Silence about Sin and Repentance
Sinful social and political issues flood the land. God’s people look to their pastors to tell them what the Bible says about these issues. From research conducted by the Barna Group, it has been revealed that 90 percent of pastors remain silent on these topics. They have chosen not to address the plague affecting the nation.

Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. —Dietrich Bonhoeffer

So where do God’s people go to get their questions answered about current trends and social issues? Tragically they go to the media, the television talk shows, whose panel “experts” are often avowed atheists, agnostics, or nominal Christians. Are these the ones who should be informing followers of Jesus what to believe and feel about these issues?

Could this be the reason why immorality keeps climbing? Is this the reason why divorce among Christians is rampant? Is this why Christians can watch immorality on television or in movies and not feel conviction? Is this why sinful behavior in previous decades had cultural pressure to keep it subdued, but such pressure is absent today? Have pastors been partly responsible for the evaporation of that pressure? Is it agreed that sinful behavior in culture that was once taboo is now paraded and applauded, even by those in the Church?

Those who are more mature in age can remember when the Word of God was preached fearlessly. Have pastors failed in their calling before God, and by so doing ruined their nation?

Sin and Repentance
Why would a pastor avoid sermons that would address sinfulness and demand a turning away from it (repentance)? Has there been a new biblical discovery that directs them to do so? Look at how some in the Bible approached sin, and how they demanded that people turn from it:

• John the Baptist spoke repeatedly about sin and the need for repentance (Matthew 3:1-10; Mark 6:16-20; Luke 3:3-14).
• Jesus spoke repeatedly about sin and the need for repentance (Matthew 4:17; 23:1-36; John 8:11; Luke 24:47).
• Peter and the other disciples spoke repeatedly about sin and the need for repentance (Acts 2:38; Acts 7:51-53;.2 Timothy 4:2; Titus 1:13;. 1 Timothy 5:20;. 2 Peter 2:1-22; Jude 1:5-19; Revelation 21:8; 22:15).
• Paul spoke repeatedly about sin and the need for repentance (Acts 17:30; Galatians 5:19-21;. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

But what about God’s grace, and preaching sermons on the love of God? Shouldn’t that be the focus? It must be remembered that God’s Word is described as a two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). Of course sermons about God’s grace and love should be preached, but not to the exclusion of the biblical passages that may make someone feel uncomfortable.

A church that fails to name sins — denounce them, call for repentance — puts human wisdom above divine wisdom by ignoring the way the prophets, Jesus, and the apostles preached.  —John Piper

Note also that David didn’t acknowledge and turn from his sin of murder and adultery until he had a prophet confront him with his sin (2 Samuel 12:1-15).

If the biblical pattern is so clear about calling out sin and demanding that turning from it is a prerequisite for salvation and for entering heaven, why are most pastors intentionally silent about this?

Avoiding unpopular portions of Scripture is understandable from a human perspective, but from God’s perspective, it is sin—on the part of the pastors (James 4:17).

If the ultimate objective of a pastor is to dismiss their services every Sunday with people feeling comfortable and good about themselves, after having failed to proclaim the holiness of God and the horrors of sin, that pastor will be held accountable to God.

Paul was able to make the claim that he did not fail to proclaim the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27), that is, he didn’t sidestep topics just because someone may not want to hear them (2 Timothy 4:3). Are pastors able to make that claim, or do they have the “blood of men” on their hands because of their failure (Acts 20:26; Ezekiel 33:2-6)?

Must Pastors Carry All the Blame?
If fault is to be found, should pastors carry all the guilt themselves? Aren’t the people in the pews also complicit? Aren’t they the ones who tell the pastors what they want them to preach, when they “vote with their feet”? If they don’t like the content of their pastor’s sermons, don’t they cast their ballots by leaving the church and go to another one that will preach the sermons that won’t make them feel uncomfortable (2 Timothy 4:3)?

Researcher George Barna
George Barna, the foremost researcher about Christianity, conducted a two-year project looking into this situation. Here are some of the things he found as to why pastors have failed their churches, communities, nation, and calling, by not preaching the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27), and it almost always centered on the desire to avoid controversy:

• Someone will get offended with those types of sermons.
• Attendance will suffer because people only want to hear sermons that make them comfortable and feel good about themselves.
• They fear being labeled a hate group.
• There is fear of lawsuits and the church losing its tax-exempt status.
• Donations will decrease.

Pastors Pursuing Worldly Success Instead of Obedience to Their Calling
The Barna report revealed that most pastors are more concerned about their image of assumed success than about obedience to God and His Word. Barna listed several things pastors use to measure ministerial success:
…1. Number attending their church services
…2. The amount of donations being received
…3. The number of staff they are overseeing
…4. The square footage of their facilities

Does this information tell us that most pastors have simply set aside values that God has established, and that they have installed their own values?

The Bible Is Divisive
Did Jesus say that His message will have consequences? Did He say that it would bring division?

Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other! From now on families will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against—or two in favor and three against.

Father will be divided against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law. Luke 12:51-53

Salvation Cannot Occur without Offense
A true Gospel message cannot be preached without causing offense.

• It is highly offensive to tell someone that they were born under God’s curse and that they are destined to experience His wrath (Ephesians 2:2-3).
• It is offensive to those who are living sinful lives to hear someone tell them that their lifestyle will block them from eternal life in heaven, and that instead they will experience eternal torment in hell (Ephesians 5:1-7; Matthew 5:29-30; 10:28; 25:41).
• It is offensive for some to hear that their persistent and stubborn rebellion against God’s mercy and offer of forgiveness is storing up for themselves God’s wrath (Romans 2:5).
• It is offensive for people of other religions, atheists, or agnostics to hear that there is only one path to eternal life, and that all other assumed paths are in error (John 3:36; 10:9-11; 14:6; Acts 4:12; Matthew 7:13-14).

Is it any wonder why the Church has experienced such a huge decline when pastors have stopped preaching offensive sermons?

God, we plead with You to forgive, restore, revive!

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