Rev. Don Campbell
Jeremiah 1-3
THOUGHT FOR TODAY, August 7, 2019
“BALANCED PREACHING”
While Jeremiah was still a young man, the word of the Lord came to him, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). Jeremiah objected that he was but a youth (v.6), but God said, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.” Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me,
“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant” (Jeremiah 1:6-10).
The two-to-one formula of negative-to-positive is not simply a literary device, but a pattern for all who profess to preach the word of God. Paul told Timothy, “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:1-2). Note the negatives: reprove and rebuke and the positive: exhort. Paul said of his own work, “We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient” (2 Corinthians 10:3-6, NLT). The pattern again is both negative and positive preaching. He “knocked down,” and “destroyed.” Capturing rebellious thoughts was not for the purpose of destroying, but to teach obedience to Christ, which is positive.
We would be pressing the pattern too far to conclude that every sermon must have two negative points and one positive point. However, all preaching and teaching should be balanced. Jude, who is probably best known for his denunciation of apostasy began his epistle on a positive note to those kept by the power of God: “mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you” (vv.1-2). In the next several verses he exposes and denounces evil. He closes with these words of comfort: “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy” (v.25).
Paul warned of messages that are totally positive: “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve” (Romans 16:17-18). He also cautions against a totally negative ministry in which everyone is treated as if they were incorrigible: “And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone” (1 Thessalonians 5:14-15). If we preach to the fainthearted as if they were the hardhearted, we may crush them, instead of saving them.
CONNECTIONS
1. God said that he would put his words into Jeremiah’s mouth. Today preachers receive the message not directly from God, but in the same way as did Timothy: through the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16-10), which must be handled properly (2 Timothy 2:15). Does handling Scripture properly included knowing those to whom one preaches—their hopes, their fears, their sorrow, their joys, etc. in order to give each the food that is needful? (Proverbs 30:8)
2. Is it possible that those who like to “get people told” from the pulpit or in the Bible class, do so in order to feel powerful?
