 Ask
Your Preacher
Editor’s note: I will include here the Foreword supplied by the
author of the following:
This series of fifteen minute sermons has been preached over a
number of radio stations. Without manuscript they were preached over
station KOCA, Kilgore, Texas, and over station KLCN, Blytheville,
Arkansas. In manuscript form they have been delivered over station
KTUL, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and over station WMBH, Joplin, Missouri.
Portions of them have been proclaimed over other stations. They have
always created much interest, elicited many commendations, and
resulted in many requests for them to be published in booklet form.
In response to such requests they are now being offered to the
reading public with a prayer that they may serve the cause of truth
and enlighten the souls of men who have been blinded by the
doctrines of men.
-- W. Curtis Porter, 1947
Sermon I:
Preachers have an important place to fill with respect to lost
souls. God saw fit to use them in making his gospel known, which is
the power of God to save men. Hence, Paul said in I Cor. 1:21: "For
after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it
pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe." Thus we are told that it is God's plan to save men by
preaching.
This plan may seem foolish; so it is called "the foolishness of
preaching." But it is God's plan. Remember, however, that it is "the
foolishness of preaching" that God chose, and not the preaching of
foolishness. We might conclude that some have misunderstood God's
plan and have used the preaching of foolishness instead of "the
foolishness of preaching." But in order for God's plan to be carried
out preaching must be done, and preaching is done by preachers. So
preachers have an important place to fill. In harmony with this idea
Paul said in Rom. 10:14: "How 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?" In view
of such statements we should not minimize the work of the gospel
preacher.
However, we must not lose sight of the fact that preachers are
required to preach the gospel. Since the gospel is God's power to
save men, the gospel must be preached by the preacher. If he
preaches something else, he is going contrary to the will of God,
and what he preaches will not result in the salvation of the
hearers.
In fact, God pronounces condemnation of the preacher who preaches
that which is contrary to divine truth revealed through the
apostles. In Gal. 1:8 we read this statement from the pen of Paul:
"But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel
unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be
accursed." This places a great responsibility upon a preacher and
condemns him if he preaches the theories and doctrines of men
instead of the gospel of Christ as delivered by the apostles.
Preachers are looked upon as leaders of men; and that they should
be. As preachers are spiritual leaders of men, they are expected to
know more about the Bible than any other class of men. This is but
the natural thing to expect, for preachers should study the Bible
that they may be qualified to preach the gospel to others.
When you have some question that troubles your soul, something about
the Bible that you wish to know, you often turn to the preacher for
help. And if it is something that is found in the Bible, he should
be willing to give his assistance; or if it is not found in the
Bible, he should be able to tell you so. This is the reason I have
selected the title for this sermon that I have -- ASK YOUR PREACHER.
I have some questions that I want to present to you that you may
present them to your preacher to find out just what the Bible says.
These questions which I shall present are important questions; they
are questions that you have often thought about; and your preacher
should be willing to help you find an answer to them. Take your
pencil and write them down as we go along. Are you ready?
Well, here is the first:
1. Ask your preacher where you can find the name of your church in
the Bible. I do not know the name of the church to which you belong,
for I do not know who you are that are listening to me at this time.
Doubtless many churches are represented among my listeners today.
But you know what church you are a member of, if any, and you know
the name of the church. So just go to your preacher and ask him to
give you the book, chapter and verse in the Bible that mentions it.
If it is there, he will certainly know where to find it; if it is
not there, you have a right to know it. So ask him to help you.
I have read the language of Paul in I Cor. 1:2 in which he addressed
"the church of God which is at Corinth." And when he made his
farewell address to the elders at Ephesus he said: "Take heed
therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the
Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which
he hath purchased with his own blood." Acts 20:28. In these two
passages we have reference to "the church of God." Then Paul wrote
Timothy after this fashion: "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest
know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which
is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the
truth." I Tim. 3:15. And here reference is made to "the church of
the living God."
When Paul wrote the church in Rome he said: "The churches of Christ
salute you." Rom. 16:16. In the section from which Paul was writing
there were a number of congregations, and they were sending their
greetings to the church in Rome. Hence, Paul said: "The churches of
Christ salute you.” It is an evident fact, of course, if a number of
congregations were called "churches of Christ," one of them would be
a "church of Christ." Taking all of these Scriptures together, we
read of the church of the living God, and the church of Christ.
These were not different religious organizations but were simply
different designations for the same body of people.
But is it possible to read anywhere in the Bible of any mention of
the name of the church to which you belong? This is an important
matter, for the Bible is our guide book from earth to glory, and we
should not want to belong to something the Bible says absolutely
nothing about. So ask your preacher to help you find the name of
your church in the Bible. He should not become offended if you ask
this favor of him.
2. Ask your preacher where the Bible says the church is not
necessary to salvation. So many times the statement is made that the
church does not save you. Of course, we know that the church is not
the Savior. Jesus is our Savior. But the statement as used simply
means the church is not necessary to your salvation; that you can be
saved on the outside of it as well as on the inside.
