Dear Tullian, Is My Pastor Preaching Correctly?
The litmus test that I use for myself is that if people walk away from my sermons thinking more about what they need to do than what Jesus has already done, I’ve failed to preach the Gospel….And a lot of preaching these days is “do more, try harder”…. (Tullian Tchividjian: Does Your Preaching Pass the Grace Test?).
“Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more” (Apostle Paul, 1Thess. 4:1).
It’s behavior modification (Tullian Tchividjian: Does Your Preaching Pass the Grace Test?).
“….having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame” (Apostle Peter, 1Peter 3:16).
“Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good,” (Apostle Paul, Titus 2:3).
We come to church expecting God to give us a to-do list or the preacher to give us a to-do list (Tullian Tchividjian: Does Your Preaching Pass the Grace Test?).
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Apostle Peter, 2Peter 1:5-8).
As long as we are given a to-do list, we maintain some measure of control over our lives (Ibid).
“Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable….But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified….that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor….(Apostle Paul, 1Cor. 9:25, 27, 1Thess. 4:4).
So we come to church saying, “Pastor, my marriage is in trouble…my children are going off the deep end…my business is failing…I’m coming to you as the expert to tell me what to do to fix my own life…” And as a result, our lives get worse, not better, because we’re taking matters into our own hands (Ibid).
“I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish (noutheteo , or to counsel) you as my beloved children….We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish (Ibid) you….I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct (Ibid) one another….Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing (Ibid) one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God….Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction (Ibid), on whom the end of the ages has come” (Apostle Paul, 1Cor. 4:14, 1Thess. 5:12, Romans 15:14, Colossians 3:16, 1Cor. 10:11).
So my job at the end of every sermon—and this is the grid by which I preach—I preach God’s law, and then I preach God’s Gospel. Both are good. The law diagnoses my need and shows me that my best is never good enough. So I’m always trying to help our people realize that they’re a lot worse than they realize, and they’re a lot more incapable than they think they are (Ibid).
“I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another” (Apostle Paul).
So my job at the end of every sermon is to, in some way, shape, or form, encourage our people by saying, “Cheer up. You’re a lot worse off than you think you are, but God’s grace is infinitely larger than you could have ever hoped or imagined. It is finished”(Ibid).
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (Apostle Paul, 1Cor. ch6).
It’s the people who constantly demand to-do lists and then preachers who capitulate to that demand and give them to-do lists; those are the people who get worse. I’ve realized, and I’m only 39 years old, but I’ve realized the more I try to get better, the worse I get. I’m just realizing I am a narcissist. I think way too much about how I’m doing, if I’m doing it right, have I confessed every sin. In other words, I’m thinking much more about me and what I need to do than Jesus and what He’s already done. And as a result, I’m not getting better. I’m getting worse (Ibid)..
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality” (1Thess. 4:3).
I think the whole notion of what it means to progress in the Christian life has been radically misunderstood. Progress in the Christian life is not “I’m getter better and better and better…” Progress in the Christian life is, “I’m growing in my realization of just how bad I am and growing in my appreciation of just how much Jesus has done for me (Ibid).
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (Apostle Paul, 2Cor. 5:10).
Proverbs 4:18
But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master’” (Jesus Christ, Matthew 25:23).
paul
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
“I’ve realized, and I’m only 39 years old, but I’ve realized the more I try to get better, the worse I get. I’m just realizing I am a narcissist. I think way too much about how I’m doing, if I’m doing it right, have I confessed every sin. In other words, I’m thinking much more about me and what I need to do than Jesus and what He’s already done. And as a result, I’m not getting better. I’m getting worse (Ibid)..”
Yes, he is a narcissist but not for the reasons he gives. A narcissist is not trying to please God, for crying out loud. A narcissist is interested in manipulating other people for his own benefit. They love adoring fans and followers but don’t cross them.
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Tullian should be required to read John Murray on sanctification, given a test on the subject, and score a passing grade before he’s allowed to preach or write another word. Three things. Lists are good after all.
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Btw, I do agree with Tullian on one point. He is worse than he thinks he is – at preaching the truth of the God’s word, that is. I disagree that the remedy for this bad teaching is grace, however. For false teaching, like every other sin, the remedy is repentance toward God to escape the wrath of God or it’s the wrath of God.
I think that is what is so criminal about this false teaching is the chilling effect it has on the need for true repentance. Although, having sat through this same kind of teaching for several years at a PCA church, I would guess that Tullian throws the word “repentance” into the mix every now and then. This allows his elders to say, “See; he can’t be antinomian; he said the word repent last week.”
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When I said in the prior post that “the remedy is not grace,” I meant, in the context of the article, the kind of grace promoted by Tullian and similar teachers. In truth, without God’s grace, we would never be allowed or be able to repent. However, merely telling people that God is gracious is not the whole truth. Telling people they are okay when they haven’t repented (and haven’t even been called to repentance) is a lie. That’s my point.
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Randall,
Well said, AND, let us remember this: Tullian T. is absolutely representative of this whole bunch (Piper, Holland, Mahaney, Mohler, et al). He is just more open and less ambiguous about how and what these guys preach. Read all of Piper’s sermons; they follow the same prism TT advocates in this article.
