Show why faithful preaching must declare the whole counsel of God.

Identify common doctrines and practices many preachers avoid because they are unpopular.

Distinguish Bible authority from human tradition, denominational practice, and religious preference.

Call hearers back to the faith once for all delivered to the saints.

Paul warned Timothy that a time would come when people would not endure sound doctrine.

They would gather teachers who would tell them what their ears wanted to hear.

That warning is not ancient history.

It is sitting in front of us today.

Many people treat religion like a fast-food restaurant.

They want it their way.

They want a church that fits their taste.

They want a preacher who confirms their assumptions.

They want doctrine that does not disturb their life.

Most religious groups teach some truth.

That is not the issue.

Error rarely comes wearing a sign that says, “I am false doctrine.”

Error usually comes mixed with enough truth to make it sound safe.

If all religious groups taught the same Bible truth, there would not be thousands of competing religious bodies teaching conflicting doctrines.

Paul could say he was innocent of the blood of all men because he had not held back the whole counsel of God.

He did not preach only the pleasant parts.

He did not preach only the popular parts.

He did not preach only the safe parts.

He preached what God revealed.

Religious titles exalt men where Christ made brethren.

Modern religion is full of titles.

Reverend.

Father.

Rabbi.

Pastor.

Bishop.

Your Holiness.

Apostle.

Prophet.

These titles are not harmless when they elevate men above their brethren.

They create the impression that some men occupy a higher spiritual class than ordinary Christians.

They dress pride in religious language.

Jesus confronted that very spirit in Matthew 23.

Jesus told His disciples not to use religious titles that exalt men.

God is the Father.

Christ is the Master and Teacher.

Christians are brethren.

The preacher is not a religious celebrity.

The elder is not a pope.

The teacher is not a spiritual lord.

The evangelist is not above the congregation.

The organization of the church belongs to Christ.

Modern denominationalism often has complicated human machinery.

Presidents.

Vice-presidents.

Boards.

Councils.

Synods.

Conventions.

Headquarters.

Regional authorities.

National offices.

That structure is not found in the New Testament.

The Lord’s church has one head: Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1 teaches that God put all things under Christ’s feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church.

Christ does not share that headship with a pope, council, conference, president, bishopric, or headquarters.

The New Testament pattern is simple.

Christ is the head.

Each local congregation is autonomous.

Each congregation, when qualified men exist, has elders overseeing the flock among them.

Deacons serve.

Saints work.

Philippians 1:1 addresses saints, overseers, and deacons in the church at Philippi.

Acts 14:23 shows elders appointed in every church.

First Peter 5 tells elders to shepherd the flock among them.

The organization of the church is not ours to redesign.

The church belongs to Christ.

The public role of women in the assembly is governed by Scripture, not culture.

Many religious bodies now have women serving as preachers, pastors, elders, bishops, reverends, and public authorities over mixed assemblies.

The world applauds it.

Many churches defend it.

Scripture does not authorize it.

Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2 that a woman is not permitted to teach or exercise authority over a man in the assembly.

That is not personal opinion.

That is not old-fashioned prejudice.

That is inspired apostolic instruction.

Paul did not ground his instruction in Roman culture, Jewish custom, or personal preference.

He grounded it in creation and the fall.

Adam was formed first, then Eve.

Eve was deceived.

The command reaches farther back than culture.

It goes back to God’s order.

This does not mean women are inferior or useless in the kingdom.

Women taught in proper settings.

Older women are commanded to teach younger women.

Priscilla helped teach Apollos privately alongside Aquila.

Women are vital workers in the kingdom.

The issue is not ability.

The issue is authority.

The New Testament authorizes singing in worship.

Ephesians 5 teaches Christians to speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.

The command is singing.

The melody is made in the heart.

The worship is directed to the Lord.

Colossians 3 teaches Christians to let the word of Christ dwell richly in them.

They teach through singing.

They admonish through singing.

They sing with thankfulness in their hearts to God.

There is no New Testament authority for adding mechanical instruments to the worship of the church.

Pianos may please men.

