The Bible is clear. The problem is today’s “Don’t go therefore!” pastors simply won’t obey the Bible. The command and example of the Lord Jesus is clear. They simply won’t obey Jesus, who they somehow manage to call “Lord, Lord,” without blushing (Matt. 7:21-23). The command and example of the Apostles is clear. They simply won’t obey the Apostles’ Spirit inspired commands or follow their example while they shamelessly continue to preach their epistles. They’re smarter than the Bible, Jesus, and the Apostles. In fact, they’re far more spiritual and nicer too. I mean look what happened to Jesus and His Apostles. They all were hated. They all suffered terribly. They all died horrible deaths. Surely that’s no example to follow. Or is it?
“[Jesus] said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” -Mark 8:34-38
Today’s “Don’t go therefore!” pastors are smart. Too smart. They’ve figured out a way to do Christianity and fulfill the Great Commission that allows them to be popular, prosperous, and perennially safe. They’ve figured out a way to do Christianity and fulfill the Great Commission that gives them their best life now and avoids needlessly suffering for Christ’s sake and “having the same conflict” the Apostles experienced with a Satanic world system very much opposed to God, His Son, His Word, His Law, His Gospel, His Heaven, and His Hell. What today’s “Don’t go therefore!” pastors fail to get is that Jesus and His hated, persecuted, martyred Apostles successfully and gloriously turned the world upside down. Their biographers can joyfully write, “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!” at the end of their lives — and their tombstones will forever have “FAITHFUL DOULOS!” boldly chiseled upon them. What today’s “Don’t go therefore!” pastors fail to get is that the world is crushing their pathetic, popular, prosperous, safe, apathetic, anemic, cowardly perversion of Christianity and their churches too. No matter what feigned deception of valiant Christian ministry they manage to pull off in life, their true biographers will write, “MISSION FAILURE!” at the end of their lives — and their tombstones will forever have “DISOBEDIENT REBEL!” emblazoned on them.
What are we to do? What’s the answer? What do we need in this evil hour of compromise, cowardice, and encroaching spiritual darkness in the world and the visible church? We don’t need smart men. We don’t need creative men. We don’t need soft men. We don’t need fearful men. We need faith-filled men! We need men who believe the Bible and obey it! We need valiant men! We need men who don’t just quote the Apostle Paul when he says, “To live is Christ and to die is gain!” but men who minister the Gospel like him! We need men who don’t just quote George Whitefield, but men who minister the Gospel like him! We need men who are empowered by the Spirit of God to die to self, take up the cross, and “Go therefore!” in obedience to Christ their King — who can truly say to Christ’s Church, “Follow me as I follow Christ!” That’s God’s man. That’s the need of this hour and every hour. That’s the need of this nation and every nation. That’s the need of Christ’s Church and every local church. Nothing else will do.
Our seminaries and Bible colleges need to start asking potential students on what street corners, in what parks, in what city centers, at what abortion clinics, and where else they minister God’s Law and Gospel in obedience to Christ’s Great Commission command as an entrance requirement? Our seminaries and Bible colleges need to start training, equipping, and requiring their students to engage in weekly Biblical ministry of the Gospel on the streets as a graduation requirement. Our seminaries and Bible colleges need to purposefully train up Gospel warriors who will march forth from their institutions with the full armor of God fixed in place, the shield of faith in their left hand, and the double-edged Sword of the Spirit in their battle-trained right hand. Our seminaries and Bible colleges need to treat the Gospel not just as a doctrine on the page, a doctrine to be believed, a doctrine to be preached in the pulpit, but the central message of Christ that must be proclaimed in accordance to the central mission and command of Christ to “Go therefore!” to the highways and byways and rescue perishing sinners wherever they’re found. Our seminaries need to equip Gospel men — men who fearlessly declare, define, and defend the Gospel above all else — not mere polished pulpiteers who safely exegete Paul’s Gospel battles from the pages of Scripture while stubbornly refusing to enter the battle themselves.
Look around. Every form of abominable evil is advancing and Biblical Christianity is ebbing from the earth. The era of the “Don’t go therefore!” pastor must come to an end. We need courageous men who believe and obey Romans 10:14-17 and equip others to courageously do the same:
“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!’ But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our report?’ So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
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