“Thus says the Lord of hosts: Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophecy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you,’ and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’... I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied.” Jeremiah 23:16-17; 21

Jeremiah was a prophet whom God called to speak truth in a day when all other prophets were lying to the people. He was despised because, since the beginning of time, people have wanted to be affirmed in their desires, even if those desires are wrong and would lead them to destruction. Not much has changed. The Apostle Paul told us in 2 Timothy 4:3, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions.” 

Far too many pastors today, especially in very large churches, are afraid to speak all of God’s truth. The average sermon is basically a self-help talk with the express goal of being positive and not offending people. Some of our churches have simply become too big to fail. That is, the goal has become church survival at all costs.

The ultimate measure of a pastor's success should be faithfulness to God and His Word. Part of the reason the church has been so ineffective in changing culture is that our pulpits no longer thunder with truth. 

I have been saying for years that what we fail to speak publicly will soon become unspeakable. I have had people react strongly, even yelling at me from the seats, when I have spoken basic Christian truth in a bold and clear way. I have received messages via email and social media from people who disliked my strong statements about gender, Marxism, etc. My goal is not to be offensive, but if the truth offends, I must not stop speaking it in order to be accepted, loved, or popular. 

If you are attending a church where you never hear the truth about the most divisive issues of the day, I encourage you to find another church. Size is not what makes a church great. Faithfulness to God and His Word are what makes a church worthy of your involvement and support. 

May God raise up a new generation of pastors who, like Jeremiah, will share the thoughts and words of God with love and holy boldness, regardless of what it costs them.