Preach It! ... Really?

Matthew 4:17
"From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near".

Whenever we think of the word "preach", there is usually a negative connotation associated with the comment. "Don't preach at me!", we hear from someone who is feeling someone attacked by someone. Or, it is associated with a "fire and brimstone" preacher warning people about going to hell if they don't "repent". What I would like to do in today's blog is to redefine words like "preach" and "repent", because by and large we have lost in many ways the importance of these two words.

First, we need to go back to what the two words REALLY mean! The word "preach" literally means to "announce" or "proclaim". The word "repent" means to "turn around", or have a "change of mind that leads to change of behavior" So when Jesus begins preach saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near", this is an announcement of Good News. This is not bad news as many associate with the words "preach" and "repent". He is announcing that the Good News is that the kingdom of God has come near. As we will learn in the rest of the Gospel, the kingdom has come in His person and works. But in a larger sense kingdom means, God's rule or reign. So we could say God's kingdom was coming in a new way through Jesus.

But he also says, "repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near". Meaning turn around, realize the possibilities that are before you, and make the necessary changes to re-align your life with something which will make an eternal difference. So why have these words taken on such a negative meaning? When Jesus used these words he was issuing an invitation a call to something much bigger than ourselves. Unfortunately many preachers and religious leaders have misused these words and used them as a "club" rather an "invitation". You will notice Jesus never manipulated anyone to follow him. He always issued an invitation to people and allowed them to be led by the power of the Holy Spirit.

So what does this mean for us? Do we announce or preach the opportunity that people have before them in this life? Do people experience Good News through us as we proclaim the kingdom Jesus sought to inaugurate? It is not our job to cause people to "repent", only God can do that. But we must be careful to not to turn Good News into bad news! We need to be careful we are not so busy "preaching" that nobody is "listening"!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Acts 22 - Paul Sees the Light

Image
6  “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.   7  I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me,  ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’  8  “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.  “  ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth,  whom you are persecuting,’  he replied.   9  My companions saw the light,  but they did not understand the voice  of him who was speaking to me.  10  “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked. “  ‘Get up,’  the Lord said,  ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do. This is the famous story of the apostle Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus.  Paul was going there to persecute Jewish Christians and throw them into prison and he meets Jesus is a spectacular way.  Not only is he blinded by a briliant light, but he hears the Lord's voice audibly.  And the Lord asks him, "Lord, Lord why a...
Read more

Hebrews 6 - Have You Graduated From Elementary School of Faith Yet?

Click Here to Read or Listen to Hebrews 6 6 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so. The author once again picks up with the theme of moving on to Christian maturity.  He teaches them to move on from the "elementary" teachings about Christ. What does he mean by that?  He gives clues by citing repentance, faith, cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, and teaching on the judgment and resurrection from the dead. We might call these the basics of the Christian faith. If you read through the Apostle's Creed, which our church confesses in our 8am service, it contains many of these core doctrines.  Click here to see the Apostle's Creed Written Around “When we consider the...
Read more

2 Timothy 4 - Fight the Good Fight! Finish the Race!

Click Here to Read or Listen to 2 Timothy 4 4 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. Paul gives a closing charge to Timothy. First of all, he is to preach the word. God's Word speaks to all situations and seasons. The Word of God will sometimes correct us. Our lives can get of out alignment with God's will as outlined in ...
Read more