Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet,
and shew my people their transgression,
and the house of Jacob their sins.
–Isaiah 58:1 (KJV)–
Them that sin rebuke before all,
that others also may fear.
–1 Timothy 5:20 (KJV)–
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness.
–2 Timothy 3:16 (KJV)–
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season;
reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.
–2 Timothy 4:2 (KJV)–
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John Foxe, The New Foxe’s Book of Martyrs (Bridge-Logos), pp. 10-11. “When Timothy saw their pagan procession, he blocked their way and severely rebuked them for their idolatry. His holy boldness angered the pagans and they attacked him with clubs and beat him so badly that he died of his injuries two days later.”
Dr. Thomas C. Oden, John Wesley’s Teachings, Volume 3, Pastoral Theology (Zondervan, 2012), p. 236. “One can preach with formal intellectual accuracy on the sovereignty of God, providence, and the human condition and never truly become a gospel minister…The whole counsel includes teaching on the judgment of God against sin.”
Dr. John R. Rice, Why Preach Against Sin? (Sword of the Lord, 1985), p. 6. “I preached so hard against sin that some pastors of the city criticized me severely.”
Jonathan Edwards, The Wrath of Almighty God: On God’s Judgment Against Sinners (SDG, 1997).
Malki, K., Rahm, C., Öberg, K. G., & Ueda, P. (2021). “Frequency of Pornography Use and Sexual Health Outcomes in Sweden: Analysis of a National Probability Survey.” The Journal of Sexual Medicine. “68.7% of men and 27.0% of women used pornography.” (That’s 95% of human beings).
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The sermons of John MacArthur and John Piper: these men are serious and Biblical…but I don’t think they preach with the emotional passion and moral conviction that sin denouncing sermons should have! For this reason, I’d choose sermons by Leonard Ravenhill, David Wilkerson, and Paul Washer instead of them any day; and I think its spiritually lukewarm muck and mire; and is just unhealthy to tend to listen to sermons that lack these important aspects. –J.B.