Organs may please men.

Guitars and drums may please men.

Orchestras may please men.

The question is not what pleases men.

The question is what God authorized.

The Old Testament does not authorize New Testament worship practices.

Some appeal to Old Testament instruments.

The Old Testament also had animal sacrifices.

It had incense.

It had Levitical priests.

It had temple worship.

It had sabbath keeping.

We are not under the Law of Moses.

We are under the authority of Christ.

Christ authorized singing.

Faith respects what Christ authorized.

God does not need to list every forbidden addition.

When God tells us what He wants, faith respects what He said.

Noah did not need God to say, “Do not build the ark out of oak, pine, or cedar.”

God said gopher wood.

That settled it.

Christ authorized singing.

That settles it.

The work of the church is financed by the giving of Christians.

Modern religious groups use all kinds of fundraisers.

Bake sales.

Car washes.

Bingo nights.

Raffles.

Carnivals.

Cake walks.

Holiday events.

Church businesses.

Entertainment programs.

The New Testament shows Christians giving willingly and proportionately.

Acts 4 records disciples selling possessions and giving to meet needs.

First Corinthians 16 gives instruction for Christians to lay by in store on the first day of the week as they had prospered.

That is the pattern.

The church is not authorized to become a business.

The church is not authorized to raise money through entertainment.

The church is not authorized to beg the world to fund spiritual work.

The work of the church is funded by the freewill giving of Christians.

Mandatory tithing is a misuse of Scripture.

Tithing belonged to the Old Testament system.

New Testament giving is not a forced ten-percent tax.

It is purposeful, cheerful, sacrificial giving as one has prospered.

God does not need gimmicks.

He calls for faithful hearts.

The Bible does not teach salvation by faith alone.

Many people have been told salvation is by faith alone.

They have heard it so often they assume the Bible must say it.

The only place where the Bible uses the words “faith alone,” it denies the doctrine.

James says a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.

James uses Abraham and Rahab to show that real faith obeys God.

Faith that does not obey is dead.

A body without the spirit is dead.

Faith without works is dead.

Dead faith does not save.

This does not mean man earns salvation.

No sinner earns salvation.

Grace is necessary.

The blood of Christ is necessary.

Faith is necessary.

Biblical faith is not mental agreement only.

Biblical faith trusts God enough to obey Him.

The Bible itself shows obedient faith.

Faith alone would not have saved Noah if he had refused to build the ark.

Faith alone would not have saved Israel if they had refused to cross the Red Sea.

Faith alone would not have brought down Jericho if Israel had refused to march.

Faith alone would not have cleansed Naaman if he had refused to dip in the Jordan.

Faith that saves is faith that obeys.

The Bible connects baptism with salvation, forgiveness, and washing away sins.

Many preachers say baptism does not save.

Peter said baptism now saves.

Many preachers say baptism has nothing to do with forgiveness.

Peter commanded repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

Many preachers say a person is saved before baptism.

Jesus said the one who believes and is baptized shall be saved.

Baptism is not water magic.

Water does not earn salvation.

Man does not save himself by performing a human invention.

The issue is whether God attached a promise to obedient faith.

He did.

Naaman was not cleansed by water power.

He was cleansed when obedient faith submitted to God’s instruction.

The walls of Jericho did not fall by marching power.

They fell when faith obeyed God’s command.

Baptism saves because God said it does, not because water earns anything.

The Ethiopian eunuch heard Jesus preached and wanted to be baptized immediately.

That tells us something about what Philip preached.

You cannot preach Jesus fully and leave baptism out.

Baptism is a command of Christ.

It is an act of obedient faith.

It is where the penitent believer submits to the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

Faithful preaching must tell the whole truth about the gospel.

A preacher who hides baptism is not helping sinners.

He is hiding what Scripture commands.

He is hiding what Peter preached.

He is hiding what Ananias told Saul.

He is hiding what the eunuch obeyed.

A preacher who tells people they are saved before they obey the gospel is not comforting them.

He is deceiving them.

He is placing human doctrine over divine instruction.

