Acts 20:20
“And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house,”
One of the common responses I get when I write a pointed article on a societal sin or preach a hard sermon against sin is that I should be more loving in my preaching. It is always amazing how the buzzards come out to pick apart an article or sermon by saying that I need to be more like Jesus and write an article or preach a sermon of love.
Paul said in the verse above, “I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you…” What Paul considered profitable and what the enemies of old-fashioned preaching considered profitable I am sure are two different definitions. Yet, when you read the Apostle Paul, he preached to help the hurting, but he also preached to expose sin. Both types of preaching are profitable for a Christian and are important to them becoming what Christ wants them to be.
As a Christian, you must be careful that you don’t only listen to sermons that pat you on the back, but you listen to sermons that are profitable for all of your needs. As a preacher, you must be careful about not only preaching sermons that seem to make people like you, but preach the sermons that are profitable, and profitability may mean that sometimes you have to expose or rebuke sin.
Friend, burying your head in the sand about sin does not help you or anyone else. Burying your head in the sand does not make sin go away. Yet, that is what most people want, and that is what many preachers do with their preaching. Burying your head in the sand only causes the problem to get worse. As much as you may enjoy the feel good side of profitable preaching, at times we all need preaching that exposes sin.
There are some who may say, “I just think you need to love the sinner and not be so hateful by naming their sin.” That sounds good, but with that mentality we cannot preach against anything. For instance, there are many who don’t like it when we preach against and expose the wickedness of sodomy. They say we will never reach those people by “hating” on them. With this mentality we cannot preach against drugs to reach the drug addict. We can’t preach against adultery to reach the adulterer. We cannot preach against alcohol to reach the alcoholic. We cannot preach against lying to reach the liar.
With the mentality of not preaching against sin but only loving the sinner we are only burying our head in the sand. Friend, if a person never preaches against sin, then there is never a need to get right with God. God gave us the law to show us our need of a Saviour. A Christian will never know what area they need to work on to improve their relationship with Christ without profitable preaching.
Don’t be the type of Christian who criticizes profitable preaching. Always remember that profitable preaching will comfort and encourage, but it will also expose sin and preach against it. Everyone is a sinner, and sometimes what is profitable is not always easy to take, but it is needed. Yes, we need teaching and preaching that encourages and comforts us, but we also need teaching and preaching that convicts us and reveals our sin. It is all profitable, so don’t avoid it. When you avoid it, you are losing a part of Christianity that is profitable for you.