Claire Rousseau
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- Joined
- Jan 9, 2018
- Messages
- 1,367
I kind of figured that's what you meant by hard preaching. As far as I can see, that site only has videos from Steven Anderson. Why an entire section on Sodomy? Does Anderson have a lot of sodomites in his church? He seems to preach on sodomy an awful lot.
I find David Peacock to be a good example of solid Biblical preaching. He is the kind of pastor I wish I could find around here, and every month or so I'll say to my wife, "Why don't we just go to Peacock's church?", even though it would be a 57-hour drive one way.
Peacock's style would be called "hard", but in the hundreds of sermons I've listened to, he's only mentioned "queers" once, so maybe he's not hard enough for some people. Or maybe there's not as many sodomites in his church as in Anderson's. Pastor Peacock preaches a daily walk with Jesus Christ, an awareness of personal sin, and the spiritual importance of developing and displaying good Christian character. He warns against lust, and immoral behaviour, and bad doctrine. He used to be a cop, and he yells quite often, generally at the people sitting in the pews in front of him, but he's also one of the most tender preachers of the word of God that you'll ever hear. He is constantly teaching the Bible and good Christian doctrine in his sermons, and they are available here.
It's funny that you link to Anderson, though, because he's the reason I find myself struggling with my attitude toward my own pastor right now.
Someone in our church started listening to Anderson, then invited Anderson followers to come to our church, where a few of them tried to inject themselves into the leadership. My pastor may not preach or teach doctrine enough for my taste, but he knows it, and he let Anderson's followers know where they were wrong, from the Bible, and why they wouldn't be taking the pulpit that Sunday.
The Andersonites literally stormed out of our church while the pastor was in the middle of a prayer. They moved on to another local IFB church where they tried the same thing, but in this case the pastor was weak because of a recent heart attack, and they were able to exploit the situation and cause division in that church. If that kind of behaviour is the result of listening to hard preaching, I fail to see that as good fruit, or edifying the body of Christ in any way, but that's not why I'm not happy with my pastor.
I wonder how my pastor could know that someone in his church was listening to bad doctrine, and also know that Anderson's followers were causing division in the local IFB body, and not say something about it from the pulpit, or at least start teaching the right doctrine to inoculate against the false teaching of Anderson. I think that the reason why a lot of Christians have no sense of basic Bible knowledge, let alone the ability to defend basic doctrines from scripture, is because most pastors these days are well-meaning, and ineffectual. When someone like Anderson comes along, reading the King James Bible, and calling himself a Baptist, Christians fall for him because they don't have a clue what the church they go to actually believes. And because he yells and throws fits about homos and whatever, they think he's a hard preacher.
Anderson thinks that Jesus burned in hell for three days to pay for our sins. Now, any Christian can read in their Bible that Jesus said, "It is finished," and then with further basic study can learn the doctrine that it's the shed blood of Jesus Christ that paid for our sins, and that when Jesus said it was finished, he meant that the price for our sins had been paid in full. No one can read the Bible and believe that Jesus suffered in hell, but Anderson teaches exactly that. Throw in some rants and hissy fits about homos or whatever, and that's what passes for hard preaching these days, I guess.
It isn’t only “Andersonites” lol, whatever that is, there is lots of different preaching from him but also Pastors Berzins, Perry, Romero & Jimenez.
Why you focus on Anderson, I have no idea. They are all great preachers with sound, Biblical sermons. Clearly you do not like Anderson, but you shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bath water, so to speak.
As far as Jesus descending into Hell after His crucifixion, I believe that is NOT something that is required to be believed in order to be saved, yet is nevertheless, true.
We know Christ died and was buried for 3 days & nights before His bodily resurrection, so where do you suppose His soul went?
The Biblical evidence is Hell.
Also, remember that Jonah spent 3 days & nights trapped in the belly of the fish, which was a foreshadowing of Jesus being in the “belly” or center of the earth, which is where I believe Hell is currently located:
Jonah 2 (KJB) :
1 Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly,
2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
3 For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.
4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.
5 The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.
6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.
Acts 2: (KJB)
22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:
27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
“I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”......Revelation 1:18 KJB
Jesus paid the FULL PENALTY for our sins, which is death & Hell.
Again, all you must believe to be saved is the death, burial & bodily resurrection of the sinless Christ to be saved, so if someone doesn’t believe Jesus was in Hell for those 3 days & nights, it not a big deal; it is a minor, secondary doctrine, but as I have shown from the Bible, I do believe it’s true.
Many, MANY Pastors were hard preachers back before preaching became watered down as it is today, where Pastors are so concerned with making money & having a big fancy church building & large congregation so they don’t want to offend anyone, so they preach ONLY smooth things to satisfy the itching ears of those who get offended by what the Bible says.
These preachers trim the message & do not preach the ENTIRE Bible, as God COMMANDED:
2 Timothy 4 (KJB) :
1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
........And the fact is, the Bible IS offensive.
People get OFFENDED when Pastors preach against divorce &/or remarriage(which is actually adultery), fornication, sodomy, adultery, drunkenness, gambling, envy, covetousness, abortion (murder), spanking your kids, women keeping silent in the church, wives submitting to & obeying their husband & being keepers at home, children being obedient/respectful, etc...
But that IS what the Bible teaches, so we ought to realize being offended by the TRUTH means we need to get our heart right, not trim the message.