No Application

How sad it is that otherwise good sermons can be ruined by lack of application; but it's true. Christians ought to have been able to apply the message of the Scriptures to themselves, and some did - to their spiritual benefit. But if you were a newcomer to Biblical truth, then application may have been a problem.

There is nothing like a good solid Bible study to inform the mind, and to warm the heart to some extent. Having the Scriptures opened up and their meaning explained by a minister is undoubtedly a great privilege. I would encourage every preacher to follow this pattern and to go as far as Scriptural teaching goes, but no further.

I would encourage preachers to explain also where and how the message of the selected passage applies to his hearers. Every congregation has hurting, puzzled, confused, disappointed people sitting before them, and they need the healing balm of the Gospel applied tenderly and sensitively, yet accurately, to their hurting hearts. Careless sinners, especially if they are church members, must have the gospel applied with precision to their consciences, otherwise they will leave the services imagining that they are true Christians, and on their way to heaven. Backsliders need to be confronted with their spiritual carelessness and urged, through applicatory preaching, to return to Christ immediately. Christians, also, need to be encouraged from the Word, and nothing beats the careful application of the Gospel to their hearts.

Speaking from personal experience, I have discovered that the minister who can conduct a good study of the Scriptures week by week but refuses to apply the messages to his congregation, guaranteed a long and 'successful' ministry. His hearers will talk in glowing terms of how great Bible teacher they have as their minister. He will be asked to speak at conferences and conventions all over the country and abroad, his invitation being on the basis that he is a safe pair of hands to have in their company.

But once a minister of the Word attempts to apply the Gospel, not to some invisible and absent individuals or situation, but to the people sitting in front of him, and to situations known and familiar to those same people, then the declaration of war is announced, and "there is trouble ahead" for that minister. To disturb those who are "at ease in Zion" (Amos 6:1) is a recipe for disaster. To be accused of 'harshness' and 'lack of love' for the people, is what those coming under conviction resort to, and the minister is left defenseless, and certainly cannot depend on the support of his colleagues or of the church courts. He is left on his own, because even his colleagues see him as giving a bad impression of what an evangelical minister really is. In fact, when Jesus was exercising His ministry in Galilee 2000 years ago, everything was reasonably good so long as He spoke in a way that church leaders and people could not really understand; but the moment He started to speak to them clearly, the daggers were drawn, and the religious establishment was baying for His blood. His faithful servants will find exactly the same. Bringing the message of the Gospel too close to home is unwelcome in most churches today, including the evangelical and reformed churches. They just cannot handle it. And the reason? It seeks to handle them, and they do not want to not be in control of the Word; they want to control it. That's why some churches will demand that a certain translation of the Scriptures are read in public worship; it is also why some elders will dictate at what time the service will end. Such people like to be in control; but they do not want God to be in control of His Church.

May God have mercy on every look-warm church that calls itself by His Name.