Sound The Trumpet : Predators in the Pulpit

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“Predators in the Pulpit”
by W. Phillip Keller
March 1st, 2006

In living memory there has never been such a selfish generation as this one. It is sometimes called the “me” generation. Its main preoccupation is self-love in all of its most insidious manifestations. It explains in large measure why we have a society in such chaos and confusion.

Christ called His followers not only to truth as it was found in Himself but also to a way and to a life that was distinctly different and divergent from the corrupt culture of His times. He told them plainly that it would be a constricted calling which few would find palatable or appealing. He stated emphatically that the great majority of men and women would prefer to follow the popular, broad, all-encompassing trends of the times that lead to sure destruction. It was the broad way, the easy way, the enticing way.

Christ made it astonishingly hard for most of His contemporaries to follow Him. The demands made upon those who decided to be His disciples were very lofty. He never promised them ease, luxury, or self-indulgence. His call was to a tough life of enormous self-sacrifice. He warned those who wished to walk with Him that there was a formidable price to pay for such a privilege. The cost would be counted in terms of tribulation, alienation, personal abuse and hatred by their antagonists.

Some pastors, ministers, evangelists, and teachers are so eager to be liked by their congregation, so keen to be popular with their parishioners, so determined to be accepted by their society that they refuse to cry out against its evils as did the prophets of old. They live in abject fear of being despised or rejected of men as was the Master. They will go instead to great lengths to insinuate themselves into society in order to be “one of the good old boys,” hail, well-met, and having achieved a happy rapport with the world around them.

At the very root of all human behavior lies the inescapable, inevitable determination of unshakable self-interest. This powerful force conditions human conduct. It finds common expression in self-advancement, self-love and self-satisfaction. In a word, it is basic selfishness serving one’s own selfish ends.

Amid all this mayhem and madness Christ calls us to be a separate, called-out people who may have to repudiate our roots. He asks that we turn from the wicked ways which have become so grossly appealing to our people and turn instead to seek His enduring love and loyalty.

This is no easy challenge in our contemporary world. For the Master calls us with a ringing call to a lofty life of wholesomeness, holiness, and purity of thought as well as action. He expects us to be different in a deep and distinct dimension of definite separation from our associates. He asks us to be willing to sacrifice sordid social relationships in order to be devoted to His pure purposes even at the cost of isolation.

Only His abundant, spontaneous, overcoming life, manifest in us as individuals can counteract all the despair and defilement around us. It is His presence which dispels the darkness, His power which overpowers the pollution of our generation.

We have found a brand-new center for life, and that center is Christ. It is Him whom we love above all else with unswerving loyalty. It is Him whom we serve in unflinching faith.

The world will call us mad eccentrics. He will call us His own precious people!

Some Christian leaders, who themselves have never come under authority to Christ, complain that to do so is to be bound into legalism. They contend that to be subject to the commands of Christ is to be brought into rigid ritualism of some sort that demeans the individual. They insist that one should be set free from any sort of restraints, even if it abuses Christ and panders to our self-life.

What they fail to realize is that every commandment, law, precept, or principle established by God is for our well-being. His wishes and will are not repressive regulations intended to demean us or diminish our enjoyment of life. Quite the opposite – they are the definitive guidelines which, if we obey them, guarantee our ultimate welfare. They are of divine design to insure us of an abundant life. They release us from bondage to self and to sin. They set us free into the paths of right living. The only proof positive that we truly love Him and are loyal to Him lies in our willingness to come under His control and comply with His commands.

W. Phillip Keller from his book
“Predators in the Pulpit”
Harvest House Publishers.

Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13