No one wants to have enemies, be unpopular and be despised. No one wants to
be criticized, slandered and demonized. No one wants to be the constant
object of ridicule and persecution. Albeit, that is exactly what the Bible
says will happen if you “live godly in Christ Jesus.” When most Christians
read 2nd Timothy 3:12 (our text verse) in the Bible, they think of
persecution from the ungodly world; however, some of the harshest and worst
persecution you'll face in life as a believer will come from other professed
Christians.
Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) was America's greatest preacher throughout the 20th century. Dr. Hyles was a man's man and a preacher's preacher. You never had to wonder where Brother Hyles stood on the issues, because he let you know clearly. Because of Dr. Hyles' uncompromising stand against sin and the Devil creeping into our churches, his worst and toughest enemies were fellow believers. Although nobody preached against the evils of booze more than Dr. Hyles, his worst enemies weren't the booze cartel. Although Brother Hyles ripped and scathed against the wickedness of abortion, his worst enemies weren't the abortionists. Dr. Hyles' fiercest opponents weren't the homosexual community or the feminists. No, Pastor Hyles' most harmful and hateful enemies were former disgruntled church members, offended preachers and people that he once loved and trusted.
Taking a stand for God and truth will cost you. If it hasn't, then it will, it's just a matter of time. If not, then you're not standing properly. Many pastors think they're standing, but they truly are not. I've heard pastors hypocritically profess from the pulpit a desire to know and promote the truth, but then when I handed them a truthful book they rejected it and were offended. I recently gave my pastor a copy of Dr. Al Lacy's classic book, “NIV: The Antichrist's Bible.” I also gave him Dr. Younce's classic book, “Martin Luther: Master Of Deceit.” I sincerely thought as a man of God that he would appreciate my desire to help him know the truth. He didn't.
I
really thought that the books would open his eyes to matters that many
preachers are not aware of. I truly thought that the books would be a
blessing from the Lord to him. To my dismay, I was called into the church
office after a prayer meeting and given an ultimatum to stop sharing such
materials with others or be asked to leave the church. So I left weeping in
tears and told them that I loved them and was going home to pray for them to
get right with God. They're in the religious business, not true to the New
Testament Church, the ground and pillar of the truth. 1st Timothy 3:15,
“But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave
thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the
pillar and ground of the truth.”
The Bible foretold of these perilous apostate last days when churches and pastors would no longer tolerate sound doctrine. 2nd Timothy 4:3, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.” Few pastors preach anymore. Instead, churches have adopted devotional type messages and expository sermonettes. It's sickening! I wouldn't give you a dime for a so-called man of God who never lets 'er rip from the pulpit, saying it like it is. Instead, we've got a bunch of fancy-pants, show-boat, milquetoast, highbrow, lame ministers who couldn't preach their way out of a wet paperbag.
Yes Sir, the way to get along with everyone is
avoid anything controversial, offensive or that goes against apostate
mainstream evangelicalism in America. Of course, this means never preaching
on Hell. Certainly you'd better not mention fire in Hell, or eternal
punishment, gnashing of teeth, burning, wailing or damnation. And God forbid
that you should raise your voice in the pulpit while saying such things!
God's man who faithfully preaches is often labeled as arrogant,
presumptuous or unwilling to share his pulpit. Such accusations are rooted
in carnal jealousy and not spiritual faith in God, who raises up men in each
generation to proclaim His Holy Word. Our
church
pastors have rejected knowledge and the people are being destroyed.
People Don't Get Along With Porcupine Preachers
I'm a porcupine preacher bless God. When I preach, people get the point! That's the way it should be. I absolutely loath listening to deadbeat ministers who ramble on-and-on for an hour and never really say anything. It's all humdrum, boring, empty words. Talk about a cure for insomnia! Preaching should be exciting, offensive to some, convicting, putting people on the spot, barn-stormin', window-rattlin', shingle-pullin', hard-preaching!!! God detests lukewarm sermons. He detests lukewarm churches. God hates lukewarm anything! The Lord said He wants us hot or cold, in or out, on or off, as taught in Revelation 3:15-16. God is far more pleased with the theologically-challenged country preacher who preaches to the multitudes, than He is with the doctrinally-sound deeper-life minister who gathers around the Word behind closed doors each Sunday and never reaches others for Christ. God didn't save us to BE GOOD, but to DO GOOD. Please listen to the needful MP3 sermon by Dr. Jack Hyles, “Our Mixed-Up Fundamental Christianity.”
Most pastors and evangelists today desire to deliver acceptable sermons, refusing to ever raise their voice, or shout at the Devil, or warn that Christ-rejecters will split Hell wide open the second they enter into eternity! If you want to be popular, then you must preach popular messages. If you want to get along with everyone, then you must try to get along with everyone! This goes contrary to everything that a fundamental preacher ought to be! We need some John the Baptists, Billy Sundays and Jack Hyles... Amen! We ought not intentionally be unkind outside of the pulpit. But in the pulpit, we need tough love today!!! We need tough preachers, not sweet and loving teddybears. We need some grizzly bears in the pulpit, who are equally characterized by God's unconditional love for sinners. We need Spirit-filled preachers, which can only come from men who abide in the Scriptures and depend upon God's Holy Spirit through continuous prayer.
Most Baptist preachers today don't know how to preach and don't care to learn. Here's a great start... read Dr. Hyles' classic book, “Teaching On Preaching.” I love the story about a Baptist minister who used to preach to his dog in the woods to teach himself how to preach. Good for him! Practice in the mirror if you'd like. Preach on a street corner. I've had some interesting things happen while street preaching. I once had a heavy-set cab-driver roll down his window and tears were streaming down his face as I was preaching. I went over to him and befriended him with the Gospel and told him that Jesus loved him. You can preach! JUST DO IT!!! Like anything else, the hardest part is getting started. I guarantee you that the second time will be twice as easy.
