Babies and Bath Water

Babies and Bath Water

We have an old saying here in the UK – “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.” A good sense of its meaning would be to say, “Don’t get so tied up with side issues as to miss the main points altogether.”

We get so tied up preaching an easy Gospel that we forget to even mention SIN. Preachers so very rarely mention sin, preferring instead to say mistakes, missing the mark, weaknesses, or even errors of judgement. All these are pseudonyms pointing to one thing – SIN.  Another thing preachers avoid like a plague, is the word ‘repentance’. Where is salvation without repentance – turning away from your SIN? (there’s that word again).

This Sunday, our pastor preached on SIN. People were weeping and turning back to God – repenting their own sins and getting right with the Lord. It was so powerful!! And the sermon wasn’t a Gospel sermon – it was about “Blessed are the merciful . . . . .”  Doesn’t that tell you something about preaching the Word rather than preaching your interpretation of it or watering God’s Word down a bit. “Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarrelling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.” (2 Tim 2:14)

You see Pastor didn’t throw baby out with the bath water. He preached the full meaning of his topic. He didn’t confuse things with side issues. He preached the whole issue. We cry for mercy because we have sinned.

Many churches really do try to keep to the script but, actually, many preachers throw the baby out altogether and only preach the bathwater – they omit the point altogether while concentrating solely upon the side issues.

Are the majority of churches just 'going through the motions'? Do they really reach out into their community - or is it just paper justification of their existence? Has the church thrown the baby out with the bathwater?