If you could divide your congregants into only two categories, sinners or Pharisees, which do you think would be the larger group? I’m guessing most of us would say, “Pharisees.” That means preaching in the Gospels is very relevant, especially those narratives when Jesus experiences sharp conflict with the religious leaders of His day. Brace yourself for some tense sermons. Like Jesus, you can expect to get opposition from parishioners who know their Bibles best. Bible churches or Bible Church-like churches struggle with self-righteousness and superiority complexes due to their extensive Bible knowledge and morality. That means we are often very critical and judgmental of others. Religion seems to always lead to this. But, if you will preach to the Pharisees in your faith-family, God may just soften their hearts. My history has shown that some Pharisees sincerely want to be in the sinners category. Those are the ones who hear Jesus’ teaching and alter their hearts and lives accordingly.
Be courageous my friend.
This post was originally published on May 7, 2013.
I agreed that Pharisees will be the larger group. Nowadays, information is overwhelming and Christian can obtain Biblical knowledge easily. Since my church (a Bible Church as well) focus on student ministry, many Christian are highly educated and skillful in study and research, as a result most church members knows the bible well. Thank God there are not too many self-righteous issue in our church. As a preacher, we need to be very careful in exegesis so that our sermon are theological correct.
Thanks, Chee, for replying to the post. I agreed about the need for theological accuracy. Certainly knowledge can breed Pharisaism, but thankfully, doesn’t have to! Glad we can study preaching together, brother.
In my church, I think that the pharisees will be the larger group. I think in my case, part of the problem is that some members don’t value research and any skills in study. They believe that, as long as they have the Bible, the Holy Spirit alone will clarify all ambiguity. As you can image, there are a lot of push back from educated people in the church who value research and homiletic. So, my pastor has been trying to carefully navigate the situation by focusing on the importance of the Holy Spirit, research and homiletic. Some bible studies have been at times very tense. However, they have been very helpful for a lot of members. As preacher we need to constantly make people understand the importance of proper exegesis so that the true meaning of the Bible can be revealed.
Thank you for interacting with the post. I’m glad we can study preaching together. You’re describing a difficult situation. It is difficult to be all things to all people in a local church. I fully agree with your feelings about the need for proper exegesis. We are always counting on the Holy Spirit to be the Ultimate Teacher in every venue!