Preaching that Honors God

To many of my fellow Southern Baptist pastors, there are words of great counsel and wisdom that I strongly pray would be heeded in the matter of preaching. These words were written in 1902, in a book entitled Baptist Principles Reset. The author of these words was the venerable James Bruton Gambrell (1841-1921) who served as the 13th president of the Southern Baptist Convention. His influence throughout the denomination was widely felt through his prolific pen, powerful preaching and godly leadership. Prayerfully consider this exhortation:

"We may invigorate our faith and renew our courage by reflecting that divine power has always attended the preaching of doctrine, when done in the true spirit of preaching. Great revivals have accompanied the heroic preaching of the doctrines of grace, predestination, election, and that whole lofty mountain range of doctrines upon which Jehovah sits enthroned, sovereign in grace as in all things else. God honors the preaching that honors him. There is entirely too much milk-sop preaching nowadays, trying to cajole sinners to enter upon a truce with their Maker, quit sinning, and join the church. The situation does not call for a truce, but a surrender. Let us bring out the heavy artillery of heaven, and thunder away at this stuck-up age as Whitefield, Edwards, Spurgeon, and Paul did, and there will be many slain of the Lord raised up to walk in newness of life"