Articles From Our Bulletins
Catching Flies
A well-meaning lady once kindly chided me for what she perceived to be the “negative” tenor of some of the sermons I was preaching. “You know you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar,” she said. Before I could get the emergency brake on my tongue fully yanked, I responded with something along the lines of, “That’s fine, if you’re catching flies, but I’m trying to save souls!” I don’t think she appreciated my point, though I have often thought about hers.
There are still some, probably much more by now, who think the way to “attract more people to the church” is by “accentuating the positive” (and ignoring the “negative”- though they would perhaps not readily admit to that last part). But even the progenitor of “positive thinking” himself, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, admitted that “Most of us would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.”
So-called “positive” preaching is fine, provided you mean by that terminology the positive aspects of education in the Book, edification (being built-up) in the faith, and encouragement to do that right we understand to be right in the sight of God. This kind of “positive” preaching produces knowledge of the Scriptures and calm assurance and comfort in our faith- and there is certainly nothing wrong with that!
But there are a couple of problems with a pure “honey” approach (exclusively “positive”) to preaching and teaching the Gospel. First, it necessarily and admittedly seeks to attract people “to the church” rather than “to Christ.” How so? Listen closely to the people who generally advocate this approach. They speak in terms of attracting people to, and bringing people into, “the church.” The church is the result of people being saved- not the cause of it. The gospel is “God’s power to save”- not the church, Romans 1:16. We don’t “grow the church” by attracting people to it; we seek to save souls to heaven by preaching the gospel- all of it, whether it is “positively” or “negatively” perceived.
To illustrate the point, consider this: Was the sermon on Pentecost “positive”? The audience was told they had crucified the Son of God, and needed to “Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:36-38). That doesn’t really fit the “positive” mold. But notice carefully what happened next. “So then, those who received the word were baptized; and there were added (to the church, PCS) that day about three thousand souls.” The preaching told people they needed to change, not that God would love and accept them as they were, which would make it “negative” by today’s standards. The preaching wasn’t “positive,” but it sure had “positive” results because it identified sin, and provided the necessary remedy for it.
All of which brings us to the second problem with a “pure honey” approach: it seeks to bring people to the church with something other than “the whole counsel of God,” Acts 20:27. The gospel certainly has “positive” aspects, cf. Matthew 11:28-30; Romans 8:31-39; but it also has prohibitions and warnings that are clearly “negative,” cf. Matthew 7:13-23; Romans 11:22ff; et al. How are men to be saved from their sins if those sins are never shown to be “sinful,” cp. Romans 7:7? None of us like to be told we are wrong, or that we’re doing wrong, but unless we’re already perfect and thus don’t need salvation, it has to happen for us to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect,” (Romans 12:2)!
The truth is this: The kind of preaching and teaching done produces the kind of members you have (and to some degree, vice versa, cf. 2Timothy 4:3). If you have only arrogant, self-righteous, “condemn everyone” preaching which is “all vinegar,” you’ll probably have those kinds of members. But if you have only soft, emotionally-based and weak “all honey” preaching which is only “positive,” (again, by modern standards) you’ll likely have those kinds of members too. Neither of these approaches is right.
2Timothy 4:1-5 contains the inspired prescription, “I solemnly charge you (Timothy and other preachers of the Gospel, PCS)….preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with great patience and instruction…be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” This kind of preaching won’t catch many “flies,” but it will save a lot of “souls.” Besides, I never really liked flies anyway!
A well-meaning lady once kindly chided me for what she perceived to be the “negative” tenor of some of the sermons I was preaching. “You know you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar,” she said. Before I could get the emergency brake on my tongue fully yanked, I responded with something along the lines of, “That’s fine, if you’re catching flies, but I’m trying to save souls!” I don’t think she appreciated my point, though I have often thought about hers.
There are still some, probably much more by now, who think the way to “attract more people to the church” is by “accentuating the positive” (and ignoring the “negative”- though they would perhaps not readily admit to that last part). But even the progenitor of “positive thinking” himself, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, admitted that “Most of us would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.”
So-called “positive” preaching is fine, provided you mean by that terminology the positive aspects of education in the Book, edification (being built-up) in the faith, and encouragement to do that right we understand to be right in the sight of God. This kind of “positive” preaching produces knowledge of the Scriptures and calm assurance and comfort in our faith- and there is certainly nothing wrong with that!
But there are a couple of problems with a pure “honey” approach (exclusively “positive”) to preaching and teaching the Gospel. First, it necessarily and admittedly seeks to attract people “to the church” rather than “to Christ.” How so? Listen closely to the people who generally advocate this approach. They speak in terms of attracting people to, and bringing people into, “the church.” The church is the result of people being saved- not the cause of it. The gospel is “God’s power to save”- not the church, Romans 1:16. We don’t “grow the church” by attracting people to it; we seek to save souls to heaven by preaching the gospel- all of it, whether it is “positively” or “negatively” perceived.
To illustrate the point, consider this: Was the sermon on Pentecost “positive”? The audience was told they had crucified the Son of God, and needed to “Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:36-38). That doesn’t really fit the “positive” mold. But notice carefully what happened next. “So then, those who received the word were baptized; and there were added (to the church, PCS) that day about three thousand souls.” The preaching told people they needed to change, not that God would love and accept them as they were, which would make it “negative” by today’s standards. The preaching wasn’t “positive,” but it sure had “positive” results because it identified sin, and provided the necessary remedy for it.
All of which brings us to the second problem with a “pure honey” approach: it seeks to bring people to the church with something other than “the whole counsel of God,” Acts 20:27. The gospel certainly has “positive” aspects, cf. Matthew 11:28-30; Romans 8:31-39; but it also has prohibitions and warnings that are clearly “negative,” cf. Matthew 7:13-23; Romans 11:22ff; et al. How are men to be saved from their sins if those sins are never shown to be “sinful,” cp. Romans 7:7? None of us like to be told we are wrong, or that we’re doing wrong, but unless we’re already perfect and thus don’t need salvation, it has to happen for us to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect,” (Romans 12:2)!
The truth is this: The kind of preaching and teaching done produces the kind of members you have (and to some degree, vice versa, cf. 2Timothy 4:3). If you have only arrogant, self-righteous, “condemn everyone” preaching which is “all vinegar,” you’ll probably have those kinds of members. But if you have only soft, emotionally-based and weak “all honey” preaching which is only “positive,” (again, by modern standards) you’ll likely have those kinds of members too. Neither of these approaches is right.
2Timothy 4:1-5 contains the inspired prescription, “I solemnly charge you (Timothy and other preachers of the Gospel, PCS)….preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with great patience and instruction…be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” This kind of preaching won’t catch many “flies,” but it will save a lot of “souls.” Besides, I never really liked flies anyway!