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Ambiguous is the right word. What started me really questioning the NC preachers is a red flag I picked up on years back. I would hear them preaching and as a trainer I was trained to look at the audience so I saw they mainly preached to young pastors at conferences (Piper, Mahaney, etc) and their church audience. But they were preaching as if they were preaching to lost people. But let me take a step further….they would even say bizarre things about it. Such as Piper preaching on how a wife should take abuse for a season. Or, if her husband asked her to do a “threesome” she should say, Honey, i want you to be my leader but I cannot sin’..
Say what? You know what is missing? Piper NEVER once says if the husband who is hitting his wife or asking her to do a threesome is a professing believer. Not once does that come into play. Now, from my perspective this is a very serious thing and the fact the husband is even doing such things tells me there is a deeper spiritual problem. That is never once mentioned in the context….whether he is a believer or not. It is as if it does not matter.
I could give example after example of this. Many times I would read Mohler’s blog posts about certain subjects and what people were doing and ask myself….is he talking about believers or not? He never said. I have seen some variation of the same thing from most YRR/NC/Reformed celebrity pastors.
Finally I came to the conclusion they saw professing believers….those born again as STILL totally depraved. That was my first red flag on NC.
Tullian is the master of this. Although I have heard Dever and Chandler say that they are preaching to the totally depraved as in their congregation.
But the irony is not lost on me: That would mean they are totally depraved, too, so why should I listen to them?
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Lydia,
As one reader commented: “The totally depraved preaching the gospel to themselves; you have to believe it wouldn’t be a very good sermon.”
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I was discussing this issue with my wife and oldest son this morning. It just struck me how all of this false teaching begins with “man is.” False teachers like TT defend their message as being so “pastoral” to their congregation. By pastoral they mean affirming and not offensive. “Don’t try harder; just focus on Christ. He’s so understanding and non-demanding.” Of course, Christ only is non-demanding when one skips over all of the imperatives, for example, in the Gospel of Matthew (as our former “pastor” did three years ago).
I pray that God will bring these false teachers to repentance and reform their teaching to “God is” and all that God requires. If they don’t repent, scripture is clear that they will pay an awful price. Matthew Henry says the following in his commentary about the warning in Revelation 22:18 and 19: “He that adds to the word of God draws down upon himself all the plagues written in this book; and he who takes any thing away from it cuts himself off from all the promises and privileges of it. This sanction is like a flaming sword, to guard the canon of the scripture from profane hands. Such a fence as this God set about the law (Deut. 4:2), and the whole Old Testament (Mal. 4:4), and now in the most solemn manner about the whole Bible, assuring us that it is a book of the most sacred nature, divine authority, and of the last importance, and therefore the peculiar care of the great God.”
Thanks, Paul. Keep up the good work!
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Randall,
Too creepy. I just walked in the door from picking up my son from the doctor. While I was waiting for him to get his cast put on, I was mapping “The Shaking of Adventism” for the upcoming series. On the way home just minutes ago, I was contemplating the exact line of thought from Revelation that you describe above. If you teach that every verse in the Bible is about justification, you are both adding and taking away from the canon. No?
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point
you
yep, missed it
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Reblogged this on Paul's Passing Thoughts.
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Randall’s list is excellent. It applies to all who want to shepherd believers. I’d add one more. There should be not a trace of false humility or false repentance. Repentance isn’t saying “I am the worst of sinners” and then proceeding to dwell in the pig slop & poop thereafter, as if thinking about “how bad I am” is a badge of honor, to show all how much better Christ is. A born again believer’s sin does nothing to make Christ look good!!! A totally depraved life doesn’t glorify Christ. HELLO.
Repentance includes two actions: the turning away (putting off), and putting on of the new self.
Lydia is so right about the doctrine of total depravity. She nailed it. Calvinist leaders don’t really believe believers are born again of the Holy Spirit. Their preaching, even to professed born again believers is the total depravity message. This message accomplishes two things: It gives a green light to those who are narcissistic. And for those who are innocent & helpless sheep, the message is God wants them to suffer. The sheep need to be protected, not fed to the hungry wolves, while the leaders admire each other’s stinking old pig poop coat. It’s rampant right now. Be born again? Rather, opportunists and power seekers seem to abound in Calvinist churches, with alleged victims being made new. Someone wrote their kid would be safer in public school than in many Calvinist churches.
NOTICE: This theology tells believers to “think alone”. Jesus + nothing = think alone = the only doing going on is thinking (about being total depraved). Tullian sent up his Jesus + Nothing = Everything test balloon by delivering it as a “sermon” to believers at Piper’s 2010 Desiring God national conference. The conference itself was titled: Think: The Life of the Mind & the Love of God. The believing sheep are to be thinking about how depraved they are and how Holy God is. Not about how the Holy Spirit lives within and works with us to do God’s good work.
Love is not a thought, brothers and sisters. Love results in action/fruit, it doesn’t reside in the mind. Piper’s theology leads to loveless actions, actions lacking the kind of love for others that Christ mentions in the good Samaritan. It lacks the love we are to have for Christ himself in the talent parable.
Piper follows Jesus through his “Calvinist think alone” thinking filter, that seems to be THE requirement. The only one. And we see the fruit it produces. If Piper heard about the half dead man in the good Samaritan parable he would send the same tweet out as he did when he heard about the Moore, OK children who died. The question that Jesus answers in His parable of the good Samaritan had to do with eternal life. Do Piper’s teachings and fruit lead to eternal life? Maybe this is why Wade Burelson tells Piper to set aside Calvin’s theology in his post, “When Love Trumps Theology.”
Funny how these old posts are still relevant. Even more so today in light of the mounting poop. Keep up the good work, Paul.
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