nominalism

here is an echo that rings in every generation and it presents itself to pastors and church leaders with concerns addressing issues of sin and nominalism. Spurgeon speaks this necessary universal conversation for the church in our present time that it may be addressed in a direct and firm manner. He says that there shall be no compromising for it would be a disservice by not addressing sin to the congregation. Many claim to be Christians, but their actions do not exemplify the characteristics of Jesus Christ and sin remains rampant in their lives. Therefore, pastors and leaders must address sin and nominalism issues directly and firmly. “We, at least, do not teach that sinners, who die penitent and believing, will need to undergo long purgatorial pains before they enter Paradise. Our hope is larger than that hideous dogma. Do any of these gentlemen teach that sin does not entail terrible consequences?”[1] Pastors and leaders must not fall weak and allow their faith and belief to compromise under worldly influences that are manipulated by finances and other monetary concerns that may hinder the economic well being of the church through wealthy congregation members.

If pastors and leaders fail to identify and convey sinfulness what started out as a bad habit, it will eventually lead to iniquity that will lead to a curse. Many Christian are drunk off of worldliness and no one can tell them that they are wrong, or that they are rejecting Christ, instead of serving Him. In Mark 7:6, Mark quotes Isaiah 29:13, “They honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”[2] Each member of the congregation has a soul that needs to be guided in the direction that God has entrusted the pastors and leaders of the church. If you saw danger coming in the way of your whole family, would you just stand there and say nothing to them while giving them no warning? As pastors and church leaders we are obligated as good stewards to sound off warning dangers to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Spurgeon has put it into proper context:
“A man ought to take care of himself, merely as a man, for the sake of himself and his household; but much more should a man, who is a minister, take care of himself for the sake of those who are committed to his charge. A captain, in the South Seas, was observed to go beyond the usual point for turning into the harbor, taking a longer but safer course. On someone remarking to him that he was too careful, he replied, “I have so many souls on board, I cannot afford to run any risk.”[3] How many souls are in our vessels? And can we afford to risk going a ground? How many souls are being committed to our charge? Pastors and leaders need to be at their very best hunting down sin and nominalism as they balance out wisdom and discernment while correcting and edifying and administering this process with love and gentleness as they effectively get their point across

Bibliography

Spurgeon, Charles H., An All Around Ministry, Addresses to Ministers and Students (Ichthus Publications, 2014)

[1] Charles H. Spurgeon, An All Around Ministry, Addresses to Ministers and Students (Ichthus Publications, 2014), 209.

[2] Isaiah 29:13, NLT

[3] Charles H. Spurgeon, 111.