Learn to put yourself down and humble yourself, because that's half the battle, that is, fear of what others think. Tell people that you are a big sinner. It's ok to admit to people that you have feet of clay, but don't ever show them your feet. People will respect you more if you put yourself in the same boat as them. We're all big hypocrites in one way or another. Romans 2:1 warns against condemning others, because we are all guilty of sinning horribly. You may not think sin is horrible, but God very much does. If the truth be told, we all deserve for the ground beneath us to open up right now and plunge into the depths of a burning Hell forever. Praise God for the dear gift of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Who died on the cross for our sins and raised up from the dead three days later for our justification. 1st Thessalonians 4:14, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.”
We Must Stand On The Side Of Truth
Someone once asked me
to sum up the Bible in as few words as possible and I responded with one
word... TRUTH! John 17:17, “Sanctify them through thy truth:
thy word is truth.” The Bible is THE TRUTH.
Hence, Satan desires to keep men from the truth, blinding them instead with
worldly philosophies, false religion, corrupted Bible versions, manmade
traditions and heresy. Has Satan blinded you from the truth of God's Word?
Our churches are filled with heresies nowadays; such as, Zionism, a
postribulation Rapture, replacement theology, Baptist bridal theology, a
bloodless redemption, a crossless gospel, Lordship Salvation, a Young Earth
theory, speaking in Charismatic tongues, and the whopper of lies which says
we don't have a perfect Bible in the English language—THESE ARE ALL FALSE
TEACHINGS which have crept into Independent Fundamental Baptist Churches
across America.
If a handful of Fundamentalists don't start standing behind the cause that's right, there won't be a cause in a few more years. Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995) says . . .
“Preachers can't do it all. If you don't put everything you've got behind the cause that's right, brother, there won't be a right cause in a few more years. Fundamental, Bible-believing, preachers need encouragement. They're having financial difficulties all over the country. Everywhere I go they say, 'How's your offerings? I can't pat my bills.' Why? Because they're the fastest growing churches and have the biggest debts.' —a quote by Dr. Curtis Hutson from the awesome sermon titled, “IS THE COMING OF THE LORD NEAR?”
God helps His people through His people! Our churches are lagging behind, going back, settling into complacency. Indifference characterizes our churches today. Today's shameful ministers are at ease on Zion, having no sense of urgency in their preaching, lacking that burning fire that only abiding in the consuming holy Word of God can produce. Hebrews 10:29 says that our God is a consuming fire, and He is. The presence of the Holy Spirit ought to burn our hearts as we read and search the Scriptures.
It's interesting that Jesus never told us to read the Bible. I always hear preachers telling people to read the Bible. In John 5:39 Jesus commanded us to “SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES!” John 5:39, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” You say, what's the difference? There's a big difference! People READ the daily newspaper, preoccupying their mind during lunchbreak while at work. But to SEARCH means that you are looking for something. Jesus said that the Scriptures testify of Him.
Jesus is the living incarnate (in the flesh) Word (John 1:1-3,14), the Bible is the printed Word (2nd Timothy 3:16-17). We ought to read the Bible looking for principles to apply to our daily life, to be Christlike. We ought to read the Bible looking for solutions and answers to life's complexities and problems. The answers are in there, which is why Jesus told us to search for them. The Bible is profitable to instruct us, correct us and furnish us unto all good works. 2nd Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”
Notice that doing good works is the goal. God didn't just save us so we'd stop doing bad things; but rather, God saved us to do good works, by helping others and preaching the Gospel to get folks saved. Luke 8:15 says that Christians with an honest and good heart take heed to the Scriptures, abiding in them as John 15:1-5 teaches, and thus we this BEAR MUCH FRUIT. I don't care how good of a Christian you may think you are or how long you've been saved, you're a complete failure as a Christian if you're not a soul-winner, that is, trying to get folks saved by preaching the Gospel to them.
Only God can save a soul and the credit for souls saved belongs solely to God (1st Corinthians 3:7); but we are responsible to preach the Gospel, compelling the poor, maimed, imprisoned, blind, physically and mentally challenged, and outcasts and losers of society, to repent of their unbelief and believe the Gospel to be saved. That is God's ultimate goal in this life for every believer, that is, to carry out The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). To do this we ought to be actively involved in a local New Testament Church, where converts may be baptized as a public profession of their faith in Jesus Christ. You don't have to be water baptized to go to Heaven (and adding baptism to faith will send you to Hell for sure); but water baptism if the first step of obedience as a new believer, which is important and every believer ought to be baptized as soon as possible.
If You Want to Get Along, Then Always Go
Along!
You see, taking a stand for God is not the way to make friends and be accepted by others. If you want to get along with everyone, then don't ever take a stand for anything right, true or godly. The Bible tells us that many of the chief rulers believed on Jesus and got saved, but they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God, so they didn't tell anyone. John 12:42-43, “Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” They wanted to get along with everyone, so they hid their candle under a bushel. 2nd Corinthians 4:3, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost.”
On the matter of lukewarm Independent Fundamental Baptist churches and preachers, I heard Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995) make this great statement in his classic sermon titled, “Is The Coming Of The Lord Near?”. . .
The woeful
attack of our day is over the exclusivity of the King James Bible. Every
modern corrupt Bible was translated from the corrupt Greek of
