Do you want to get a preacher's neck to bow up? I can tell you one sure way to accomplish this. Tell him what to preach on. Nothing irks me more than when someone tries to tell me that I should preach on this subject or I should not preach on that one. For me, it's especially irritating as I am an expository preacher, which means we tackle books of the bible; chapter by chapter and verse by verse. In other words everyone knows exactly which scripture the sermon will be based upon next week. So yesterday, as I heard Glenn Beck tell millions of Americans what they should expect their pastors to preach on, I felt some righteous indignation.
Beck is a political commentator. He is also a Mormon. Now it's no secret, if you've read this blog, that based upon the bible I believe Mormonism to be a false religion. Many of it's beliefs are based upon extra-biblical texts, including the Book of Mormon. The bible warns us from beginning to end about adding too or subtracting from the word of God, so I cannot see how the Book of Mormon is inspired by God. If it is, God has violated numerous warnings He gives in the bible about adding to His word. The fact that many of the claims of the book of Mormon(such as the Mormons were descended from the Jewish race, and that cities and people groups that have never been proven by archeology exist) to me is fact based proof of the book of Mormon's ungodly origins. Say what you will about the bible, but the fact that the peoples and lands it discusses existed is not in serious question.
Because of this I take what Beck says about religion with a grain of salt. But yesterday he proclaimed that as right thinking Americans we should expect our pastors to be addressing political issues that the Christian right is clearly sympathetic with from the pulpit. God forbid this be the focus of our preaching! Now Beck is correct that far too many pulpits are dedicated to exclaiming the unbiblical gospel of social justice. However, what he fails to realize is that if we take the opposing political view from the pulpit, we are as guilty as those who preach the leftist message of the social gospel.
Beck has wrapped himself in the flag and religion to the point where I'm concerned many who claim a biblical faith are deceived by his unbiblical message. Spiritual discernment seems to be at an all-time low in the body of Christ, and sadly, many want politics and social remedies from the pulpit instead of the bible. Now I'm not saying moral issues of the day that may have become political footballs should not be discussed. While so-called political issues such as abortion, the sanctity of marriage and debt may be hot topics in political forums, they are also moral issues according to the bible. They must be discussed when scripture addresses them. But to purposefully and consistently preach on political topics is an abomination to the message God has called us to preach.
This political preaching style has long standing roots in our nation. For years, democratic political leaders have been welcomed in to liberal churches to expound a political message. Anyone who has heard a supposed sermon by President Obama's former pastor Jeremiah Wright sees the clear political ramifications. On the right, Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority were guilty of the same type of political exposition. When this happens from the pulpit we ignore the one thing that can truly transform our lives and our nation; the gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.
For any preacher who claims to be called of God, there is only one acceptable message. The bible. If we preach the whole counsel of God we will touch upon some topics that have become political issues. But we will never deviate from the true message of God: that we are all sinners in need of salvation and that salvation is only available through Jesus Christ. That if we claim Jesus as our Savior their will be a transformation in our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit and we will become more Christlike the more spiritually mature we become.
Should Christians be politically active, absolutely. Should we speak our convictions, no doubt. Should a political message trump the message of the bible, God help us! The message of the pulpit is to be "thus saith the Lord." It is not to be thus saith a political commentator or political party. When that happens we deny the power of God for the power of human endeavor. That's a recipe for disaster in the church of God.
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