The Christian disciple must never forget that salvation is God’s thought, not humanity’s; it is something we can never hope to fathom. Salvation is not an experience. Experience is merely the gateway by which we become conscious of our salvation. Never preach the experience; preach the great thought of God.
When we preach, we aren’t proclaiming how humanity can be saved from hell and be made moral and pure; we are conveying good news about God. Our role as preachers is to present his truth, not to give sympathy. We are never to sympathize with a soul who finds it difficult to get to God. God isn’t to blame, nor is it for us to find out the reason for the difficulty. We are simply to deliver his truth, so that his Spirit can show what’s wrong. The gold standard of preaching is that it brings all who hear to judgment in the Spirit. The Spirit reveals each soul to itself.
In the teachings of Jesus Christ, the element of judgment is always prevalent. God’s judgment is the sign of his love, an overflowing mercy that separates right from wrong. If the salvation of Jesus Christ is alive and active inside us, it always takes the form of a judgment, one that brings an understanding of God’s justice, even in his severest statements.
Do you find the requirements of Jesus severe? If our Lord ever gave a command he couldn’t enable us to fulfill, he would be a liar. When we make our inability a barrier to obedience, we are telling God there is something he hasn’t taken into account. We can do nothing through our own abilities; we must allow the power of God to slay every ounce of self-reliance. Complete weakness and dependence will allow the Spirit of God to manifest his power.
