How Preachers Shoot Themselves In the Foot, Erroneous Tactic #1: Condemnation

Preachers, pastors, and priests are some of my favorite kinds of people.  They devote their entire lives to God by serving others, and their devotion is striking.  What they sacrifice to accomplish what they believe to be God's will is massive.  Any man or woman who tells me they've "pastored" a church has high respect from me simply because I've seen the ugly side of ministry and know what can go on.  I automatically know they've had to deal with harsh scoldings from stubborn, disagreeing believers, they've wrestled with tough moral decisions, and they've had to watch how their decisions affect a large multitude of people.  All they ever dream about is to see people experience God in a magnificent way.  They want what God want's: for people to live life abundantly and joyfully, having an intimate relationship with Christ.  A mistake made by a pastor can cause an unstable believer to turn away from God, or even cause some people to be led astray in their thinking.  That is not always the pastor's fault, but it is gut-wrenching to think about.  Any person who has been a head pastor has had their heart broken and smashed to the ground many times.  They endure a lot.

These precious "shepherds" can carry a heavy burden.  There's pressure to be better than human: people expect a higher moral standard from their spiritual leaders.  Of course, it comes with the territory.  When you appear on a stage to be heard by a number of people, you are placed on a pedestal at least by someone if not many.  It can be easy to constantly compare yourself to the standard set before you.  And being human, all a pastor can say is that he is just like everyone else. And it's just as easy to compare others to your own high standard and feel discouraged when they don't meet it.  Naturally, that frustration can come out in sermon-form.   A pastor's own sense of condemnation or discouragement, or even frustration can ooze out onto the congregation.  Worship leaders are included in this.

There are plenty of cases in which a pastor is preaching and there is no hint of condemnation in the sermon, but people misinterpret it. Perhaps a person already feels condemned for how they've been living and any teaching is like a stab in the face because they don't feel worthy of it. So, I will not make a generalization about all pastors and all sermons.  I am going to bring light to the effects of using condemnation, whether intentionally or unintentionally, on people in a church setting.  So here we go...

There is a running theme of condemnation on the subject of sin.  It's easy to interpret scripture that way, especially if you're reading the Old Testament.  God hates sin.  It's been made clear in scripture after scripture.  It's also easy to preach that way, after all, doesn't it say that we are all sinners?  Isn't there constant instruction on staying away from immorality even in the New Testament?  Perhaps bluntness and honesty is the best path to fixing the problem.  Sometimes a person needs to hear harsh words, right?  We need to be honest with ourselves and God, 'cause we stink at keeping our end of the deal.  Doesn't the Bible say that the truth will set you free?  With that fuel, a person on a pulpit may feel a duty to point out sins and discuss the consequences.  I've heard that scolding tone many a time.  It's like a father telling his son what he did wrong.  We all have probably heard at least one sermon that has made us feel like the lowest form of a human being.

In these cases, there's an arsenal of shame-causing, law-revealing scriptures.  There's also scripture that says that whatever is done in darkness will be brought to the light (1 Corinthians 4:5).  It's easy to scare an entire congregation into thinking they will be utterly exposed and humiliated as a result of their sins [more on this below].  "Your sins will find you out." (Numbers 32:23) is also another big one.  And, "The wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23), is one I've heard time and time again.  I am not trying to say preachers should never preach these scriptures.  I am merely pointing out popular ones that have been used in a condescending, condemning way. 
 
[**Side Note** No one should live in fear of exposure because, praise God, where sin abounds, grace much more abounds.  Our good actions don't redeem our sins.  That's a worldly mindset.  God's grace redeems us from sin.  God protects us and defends our nakedness.  He doesn't bring us shame.  I know there are instances in which public confession is necessary for healing, especially for political reasons.  But God is in the business of redemption, not humiliation.  When people start pointing at other people's sins, they are not doing so out of God's love.  "...the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere." (James 3:17)]

Some people outright name sins.  I once heard a preacher tell the congregation that they were a "lustful and immoral generation".  He then moved on to his next point that revival only comes by living a lifetime of purity.  He disqualified every person in the room who had experienced impurity in their lives (which is everyone).  Can you imagine how hopeless his people felt?  Can you guess what the altar call looked like?  People were wailing at the altar, filled with condemnation.  He removed all hope for revival, which is what he longed for so desperately.

Or there are those preachers who don't live in fear of exposure because they actually believe their actions have put them on good terms with God.  This is how the Pharisees believed, and we all know how much Jesus couldn't stand it.  So they preach from that platform, only preaching on the things that they themselves have overcome.  They use their own lives as teaching points (which is not bad, but it is in this case).  If you think your actions have earned you some righteousness, I will be so bold as to say you don't understand the gospel.  Jesus is our righteousness.  Our status with God is based on the cross, not on our behavior, good or bad.

Then there's a lot of talk about "dealing with sins".  The problem with that idea is that Christ dealt with it on the cross already.  In sermons dealing with sin, the natural solution is repentance.  Pastors at least give some hope by providing this way out.  The typical repentance sermon deals with "that one sin we always struggle with that we can't ever seem to get rid of". And the main point is: confession is the way to freedom.  And all the altar calls are all the same: if you are feeling convicted, come down to the altar to get your freedom.  And all the prayers are the same: "God, give them strength to overcome this sin."  And practically the whole congregation responds to the altar call, because everyone feels guilty about some sin they've committed.  A preacher may feel that he has effectively preached the gospel according to the Spirit simply because his altar call response is huge.  And the undertone is that, "no one is perfect", so if you don't go down to the altar, you must think that you're perfect.  If we're all sinners, then we should all be at that altar, sharing the private things of our hearts with people we might not know or even trust.  And it's easy for a leader to see the rest of the people, those who remain in the pews, as less holy.  It may seem that they are holding back from God.  That's what I used to think!

