Preaching Against Sin

Jeremiah 5:31
The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?

According to the Life in the Spirit Study Bible notes, there are two majors issues described here.  The first is prophets who prophesy a message of their own making, and priests who rule not by the word of God but by their own ideas.  This scripture can be applied to the modern church, but maybe not in the way that we think.  I'm concerned that our preaching against sin hasn't necessarily been the sin that is weakening the church, and we have allowed our ideas of sin to be molded by a force outside of God.

It's easy to decry the evils of homosexuality and fornication in a congregation that agrees with us.  It's easy for us to huddle in our little group of like-minded people and point to the gays and the feminists, blaming them for the condition of our world.  But you know what?  It's not sinners that weaken the church's power and influence, but rather lukewarm Christians.

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