Now, you have likely heard your preacher make that very statement
many times; and as he is your teacher in spiritual things, he should
be glad for you to want to know where to find any such statement in
the Bible. Do You not look upon him as a Bible teacher? Certainly
you do. Then, if there is any such statement in the Bible, he should
know where it is; or if he does not, it should not take him but a
little while to find it for you.
I have often read the statement of Paul in Eph. 5:23 which says:
"For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head
of the church: and he is the savior of the body." If you will read
the verses that follow in this chapter, you will readily see that
the term "body" refers to the church. So Christ is the savior of the
church. This statement could not be true if he saves men out of the
church and before they enter the church. In that case he would be
the savior of men out of the church but not the Savior of the
church. Yet Paul says he is the Savior of the church. If the Lord
saves one man out of the church, he evidently saves all who are
saved out of the church. Hence, every person who goes into the
church is saved before he enters. Then how could Jesus be "the
Savior of the church?" It just wouldn't be possible. So the
statement shows us that the Lord saves men who enter the church, not
those on the outside. And while the church is not the savior, it is
the institution in which the Savior saves men. We, therefore, read
in Acts 2:47: "And the Lord added to the church daily such as should
be saved." Every saved person in the city of Jerusalem was added to
the church. There was not a saved person in all that city that had
not been added to the church. And what was true of the city of
Jerusalem has, throughout the ages, been true of every other place.
The Lord has added to the church everywhere such as should be saved.
And if any one from that time to this has been saved out of the
church, he was saved when he should not have been. But in spite of
all these statements, you will hear preachers constantly say that
you can be saved out of the church. If you have heard your preacher
say this, please ask him to tell you where it is found in the Bible.
3. Ask your preacher where the Bible says one church is as good as
another. Perhaps no statement has been made by religious people more
often than this. On every hand, from the pulpit and in the pew, you
will hear the statement: "One church is as good as another; so it
makes no difference which one you belong to." Maybe you have said
this over and over; and you have heard your preacher preach it all
of your life. Then it must be something that both you and he are
interested in, and you should want to know just where the Bible
makes the statement. I am not asking too much when I ask you to ask
your preacher about it, am I? That is what your preacher is for - to
tell you where you can find in the Bible the things he preaches. So
why not use him? I expect my brethren to use me in this way. And
they feel free to make such demands of me.
In Eph. 4:4 I find recorded this statement: "There is one body, and
one Spirit, even as we are called in one hope of your calling." This
passage plainly says: "There is one body." Yet in the face of it we
have hundreds of conflicting religious bodies in the world. Well,
one body can't mean two hundred bodies. But what does Paul mean by
the one body? In Eph. 1:22, 23 he said: "And hath put all things
under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the
church, which is his body." So the body is the church. But Paul says
there is "one body." Furthermore, when Jesus promised to build the
church, he said: "Upon this rock I will build my church." Matt.
16:18. He did not say: "upon this rock I will build my churches." He
mentioned only one -"my church" not churches, If the Lord built but
one, and he certainly did for that is all he promised to build, then
somebody else must have built all the others. And are we ready to
say that any church that man built is as good as the one the Lord
built? This is what we will have to say if we contend that one
church is as good as another. In Col. 1:18 Paul also declared: "He
is the head of the body, the church." Look at this passage in your
Bible - Col. 1:18 - and see just what it says. I don't want you to
take my word for it, but it will certainly be alright for you to
read it yourself and take just what it says. Now, does it say, "He
is the head of the BODIES the CHURCHES?" It does not read that way
in your book, does it? But it says: "He is the head of the body, the
church." There is the same number of bodies there is of heads. How
many heads? He is THE HEAD. That means just one head, doesn't it?
All right. "He is the head of the body, the church." So there is one
head, one body, one church. And since Jesus is the head of only one,
somebody else must be the head of every other. Do you believe that a
church of which man is the head is as good as the church of which
Jesus is the head? You must believe this if you believe that one
church is as good as another.
I do not believe that I could found a church that would be as good
as the one founded by Jesus, but I believe I could come as near
doing that as any other uninspired man. But no uninspired man, or
even inspired man, could do that. Jesus died that he might establish
his church - he purchased it with his own blood. If man could
establish one just as good, without even dying for it, as the one
Jesus purchased with his blood, then Jesus died in vain. This would
give man more power than the Lord had. So if your preacher has been
telling you that one church is as good as another, just ask him for
the scripture that says so. And while he is finding that for you,
you might ask him how many churches are mentioned in the New
Testament, anyway.
4. Ask your preacher where the Bible says to "join the church of
your choice." In view of what has just been said regarding point No.
3, it is not necessary to say much about this point. But does the
Lord allow men to have their choice in matters of this kind? If man
is allowed to choose the church that suits him best, then the Lord
has no choice in the matter. But since Jesus built but one church,
do you think he will allow you to choose one that some uninspired
man built in preference to the one he built? The Lord gives you the
choice of accepting him or rejecting him, but if you reject him, he
will see that you do not go unpunished. Why not let the Lord have
his choice instead of choosing our own way? But if your preacher has
been telling you to join the church of your choice, he ought to be
able to give you the passage of scripture that says so. So go to him
and ask him for it. ~
[This series will be continued in future issues.]
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