NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE PREACHING
Do you,
sometimes, wonder what some persons mean by what they say or write? I suspect that this is an experience common
to all of us. Much of the
misunderstanding currently flourishing in our society stems from the ambiguous
use of terms to express ideas, convictions, purposes, etc. Misunderstanding due to ambiguity is
frequently present among members of the church.
Negative
And Positive
The
expressions, “negative preaching” and, “positive preaching”, have been reduced
by ambiguity to a deplorable state. This
being true, the wise speaker will avoid using this combination of words except
in those instances where he has time and space to precisely define his use of
the expression. Some favor positive
preaching and deplore negative preaching?
What do we mean by the terms?
What says Webster?
POSITIVE:
Definitely or formally laid down or expressed; admitting of no doubt –
definite, decisive, absolute … not
relative or comparative … confident, certain
… affirmative … concrete, sure …”.
These and like words paint the picture of “positive”. It is certainly granted by anyone who knows
what the Lord requires of teachers and preachers of the gospel, that these
words used to describe the preaching of gospel preachers, are in agreement with
the Lord’s requirements. There is
nothing here, however, that minimizes the importance of “negative” preaching.
NEGATIVE:
“Expressing, implying or containing a negation. Or, a negative answer: opposed to affirmative. That side of a question which denies or
refuses – to refuse assent to – to pronounce against --- to disprove –
contradict, deny”.
The definition of these terms should make it clear
that the two go together. Both negative
and positive preaching is required by the Scriptures. Negative preaching, i.e. preaching calling
for “rejecting”, “denying”, “refusing”, “refuting” etc. must complement
positive preaching. Ephesians 4:22, 25
illustrates the point. One must “put
away” in order to “put on”!
God, through Amos, calls for “hate”. He demanded that Israel “hate the evil, and
love the good …” (Amos 5:15). I
classify “hate” as negative, and
”love” as positive. The negative must accompany the
positive. None can love the good without
hating the evil. Some healthy hate is
sorely needed in our day. God’s order
has been reversed in modern society, where perhaps the majority hate the good
and love the evil. There are things to
hate, as well as things to love. Hatred
is to be directed against “evil’; not against the evil person. If we love the sinner, then we will hate his
or her sin.
The prominent
place of negative preaching is evident in the Lord’s commission to
Jeremiah. “See, I have this day set thee
over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down and to
destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant” (Jeremiah 1;10). Two figures, farming and carpentry, are used
in this passage to show the kind of preaching God requires. Note the negatives, “root out”, “pull down”,
“destroy and throw down”. This
commission has four negative actions described, and two positives. The wise carpenter tears down the old decayed
structures before he begins building; and the successful farmer clears the land
of bushes, weeds, stumps, etc., before he plants the seed. The negative precedes the positive. To one who has ever raised a garden needs to
be told how foolish it would be to just leave the weeds and trash and scatter
the seeds over the plot.
What is meant by negative preaching? Some have
identified the “Thou shalt nots” of the Old Testament as negative. They have pointed out that we are not under a
lot of “shalt nots”, but rather are under
the positive gospel. The gospel,
according to this theory, doesn’t deal with negatives, but with positives. The truth of the matter is that the New
Testament abounds in “Thou shalt nots”.
Paul charged Timothy and all gospel preachers to
“preach the word”. But what is
involved? What it is to preach the
word? The answer is, “Reprove, rebuke,
exhort withal longsuffering and teaching” (II Timothy 4:2). Two of the distributives (reprove and rebuke)
are to be classified as negatives, while one (exhort) is positive. The sinner needs to be reproved, i.e.
convicted of guilt of sin; it is also necessary to “rebuke” or “chide” for sinful conduct. Both these negatives are placed before the
positive. “Call to action” is the idea
in the word, “exhort”. There is no need
to “call to action” until awareness exists of the lack in one’s life.
The idea
expressed by the words, “Thou shalt not”, abounds in the New Testament as well
as in the Old Testament. There are many
passages in the New Testament whose language requires precisely the same thing
as the words, “Thou shalt not”. These
are all negatives: they “deny”,
“prohibit”, or “refute”. These italicized words are all given as
synonyms of “negative”, in Webster’s Third International Dictionary.
One negative, which is ignored by many Christians, is,
“Not forsaking our own assembling together as the custom of some is …” “Not forsaking” is s just as negative as “Thou shalt not”. What is the difference in the meaning of “Not
forsaking the assembling“ and in the
meaning of “Thou shalt not forsake the assembling”?
The last three chapters of Ephesians are devoted
largely to a setting forth of both “negative” AND ‘”positive” actions, which
must characterize the “faith unto the saving of the soul”. Study carefully Ephesians 4:17 – 5:15, and
note the negatives – the “Thou shalt nots”.
Ephesians 4:17, “ … that ye no longer walk as the Gentiles also walk
…” Does anyone imagine that thou shalt
not walk as the Gentiles walk is any
more negative than “that ye no longer walk as the Gentiles walk…”? The “old man” must be put away before the new man can be
put on (Ephesians 4:22-24). Some want
to try to “accentuate the positive” by “putting on” without “putting
away”. That just isn’t the way it is in
God’s order. Ephesians 4:28. “Steal no
more” is certainly equal to “Thou shalt not steal.” Steal no more (negative), but rather labor
(positive). Read on through Ephesians,
noting the order: the negatives appear right along with the positives.
The grace of God teaches us to “deny” ungodliness and
worldly lust (Titus 2:12). Grace
“prohibits”. Even in Jude’s time, there
were those who resented being “fenced in” by the truth. They turned the grace of God into
lasciviousness (Jude 4). The
prohibitions of the grace of God must be respected. No one can live soberly, righteously and
godly and fail to deny ungodliness and worldly lust.
A positive negative! That is, an emphatic “NO” is heaven’s
prescription for every situation where the devil tempts you to do wrong. The positive ”YES”, not only by word but by
deed as well, is the only thing that will please God as a response to truth and
right. “NO” in clear emphatic word and
deed must be the response to sin and
error.
Robert H. Farish
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