Preaching a Watered Down Gospel - Part 2 — Jeff Noblit

The Need for Preachers Who Teach the Whole Counsel of Scripture

No young Timothy's upon us who will heed Paul's admonition to, quote, preach the word, though it will bring hardship and decreasing attendance. Second Timothy, chapter 4. We'll have no Apollos among us who is, quote, mighty in the Scriptures, end of quote, teaching accurately the things of Jesus, Acts 18, 24 and 25.

Aquila, Priscilla, and Deeper Instruction in Christ

Let's not have any Aquilas and Priscilla's among us who took Apollos aside and Apollos further so he could go deeper concerning the things of Christ, Acts 18, 26. No Jesus type preachers who on the Emmaus Road taught the disciples the things concerning him in all the Scriptures, Luke 24, 27.

The Culture of Comfortable, Entertaining Milk

No. We basically only need to know what we learned in Sunday school as a child. You can say it in different ways. You can say it cleverly. Matter of fact, use alliterative outlines. That's impressive.

Teach us about milk with deer hunting stories and bass fishing stories. Get football stars and basketball stars and baseball stars to say it. That makes Jesus look even better. And then throw in a beauty queen.

We don't want people to think Jesus is against popularity. Fascinate us with muscle men who can crack blocks of ice over their heads and magicians who can make pretty girls disappear. Get them to say it.

Yes, say it in all of these ways, but make sure it's still just milk. You see, our fragile spiritual stomachs can't handle anything more. And when we get old, send us to the mountains to watch the leaves turn.

And send us to a conference that has one Christian comedian, one Christian humorist, one good singer, a gospel quartet, and one Bible preacher, as long as he's funny. But make sure it's just milk. The milky way.

Hebrews 5 and the Call to Spiritual Maturity

What does God say about this? Does God just say, well, it's not the best, but it's good? No, God says it's wicked, it's sin, it's perverse, it's unacceptable. That's what our text is going to teach us today.

Look with me, if you will, to Hebrews chapter 5. And let's begin in verse 12. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary, or first principles, of the oracles of God.

And you've come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature. He, because of practice, have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

Now, you get to verses 12, 13, and 14, he's amplifying what he said in verse 11. He's building upon it, if you will. In verse 12, he basically says, man, there's a need again to teach you guys the elementary principles of the Christian faith again.

Shallow Milk Dependency Is Without Excuse

What in the world is wrong with you? In verses 13 and 14, he gives the parallel illustration of them being like children who need plain and easy matters delivered unto them. Now, let me give you Roman numeral number one in my outline.

Roman numeral one, their shallow milk dependency is without excuse. That's the first thing he's going to tell them. That's what he's implying here. It's without excuse. Now, sub-point A will be because they have had the teaching.

The Responsibility of Preachers and Sheep

They have been under the teaching. And you know, Scripture has a lot to say about preachers who pamper and pet and conjole babies and never try to take them deeper in the things of God. You see, it's comfortable and easy, especially if you've got my gifts and abilities.

I could wow you and woo you and entertain you well for years and only give you milk. It's a temptation. So, Scripture has a lot to say. Woe to the preacher that does that. But, Scripture also puts a great weight of responsibility on the sheep to make sure you get the food you need and grow in Christ beyond the first things.

He doesn't just lay all the blame on the preacher. As a matter of fact, it's kind of heavily weighted toward the sheep. As I told you before, I believe, generally speaking, God gives a church the pastor it deserves or really wants.

You want the milky way? He'll give you a milky preacher. If there's enough people that want to go deeper for the glory of God, not in some proud thing, but because they love God and want to know all that God says about Himself, then God will give you a man that tries to take you further.

The Hebrew Church Had Received Sufficient Teaching

But, in this case, He says you're without excuse. He says, verse 12, very clearly, for by this time. In other words, you've had the gospel preached to you. You've had the truth delivered to you. You should be going further in your understanding of Christ, the things of the gospel, the things of salvation, and the ways of God, than you've gone.

Go in his commentary, said it this way, quote, they were called into Christ's church and made scholars in Christ's school and Christ's ministers to be their instructors and the Holy Scriptures their books.

They're without excuse. They had it all. So this adds to the sinfulness and the, it's not a word perhaps, but excuselessness of their spiritual immaturity. That's true, some sit under poor, shallow, milky preaching and they remain babes and remain dull, but this is not the case with the Hebrew church.

Jesus' Rebuke of Philip for Failing to Understand

They're like when Jesus rebuked Philip in John chapter 14, verse 9. Jesus said, have I been so long with you? And yet you've not come to know me, Philip. He who has seen me has been seen by the father.

How do you say, show us the father? Philip, you should know this by now. You've had the time to learn it. In Deuteronomy 29, verse 4, Moses rebukes Israel. He says in Deuteronomy 29, 4, yet to this day, the Lord has not given you a heart to know nor eyes to see nor ears to hear.

Israel's Repeated Refusal to Hear God's Word

Forty years, Moses is saying, you wandered in the wilderness and you still don't get what God's trying to tell you. It's your fault, is what he's saying. Jeremiah's rebuke of Israel says the same thing in Jeremiah chapter 25, verse 3.

From the thirteenth year, Josiah, the son of Ammon, king of Judah, even to this day, these 23 years, the word of the Lord has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened.

Twenty-three years, Jeremiah, faithfully preached and they still don't receive the preaching. Without excuse. I'm telling you, there's some Southern Baptists like that. There's some Assembly of God like that.

There's some Pentecostals like that and some Methodists like that and some Presbyterians like that because we are so enamored with bringing worldly amusements and entertainments to keep people going. They've never gotten off their lactose dependency and matured to the milk or to the meat of the word and grown to maturity to be drawn to God and God alone.

The Duty to Grow Beyond Milk

Well, second sub point B, there's shallow milk dependencies without excuse because it's their duty or you could say their debt to go beyond milk. God saved you. Now, listen to me. God saved you first for himself.

It's not what you're saved from that's really the significant factor. It's who you're saved for and you're saved for God and when you're saved, he takes off the blinders so that you can begin a pilgrimage of knowing all that he is and all the wonders and the glories of who he is and you have a duty to learn those.

All that you can until you get home into heaven and then there you'll continue to learn. And he says there, by this time you ought to be teachers. The word out there has the meaning of a debt you owe, a responsibility or a duty that you have.

Did you know that?