are sinners - accountable to God for their deeds. People
are not eager to hear that unless they repent and serve God, they will be condemned to a devil’s
hell. Also, churches are not wanting to say things like this, because they are afraid such
preaching will turn people off and cause them to quit attending. But, I ask you my friend, if the
problem is sin, how do we truly help sinners when we ignore the problem? If a person became ill
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with cancer, will we help him by pretending the sickness isn’t there? Will he begin to get well by
telling him how good he looks and how much fun he can have at the basketball games? We know
the folly of such thinking when it involves physical sickness. Then why can’t we recognize it
when it applies to sin - which is soul sickness? People are asking all the wrong questions,
because they have no idea what their real needs are. And people are blind to their needs, because
churches and preachers have stopped addressing those needs. Paul wrote in 1 Tim. 3:15 that the
church is the pillar and ground of the truth. If churches, elders and preachers believed this and
returned to the preaching of the first century, then men and women might stop asking the wrong
questions. If churches were more concerned with gospel preaching than in providing day-care
and kindergarten - then men and women might begin to understand their true need, and that is
the salvation of their souls.
CONCLUSION:
A. With that, I must close for today. Please stay tuned for some important closing
announcements. And be sure to join us next Sunday morning at 7:00 as we again Search the
Scriptures. So, until then, for the Danville church of Christ this is J.R. Bronger saying
goodbye for now.