Ghandi Park, Guntur, AP India Crusade, May 1966
PREACH THE WORD!
By Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D., D.Th.
Here is a reprint of a vintage Revival Message delivered by God’s servant, Max Solbrekken in 1965. It was also carried in the ‘Cry of His Coming’ Magazine that same year! It was heard over many radio stations in the 1960’s across Canada! This message is needed more now than ever in our nation’s history! It is a message for Christians of all denominations! May it trigger a revival of repentance and righteousness and may God richly bless our Nation in this time of Spiritual Crises! Our prayer is that a “grassroots revival” will sweep like a prairie fire across Canada! Amen.
"I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ…preach the word… reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine…and they shall turn away their ears from the truth...But watch thou in all things…do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry." (2 Tim. 4:1-5)
The Apostle Paul was writing his last letter to Timothy. It was an epistle of advice and admonition to the young ‘Soldier of the Cross’. St. Paul was nearing the end of his ministry and awaiting execution and his appointment with God. He would see Jesus whom he loved so dearly and had given his entire life. Soon his life's blood would be spilled in a martyr's death!
He was ready to go because he had given his best for Jesus! He writes: "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith". (2 Tim. 4:6-7)
WHAT A TREMENDOUS STATEMENT!
Here was a man who had stood against the powers of darkness, withstood false and compromising brethren, been mobbed, beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, attacked by wild beasts, bitten by a serpent, taken up as dead after stoning, preached to rulers and kings, healed the sick, cast out devils and even raised the dead. (1 Cor. 11:23-31; Acts 16:22-24; 20:9-12)
Through all this he had not compromised! He had not erred from the truth but stood true to the Lord. Now, this great ‘Man of God’ writes to Timothy - his son in the faith - with final instructions. St. Paul was a wise leader who had seen the folly caused by false teachers. He had seen people enter the ministry just for the prestige (John 5:44), or position (Phil. 2:15-19; Rom. 16:17-18).
He knew that conditions wouldn’t get any better but rather grow worse. Therefore, he warned Timothy to hold to God's Word and not listen to modernistic theologians who had begun spreading their damnable heresies: "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution". (2 Tim. 3:12); "But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived". (2 Tim.3: 13)
Paul admonishes the young man not to be swayed by their evil doing, "but continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus". (2 Tim. 14-15)
HOLY SCRIPTURE NECESSARY!
Paul warns about deviating from the teachings of Christ, because "they are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus". Our Lord said, "In the Scriptures ye find eternal life". (John 5:39); "Ye believe Moses and it was he who testified of me"? (John 5:45-47)
It’s impossible to receive salvation outside the Word of God because we are "born again not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God which liveth and abideth forever". (1 Peter 1:23)
We are saved by God's Word and the Holy Spirit."The law was a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ". (Gal. 3:24); "The Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
The Word of God goes like a dagger to our hearts as the blessed Holy Spirit applies the conviction or the blessing which accompanies the preaching, reading and hearing of God's Word.
The Word of God prepares the soul for salvation and the body for healing: "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God". (Rom. 10:17). The Bible says: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?
"And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things.” (Rom.10: 13-15)
The Word of God must be preached before souls can be saved! St. Paul declared, "For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. “For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." (1 Cor.1:17-21)
God has ordained that through the preaching of the Gospel, sinners are saved by believing His Word and receiving Jesus into their hearts and lives! He admonishes Timothy: "Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee". (1 Tim.4: 16)
The Bible is the written Word of God and Jesus is the living Word of God! When the Holy Scriptures are preached under the unction of the Holy Spirit and a sinner responds by repenting of his sins, Christ is formed within him as an explosion of God’s love takes place in his heart and he is born again! (John 3: 3, 7; 2 Cor.5: 17)
ALL SCRIPTURE GIVEN BY GOD!
St. Paul knocks out the ‘Modernists' theology’ when he says: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine; for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness". (2 Tim. 3:6)
The New United Church curriculum calls the first eleven chapters of Genesis, a MYTH, and speaks of a possible error in translation of Isaiah 7:14 which deals with the virginity of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
These false teachers deny the miracles in the Bible, the resurrection, ascension and second coming of Jesus Christ as found in the Scriptures!
