KIND OF PREACHERS AND PREACHING NEEDED

No man should go to the Bible, or the God of the Bible, to teach him what man is, or what he should be; but he should go to the Bible to learn what he is, what he ought to be, and what he ultimately shall be.  He should not go to the Bible to show what it should teach, but to learn what it does teach, for to this we shall all come in the end, whether it is congenial with our desires or not. We intend, therefore, to maintain it as it is, whether the number in favor of it is small or great. We intend to maintain the old distinction between saint and sinner, vice and virtue, good and bad, with the same meaning attached to them, regardless of all consequences. We shall speak of men being saved and lost, happy and miserable, justified and condemned with the same ideas attached to the terms as heretofore, and sustained by all sound rules of interpretation, whether it shall be considered sense or foolishness. We shall continue to use the Bible terms, rewards and punishments, life and death, heaven and hell, in the same sense as we have been wont to do, knowing, as we do, that we are supported by the whole canon of sound criticism, and we most solemnly admonish all who fear God, against the glosses of that sickening and supercilious affectation, that induces any man, for one moment, to hesitate to declare to his fellow man, in the most faithful manner, the terrible threatening of the Almighty against the impenitent.

Let no preacher shrink, in this age of sinfulness and pride; let no man of God be deterred by the ridicule of Universalists, by low wit of sceptics, or the vulgar mocking of atheists, from declaring the terrors of the Lord, for he says, "The Lord shall judge his people." "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." "With lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad, and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life." "It is better to enter into life having one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched." "The rich man died,  and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment." Such is but a tithe of what abounds of this description throughout the New Testament. Is he a friend to his God or his fellow man, who knows such language to abound in the word of God, and shuns to declare it to those who hear him?

We  want no mere excitement about a man, nor after a man, who, as Simon the Sorcerer, induces the people to think that he is some great one.  We want the clear, solid and telling preaching of the gospel, enlightening  the people in reference to our Lord, the way to him, and how to serve him. We do not expect, as a general rule, to see much move among the people for the first ten days, but a gradual increase in the audience, the interest in the preaching and conversations about it; an account of the people hunting up their Bibles, inquiring whether these things are so, and occasional argument in reference to the matter. But after due time and deliberation, persons begin to step forward and confess Christ. While a good song is sung, everything in the assembly is solemn, and the impression deepens. While a few remarks are made of a solemn and impressive nature, and the confessions are taken, the audience sits in profound silence, in the deepest and most serious meditation, and tears are seen to flow freely from many faces. The audience disperses, and quietly retires, as if from a funeral. This is what we mean by gospel work.

We want nothing sensational, no tricks, no comic performance; no private maneuvering to induce any one to promise, "If you will join, I will;" no artifice to get round the people, come on them suddenly and surprise them. Come directly to the people from the start, and let them know what you mean, and work directly to the one point--the enlightenment and salvation of men. The man that can tell the story of the cross, and of a Savior's love, in the most artless and unaffected manner, lose sight of and forget himself in his theme most completely, will accomplish the most in the Savior's name. May we learn and tell the story of infinite compassion and love in all its fullness and completeness more successfully, with more faith and power than ever, and may we be enabled to bring souls to Christ more abundantly than ever.

Benjamin Franklin, A Book of Gems, Gospel Advocate, 1960