"I will not be a velvet-mouthed preacher!" These words were uttered by the great preacher George Whitefield. Anyone that has read about the life of Mr. Whitefield, certainly knows this. He was passionate about heralding the Word God. It moved his entire being- thoughts, emotions, words and actions. In fact, he was so passionate in his proclaiming the Gospel of Christ that Jonathan Edward wife said this about him: "It is wonderful to see what a spell he casts over an audience by proclaiming the simplest truths of the Bible. I have seen upwards of a thousand people hang on his words with breathless silence, broken only by an occasional half-suppressed sob. He impresses the ignorant, and not less the educated and refined...Many, very many persons in Northhampton date the beginning of new thoughts, new desires, new purposes, and new life, from the day they heard him preach Christ..."
To be a "velvet-mouthed" preacher is not, necessarily, to water down important biblical truths, but to preach those truths without passion. It is to get up in the pulpit and handle the Word of God as if you are not fully convinced of what it says. Or to stand before the flock of God and preach the Word in such a way as if it is suggestive and not authoritative. We are called to preach, herald, proclaim "thus saith the Lord!" We must have been moved, ourselves, by the very Gospel of Christ Jesus. When we take the Word of God for what it is- the Word of God- you cannot preach in such a way as to not preach with passion. Therefore, we have not been commissioned, by God, to suggest but to proclaim.
When Paul is about to pass on the mantle to young Timothy, he reminds his son in the faith that Scripture is divinely inspired. He writes, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work" (2 Ti 3:16–17). Why does the Paul see fit to do this? Because Timothy was timid. He was a young, shy fellow (2 Tim. 1:3-14) and needed to be reminded of the authority he had, for such a large task as to shepherd the flock of God. Timothy, indeed, had divine authority from the Scriptures, to refute the false teaching that was around but was also going to escalate: "I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry" (2 Ti 4:1–5). This was not an option for young Timothy, nor is it for all preachers of the Word, he needed divine authority to carry out this commission. Nothing could be more fruitless than to attempt to rebuke false teaching with simple opinions or personal suggestions. No, only the very words of God, delivered through one of His overseers, will suffice!
No one listens to a coward. If we are not convinced and moved by the Word of God ourselves, we are not going to preach with authority and if we are not authoritative in our preaching, we will not be passionate about what we do preach. Cowardly preachers produce cowardly congregations. Passionless preachers produce nominal Christians. There are far too many "velvet -mouthed" preachers around. We don't need any more. Pastors, if you don't preach the Word of God seriously, your congregation won't take the Word of God seriously, either.
Finally, I leave you with some words from one of the greatest preachers ever- George Whitefield: "The Lord enabled me to to open my mouth boldly against unconverted ministers; for, I am persuaded, the generality of preachers talk of an unknown and unfelt Christ. The reason why congregations have been so dead is because they have dead men preaching to them. O that the Lord may quicken and revive them! How can dead men beget living children?" And " It is a poor sermon that gives no offense; that neither makes the hearer displeased with himself nor with the preacher." Amen. Soli Deo Gloria!
For His Glory,
Fernando
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