Freedom from sin comes from Christ, not from confession.  Confession may be a part of the healing process, but it is not the source of freedom.  Furthermore, the ultimate goal in this Christian walk is not to overcome sin so you can make it into heaven.  If you've spent years and years, like me, trying to overcome sin, you've wasted your efforts.  Christ already overcame it for us.

Another problem with the "typical repentance sermon"  is that whoever preached has just put your focus on how imperfect you are as a human compared to God.  When we focus on our imperfection, condemnation is what naturally occurs.  This condemnation is then confused with conviction.  And so hundreds of people are trained, whether by their pastors or by their own misinterpretation, to recognize condemnation (a tactic of Satan) as the Holy Spirit's conviction.  Guilt is then associated with God, and so many people start running from God because they think this feeling of fear and guilt is from Him.  So many people begin to have a distorted view of God like He's a disappointed father always looking down on them.  He seems sadistic because He knows they are utterly dependent on Him to be free of these short-comings, yet He somehow expects them to deal with it on their own?  It is an unbiblical paradox.  This simply keeps people in a state of fear rather than in a state of trust.

Conviction is not to be confused with condemnation.  But this is an area I need to study further.  I will leave it up to God to point out sins because his way of doing it is so much more loving and empowering than mine.  When He brings up my sins, He is usually showing me that He is taking care of them.  He always reassures me that He turns all things for the good of those who love Him.  When I point out other peoples' sins, they get defensive or feel terrible, neither of which leads to actual freedom from those sins.  It only ever leads to the person focusing on their sins and entering into an endless battle with them.  I have no power to free others from their sin.

Do you see how even subtle condemnation works its way into the believer's mind and actually leads him down a worse path than before?  Condemnation that is believed from ANY source destroys faith in God.  Even a genuine pastor--who loves God and is desperate to see God moving in his congregation--even that gem of a person can sabotage his end goal of revival.  That pastor only finds himself more and more discouraged and "desperate" to see God move in his church because the people seem so hopeless and downcast.  But they don't feel worthy enough to engage their spiritual gifts or sometimes even talk to God because they are focused on how terrible they are at keeping God's law. 

Let me establish two things: 1) Jesus came into the world not to condemn the world, but to save it (John 3:17 NIV), and 2) Satan is the "accuser of the brethren" (Rev 12:10 KJV).  When a preacher uses condemnation as a tool to bring about repentance, he is unknowingly doing the devil's job.  But that is not his intention.  In fact, when he points out sin, it's usually motivated out of a desire to get rid of the problem.  That's where I was.  I was trying to help my leadership team improve by always telling them where the mistakes were, but I was making things worse.  It's backwards thinking.  Encouragement bore far greater results.

Solution: Focus on God and Know Who You Are.

The problem is not the sin.  The problem is the focus.  Too many Christians are focused on sin.  And whatever you focus on becomes your reality.  Trying to avoid sin only makes it worse because of the very nature of it; avoiding sin puts the focus on, well, sin.  And the frustrating fact, to me, is that because of those altar calls, and their belief that they must deal with this sin, many people walk away identifying themselves with the sins they confessed.  They walk away feeling a strong mandate to overcome sin instead of being renewed and believing that Christ already overcame it for them. 

Your sinful nature died with Christ.  The only reason you're seeing sin in your life is because you believe you are a sinner.  Whatever you believe manifests in your life.

I believe the solution to the problem of being sin-focused is to start being God-focused.  We must also believe that we are so melded into Christ's spirit that His nature IS our nature.  We must trust Him to live through us.

God speaks things that aren't as though they were.  He tells us who we are even if it seems impossible to believe.  He always gives us positive reinforcement, even when we feel less than worthy of it.  Even psychology will tell you that positive reinforcement is the most effective way to teach someone a behavior; it far exceeds any other type of teaching in effectiveness.  If you believe you're an imperfect sinner, guess what: that's what you'll always be so long as you believe it.  And you'll never get to the meat of the word.  And if you've mixed up condemnation for conviction, you'll have a hard time trusting God, because you actually associate Him with who Satan is.  We are hid in Christ.  He's not going to expose your sin.  He's going to give you favor and blessings.  Believe it!

So I say to those who speak from the pulpit: pointing out sin is one way to stop your church from experiencing revival.  Condemnation is a tool of Satan.  You yourself cannot allow it into your heart, and you must protect others from experiencing it.  It is a faith-blocker.  If you want your congregation to be discouraged and scared, preach repentance again and again.  If you want Christians to act like sinners, continuously remind them that they're sinners; keep them dwelling on how they've been living their lives this past week, and you'll keep them in a darkened state.  Your ministry will always be dragging along.  Finding volunteers will be like pulling teeth.  And your leaders will be tired and drained.  People need positive reinforcement.  They need to believe that they can accomplish anything.  They need to feel loved and approved of.  They need to feel valued.  They need their faith to be built up.  They have all of that through Christ already.  Don't take that away.

I am convinced that the behavior of a person has everything to do with what he or she believes. Believe you are not a sinner, not because you are something special, but because Christ loved you so much He died for you, and when He died, so did your sinful nature.  Keep your mind on Christ.

Colossians 3:1-3 (NIV)
"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God."