Their teachings are diametrically opposed to the Holy Scriptures! They are, therefore, declaring many portions of the Word of God null and obsolete. God’s Word, however, stands like a towering giant of truth, like a bright shining lighthouse casting its constant beam upon the darkness of this sin-cursed world!
Mere mortals – blinded by the devil and their own lust and pride – have tried before and are trying again to put out that light, but it shines on in equatorial strength, reaching the darkest recesses of human hearts and lives wherever it is preached under the anointing of the Holy Spirit!
The Bible says, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God". Down comes the modernists' theory as the Word of the Lord cuts it to shreds!
WHO CAN STOP A RIVER?
No one can stop the pressing, surging force of a river that is fed by continual mountain streams, rain and snow. You may dam it up, but it will detour, it will go underground! Underground rivers are the most powerful and when persecution forces the Church and the Word of God underground; God is in control and His agenda must go forward
No one can stop a river and no one can stop God's Word, the Holy Bible, because it is the River of Life. It flows on in power and greatness, not affected by the railings, lies and unbelief of atheists, communists, modernistic theologians and others!
The Bible says: "For what if some did not believe. Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar.” (Romans 3: 3-4)
Some honest people ask:
HOW DID WE GET THE BIBLE?
We’ll let God answer that question: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God", and "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." (2 Peter 1:21)
The Blessed God of Heaven by His Holy Spirit moved upon godly patriarchs, prophets and apostles of the Lord and inspired them to write down the words of truth, which we know today as the Holy Bible!
St. Paul - the great apostle - urges Timothy, "To preach the Word". He was ordered to disregard any new theory, new concept, new curriculum or philosophy and preach only God's Word.
He said, "I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ to preach the Word". He must not dwell on fairy tales, endless genealogies, humanistic rationalism or the philosophies of men, but preach the Bible Word of God!
Theories and philosophies often change but God’s Word – the Holy Scripture - stand firm forever! Traditions, customs, rituals and dogmas lose their impact as the years come and go, but the Holy Scripture is still as fresh and invigorating as the moment it was recorded, and is as up-to-date today in solving the problems of the human race as the day these divine, infallible truths fell from the lips of Almighty God!
As time passes, many things devalue, become obsolete or lose it's worth, but God's Word is immutable, remains priceless and never varies as the centuries come and go. We live in a changing, decaying and sinking world. Yes, this world of ours is a dying world, but the gospel we herald brings life and the Word of God we preach is unshakable and immovable!
THESE ARE THE LAST DAYS
To think that men and women of our generation have had the audacity to challenge and try to change God's own Holy Word is outrageous!
Who are these wise guys who think they know more than the prophets of old, who heard the mighty voice of God and felt the moving of His Spirit imparting Holy Scripture? (2 Pet. 1:21)
Who are these “arrogant twerps” that disregard the writings of men like Moses and early apostles? Do these modernists - Bishop Pike, Moderator Howse, Chaplain Smillee and others - know more than Jesus Christ, the Son of God? Does their knowledge of spiritual things surpass the great spiritual knowledge of Martin Luther, Jan Calvin, John Knox, John Wesley, George Whitefield, Charles Finney, D.L. Moody and William Booth?
It is almost absurd, it seems to me, to attempt a comparison or even write in the same article about these holy men of God which I have just mentioned and the alleged apostates referred to earlier. The difference is as black to white and darkness to light!
All the Apostles, Church Fathers and Reformers believed the Bible to be the Divine Word of God. Their faith was unquestionably grounded in the truths of Holy Scripture, believing that in order to enter the Kingdom of God one must be born again by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God! Jesus said: “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”. (John 3: 3)
These Godly church leaders had a bedrock faith in the vicarious and efficacious atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross. They understood that His sufferings, death, resurrection, ascension and imminent return will forever be an integral part of our eternal redemption and salvation!
I cannot believe that any of the ‘Modernists’ and apostates who have blasphemed God's Word by their sacrilegious actions have ever been born again or know what it means to have fellowship and communion with Jesus Christ (John 3:3; 2 Cor. 5:17).
