Preaching and Preachers, Chapter 2: No Substitute

"...The moment you consider man's real need, and also the nature of the salvation announced and proclaimed in the Scriptures, you are driven to the conclusion that the primary tasks of the Christ is to preach and to proclaim this, to show man's real need, and to show the only remedy, the only cure for it."

Sin and rebellion is the "ultimate disease" that plagues humanity. Unhappiness, suffering, poverty, social problems are merely the symptoms of the disease. Because man is in darkness because of his rebellion, he is ignorant of his problem and the solution. Therefore, those called by God out of darkness into light are the only ones that have the answer to the real problem. Preachers of the gospel have the answer, and their primary task is to proclaim the good news.

Churches get it backwards. They want to treat the symptoms. They make their primary task about social justice, feeding the poor, volunteer work and then lay aside their real work. When the gospel comes in power, people are changed, and social changes occur. Lloyd-Jones started his career as a medical doctor and uses the example that it is cruel and deadly to treat symptoms when you don't know the disease. You make the patient happy, content, and comfortable while hiding the symptoms that point to the problem. Churches that abandon preaching to make men comfortable are hiding the symptoms of their sin and withholding the cure. We have the answer - the gospel of Christ. And yet so many ministers of the gospel spend so much time and energy devoted to temporal and earthly matters. At the judgment seat, all our political efforts and candidating for this party or that will be burnt up in flames.

Lloyd-Jones has an interesting take on listening to messages in other mediums (radio or book). Especially since his messages are available for download. I heard an interview about the Doctor that his messages were recorded so he could use those for the basis of books, not to be listened to by the public. I believe that the message of the gospel should be broadcast by whatever means we have available to us, but it is a poor substitute for church. There is something spiritual that happens when God's people meet on the Lord's day and hear the Lord's Word from the Lord's servant that you cannot reproduce on MP3. I have to disagree with his perspective, but I do see his point. If you listen to a recorded sermon you can shut it off if you aren't "enjoying" it and that isn't how you listen to sermons.