The Biblical Ministry of Warning

Don’s post reminded me immediately of Colossians 1:28 (which appears absent from the post).

whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

Don’s post reminded me immediately of Colossians 1:28 (which appears absent from the post).

whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

I’m all in favor of warning about aberrant teaching, and have done it myself. I think at some points, however, it gets a bad name because there is a certain portion of preachers, especially those on the “itinerant evangelist circuit”, who seem to think railing on someone else is an adequate substitute for preaching the Word of God. So at times it’s become a shorthand for “preacher laziness”, sad to say.

Another thought is that even when the warning is over a major issue—say one of the Fundamentals, the Solas, or the Trinity—all too often the pastor making the warning has not done the groundwork so the congregation knows why these issues are a big deal. So count me 100% in favor of a ministry of discernment, but keep in mind that doing it right requires a previous ministry of teaching some significant doctrine.

For what it’s worth, back in February I wrote a reminder on my blog that Shepherds Must Protect Their Flocks. To answer the question above, yes, I believe Christian ministers and ministries should engage in the practice of raising warning about the methods or direction or men involved in other ministries, and sometimes they should do so even if those ministries seem quite distant and irrelevant to one’s own ministry. In my opinion, it depends upon whether or not such ministries are examples of things that are commonly faced by those within one’s sphere of influence or not. So, for example, although I know of no one in my own congregation who listens to Andy Stanley, many of them have friends that do, and I know people outside my congregation that do as well, not to mention the fact that he has influenced so many other pastors and provides such a clear example of what is wrong with so much preaching today, so I had no problem posting my criticisms of his preaching in a post entitled Is Andy Stanley Ashamed of the Bible?