CONFRONTATIONAL PREACHING

There is a need to include rebuke in our preaching. We are not to be pugilistic in nature—always spoiling for a fight and yearning to beat people over the head with a Bible. Yet, the Scripture is called the Spirit’s sword for a reason. There will be enemies and at times these are not outside the church, but within it.

The old grizzled veteran, General Paul, carried many scars of past conflicts. He challenged the young Lieutenant, Titus, to stand up, speak up, and make his enemies stand down and shut up!

Consider first THE NATURE OF OUR FOE. We can identify the enemy. 

Such are described as, “insubordinate.”  They promptly resist the Word of God and those who preach it. Their sinful autonomy refuses to submit to Scriptural authority. 

They are, “idle talkers.”  These are renowned for the volume of their words—both in the loudness of their speech and the quantity of their words.

Worst of all, they are, “deceivers.”  Such are in league with the father of lies, Satan. False teaching marks them. It is a cancer in the church that must be surgically removed or it will kill a congregation.  You cannot just ignore it and hope it goes away. 

Weigh then, THE NECESSITY OF OUR FIGHT. Their “mouths must be stopped.”  You must confront it or such will, “subvert whole households.”  

If someone were to break into our house and threaten our family in the middle of the night, love would compel us to resist them by whatever means. False teaching places the church family in jeopardy.  The hope for the saints is in confrontational preaching. Likewise, it is the only hope for these sinners—in that a call to repentance might turn them from error to the truth and the salvation of their souls.

Titus was being sent to a difficult church field. It was hard ground, filled with weeds, and spiritually shallow, yet there would be a harvest if he would faithfully sow the seed. Fertile ground was there too.

There are times in our preaching we must be delicate with the straying—for they are a bruised reed and smoldering wick (Matt.12:20). A soft word and a gentle breath is needed. But, there will be those where we  “rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith.”  We must be direct with the seductive. May God give us the discernment to know which to apply (Jude 22, 23).