In a Regina Leader Post report by Tom Jarvis titled, A Massive Irrelevancy, Rev. Ben Smillee, a United Church pastor and chaplain, ridiculed the Bible and Billy Graham!
In a Regina Leader Post report by Tom Jarvis titled, A Massive Irrelevancy, Rev. Ben Smillee, a United Church pastor and chaplain, ridiculed the Bible and Billy Graham!
"The Toronto Telegram printed it in full, with a somewhat shocking headline in large type which speaks of: FUNDAMENTALIST BELIEF IN CLAY-MADE MAN, A FLOATING ZOO, AN AMPHIBIOUS-FOOTED JESUS, A SON OF GOD WHO WAS A HOME BREW ARTIST AND AN ASCENSION THAT LOOKS LIKE A CAPE KENNEDY BLAST-OFF."
Have you heard of such sacrilege? Have you heard anything more blasphemous? And this statement was not articulated by an atheist or communist but by a prominent United Church Minister. Does that man feel he knows more than the patriarchs, the prophets of old, the apostles who all believed the writings of Moses concerning the creation of all things by God, out of nothing? (Psalms 8:3; Isaiah 45:18).
Does he presume to know more than Peter, Paul, Stephen or Philip, who preached the Word of God in the First Century? Does that arrogant individual (Ps. 14:1) actually believe that he knows more than the early Church Fathers who ‘stood foursquare’ on God's Word? And the many who died as martyrs', rather than deny the Holy Scriptures?
This article was carried by the Saskatoon Star Phoenix, June 5, 1965, ‘Howse Says Literal Believer In Bible Lacks Understanding’: "The Moderator of the United Church of Canada says Christians who believe literally in all of the "metaphors and imageries" of the Bible exhibit "lack of understanding".
The Rt. Rev. Ernest Howse of Toronto, in an interview Thursday said that one of the most significant religious trends today is the movement away from "Medieval imagery and hypocrisy".
Dr. Howse, who had been in Banff for a meeting of the United Church's Alberta Conference, said people should not take literally such events as Christ's physical resurrection and the virginity of Mary.
The Moderator said the United Church's new curriculum which allows for liberal interpretation of the Bible, is "really nothing new at all". There is nothing in the curriculum which was not accepted when I was in college 30 years ago. "If people are shocked by it, then it is evident our ministers have not been adequately teaching their congregations."
IS THE MODERATOR AN APOSTATE?
In reality, he is saying that Jesus was ignorant, because He claimed to be the Son of God (John 20:17-19; 14:9) and that He would rise from the dead (John 2:19-21; Matt. 20:19). He ultimately ridicules Jesus, Who said: “Except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:7).
These modernists deny the miracles in the Bible, calling them myths and allegories, but Jesus believed all of them! They have categorized the event of Jonah and the great fish a myth, but Jesus believed and preached that Jonah was swallowed by a great fish that God had prepared. (Matt. 12:39-41).
Some theologians believe that Moses did not write the first five books of the Old Testament, which we call the Pentateuch, but Jesus Christ Who was perfect and without sin (John 8:6) and is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, (John 14:6) said: "For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me: for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe My words?" (John 5:46-47)
WHOM SHALL WE BELIEVE? These "know it all, religion without salvation, wise guys" or the righteous, holy, pure, incarnate, resurrected Son of God, Who is the same yesterday, today and forever?
My friend, I will take my chances with Jesus! I stand squarely on God’s Word against apostasy, unbelief and modernism, and have the assurance that my salvation is secure, because my faith is not founded upon some unproven theory, new concept, new thought, new curriculum, philosophy or ideology!
MY FAITH IS IN JESUS CHRIST!
My faith is rock-solid in the divine, infallible, incorruptible Word of God and in Jesus Christ, the resurrected Saviour of the world, Redeemer and Only Potentate!
St. Paul admonished Timothy to preach the Word and not deviate from the great truths of Holy Scripture. I must admonish those reading these lines to stick to the great Bible truths of Christianity and not be deceived by smooth, silver-tongued theologians who have substituted man-made doctrines for the great doctrines of an eternal and Almighty God.
If you have erred because of these apostates, then repent and return to God and the Bible because our Saviour stated: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me". (John 14:6) Amen.