He is promising what God has not promised.

First Peter 4:11 says whoever speaks should speak as the oracles of God.

Faith-only salvation is not the language of the oracles of God.

Baptism as optional symbolism is not the language of the oracles of God.

The sinner’s prayer system is not the language of the oracles of God.

Faithful preaching speaks where God has spoken.

The preacher is not called to entertain, soothe, flatter, or protect human traditions.

Paul charged Timothy to preach the word.

Not opinions.

Not denominational policy.

Not cultural preference.

Not whatever draws a crowd.

The preacher must be ready in season and out of season.

When people like it.

When people hate it.

When the church is strong.

When the church is drifting.

When truth is welcomed.

When truth is resisted.

The preacher must reprove, rebuke, and exhort.

Some preaching must correct.

Some preaching must expose.

Some preaching must comfort.

Some preaching must warn.

The whole counsel of God requires all of it.

Hearers are responsible for what they demand.

People often blame preachers for soft preaching.

Many hearers help create soft pulpits.

They punish direct preaching.

They reward flattery.

They prefer comfort over correction.

Paul said people would accumulate teachers according to their own desires.

That means hearers can shop for teachers who protect their sins.

They can collect voices that agree with them.

They can reject sound doctrine and still feel religious.

The faithful hearer must want truth more than comfort.

Truth may cut.

Truth may expose.

Truth may correct a lifetime of religious error.

Truth may cost friends and family approval.

But truth is still better than a comfortable lie.

The church must stand on divine authority.

We need churches that ask, “Where is the authority?”

Not “What do people like?”

Not “What will attract crowds?”

Not “What does our tradition say?”

Not “What sounds loving to the culture?”

“Where is the authority?”

We need Christians who can distinguish between Scripture and tradition.

Command and custom.

Faith and feeling.

Doctrine and opinion.

Divine authority and human preference.

The church still belongs to Christ.

Worship still must be authorized.

Salvation still must be preached as God revealed it.

The organization of the church still belongs to the Lord.

The gospel is still God’s power to save.

For preachers.

Stop apologizing for the Bible.

Preach the word.

Tell people what God said.

Do not hide the hard parts.

A preacher who avoids hard subjects because they are controversial is not following Paul’s charge to Timothy.

For hearers.

Want truth more than comfort.

Do not reward soft preaching.

Do not punish faithful correction.

If Scripture exposes your belief or practice, change the belief or practice.

For the church.

Ask for authority.

Demand book, chapter, and verse.

Do not let human tradition become church law.

Do not change worship to attract crowds.

A church that changes worship without authority is not improving the church. It is insulting Christ’s authority.

For sinners.

Do not let a preacher comfort you into remaining lost.

Hear the word.

Believe Christ.

Repent of sin.

Confess Christ.

Be baptized for the remission of sins.

Live faithfully.

Paul told Timothy to pay close attention to himself and to his teaching.

By doing so, he would save both himself and those who heard him.

That is serious business.

Souls are involved.

Eternity is involved.

Preachers have no right to change God’s word.

Churches have no right to reorganize God’s pattern.

Worshipers have no right to add what God has not authorized.

Sinners have no right to rewrite the plan of salvation.

Revelation warns against adding to or taking away from God’s word.

Jesus condemned those who worshiped in vain by teaching human doctrines as though they were God’s commandments.

The faith was once for all delivered.

It is not ours to revise.

The question is simple.

Will we accept what the Bible teaches?

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

Nothing else.

The truth may not always be popular.

It may not always be easy.

It may not always be what men want to hear.

But it is still the truth.

Only the truth can make men free.

Hear the word.

Romans 10:17 says faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Believe Christ.

John 8:24 warns that unless you believe that Jesus is He, you will die in your sins.

Repent.

Acts 17:30 says God commands all people everywhere to repent.

Confess Christ.

Romans 10:9–10 teaches confession with the mouth and belief in the heart.

Be baptized for the remission of sins.

Acts 2:38 commands repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.

Live faithfully.

Revelation 2:10 calls the Christian to be faithful until death.