When the audience are consistently smiling, laughing and saying 'amen', this is likely a 'Feel-good' sermon. A 'Feel-good' preacher is an entertainer. He knows how to coat his words with honey to make people happy until the end of the worship service. Feel-good preachers have millions of supporters because humans love entertainment. These preachers usually talk about how good God is, how much He loves humanity and how forgiving He is. There's nothing wrong with these teachings. They're part of the truth embodied in the Bible. However, when preachers focus on making people happy without any sense of danger, danger arises. The gospel contains two-fold characters of God- Love and Wrath. God loves humanity so much that He gave His only begotten Son for redemption of sins. At the same time, God's holiness can never tolerate sin. He extremely abhors sin but He loves the sinners. He wants sinners to repent and turn to Him so He would be able to change their lives. The problem with these religious comedians is the fact that they don't even recognize whether their listeners are saved or not. They just go to the stage and start entertaining people using the Bible. They motivate people to reform themselves but they don't preach holiness and separation from the world.
In my study of Jesus' way of preaching, I haven't seen Him deliver a feel-good sermon. In fact, most of His sermons are like swords that can pierce even the hardest hearts. In Mark 7:6-7 He said, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." And in Matthew 7:21-23, "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!"
On the other hand, feel-good preachers preach the opposite. Instead of warning about the dangers of sin and its eternal punishment, they focus on making people think that God is a loving God so it's normal to disobey Him sometimes. Perhaps they haven't read the solemn warning in Hebrews 10:26-27 that says, "For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries."
If I were you dear reader, I will choose a sermon that would make me feel how much I need God in my life instead of entertainment worship services led by preachers who eloquently deceive people into believing that it's alright to commit sins as long as they believe Jesus. A genuine belief in Jesus means obeying His commandments. "Be ye holy for I am holy."
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