“But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).
The word translated as ‘cowardly’ is the Greek word δειλοῖς (deilois, pron. day-los’), used here to mean cowardly, timid, and fearful, and it is derived from the Greek root δέος (deos), meaning “fear” or “dread.”[1] In the context of verse 8, it means the lack of the moral fortitude necessary to follow Christ.
Notice that the word cowardly is listed first before murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and liars. Nevertheless, the end for all is the same: the ‘second death.’[2]
The people referred to in verse 8 are not believing Christians. So, all pastors, elders, preachers, ministers, teachers, and professed believers can breathe a sigh of relief, right? Sorry, but the answer is no.
A great many Christians, including pastors, elders, preachers, ministers, teachers, and professed Christians, possess a cowardly nature. These people profess to be Christians, and many hold membership and offices in Christian churches. But because of their cowardly faithlessness, they are the so-called ‘believers’ that Jesus will declare not to know and He will call ‘workers of lawlessness’ on the Last Day (Matt. 7:21-23). They will be destined for the Second Death, too.
This may seem harsh, but it’s biblical truth. Simply ‘making a show of it’ as a Christian for a lifetime or some portion of life is not good enough for eternal life. It is a hard road for Christians (2 Cor. 6:4, 5; 12:10), and the duty to preach and teach the whole counsel of God is a requirement for those in God’s service for His Church.
Anyone who takes on the mantle of preacher or teacher must never do anything less than preach and teach the whole counsel of God. Any genuine Christian would do everything in their power to preach and teach the whole counsel of God as the Lord commands. Picking and choosing some passages and leaving others out is unconscionable for a Christian. Those who do less must seriously reevaluate their profession of faith.
This is a serious matter, and too often, pastors, preachers, elders, ministers, Sunday school, and Bible study teachers approach their responsibility in a cavalier fashion. All Christians who accept the role of teacher, which includes all of these offices, are subject to a higher standard as James writes, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (Jas. 3:1).
This article focuses on cowardly pastors, elders, preachers, ministers, and teachers serving God. We discuss how those who preach and teach the Word fail to expound Scripture courageously. The simple fact is that many Christian preachers and teachers fail to teach the plain meaning of many passages of God’s revealed Word and the truth and wisdom deeply rooted in Scripture.
Preachers sometimes yield to pressure from church leaders or congregation members who pressure them against teaching the plain truth of some passages of Scripture. Occasionally, popular opinion will result in a preacher restraining his coverage of particular passages of Scripture or altering or softening the truth to avoid creating controversy or offending someone. Sometimes, a preacher avoids particular Scripture to avoid stepping on the toes of some to maintain attendance, fearing that to speak the plain truth would “run people off.” Generally speaking, many pastors choose sermon topics that keep the congregation happy and keep them coming back. When a preacher avoids specific passages or hedges the plain truth contained in a passage of Scripture, he is practicing cowardly preaching.
Cowardly preaching is, we fear, normative in today’s Christian churches. Furthermore, cowardly preaching is false teaching. However, the preachers who practice this kind of preaching will vehemently deny that they are doing this. Some have twisted God’s Word for so long that they consider it their new gospel and don’t recognize the violence they are doing to Scripture.
Pastors, elders, and all those who preach and teach in the church must courageously discharge their duty to zealously and accurately preach and teach the Word of God. Nothing in Scripture should be altered for any reason, even to avoid hurting someone’s feelings or causing controversy. The Bible is God’s revealed truth and does not offend any sincere Christian. The truth will often offend non-believers, but that is not a valid reason to alter or avoid some passages of Scripture.
The great Particular Baptist (Reformed Baptist) preacher C. H. Spurgeon could not tolerate preachers who compromised the truth of Scripture and referred to such preachers as “putty-men who are influenced by everybody, and have no opinions except those of the last person they met” or the “weathercock brethren–men whose religious opinions veer with the prevailing doctrinal current in their neighborhood.”[3]
Many of these preachers who lack the courage to preach the plain meaning of the Word of God are not evil false teachers who set out to mislead their listeners. They merely fall into a casual ministry they are comfortable with and preach and teach Scripture with a cavalier attitude, especially those who use sermons written by others instead of drafting them based on their research of biblical truth. This usually happens over time, though it is a practice fostered in some seminaries. No matter how a preacher arrives at this cowardly state, he is still a false teacher, and consequently, the integrity of his profession of faith is called into question.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Ps, 111:10; Prov. 9:10). Not only does God want His preachers and teachers to fear Him, but to use the wisdom that comes from godly fear to faithfully preach the word (2 Tim. 4:2a). As Paul charged Timothy, “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2 Tim. 4:1-2).
Paul follows this charge with a warning that the flock in his charge will eventually lose sight of the Word and seek preachers who will tell them what they want to hear: “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myth” (2 Tim. 4:3, 4).
Then Paul gives this command to Timothy and all who are in the preaching and teaching service of the LORD: “As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Tim. 4:5).
The apostle Paul, writing to Timothy, warned him about cowardly preaching when he said, “If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.” The failure to preach and teach the plain meaning of everything in Scripture is to reject the Word of God. Leaving out particular portions of Scripture to avoid controversy is cowardly preaching and teaching.
Paul commands all the preachers, elders, overseers, ministers, and teachers in the service of God to preach the whole counsel of God when he wrote, “Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood” (Acts 20:26-28).
The preachers (and teachers) in God’s service must courageously preach (and teach) the whole counsel of God, whether it is convenient or not, offends someone or not, is controversial or not, or whether or not the congregation wants to hear it. Compliance with the whole counsel of God goes not only for sermons and classes but also for church worship sacraments and liturgy.
CONCLUSION
When was the last time you preached or heard a sermon about the ungodliness of drunkenness, jealousy, liars, covetousness, lust, using God’s name in vain, the evil of homosexuality, lack of a worshipful spirit, coming to church for the wrong reason, greed, sexual immorality, or that failure to vote and pay taxes is a sin? All of these topics and many more are found in the plain meaning of Scripture.
If you are a preacher or teacher, have you received negative feedback or objections when you preach or teach the plain meaning of Scripture? As a preacher, elder, teacher, or even an ordinary congregation member, have you received persecution for your beliefs or statements of the true gospel or your Godly living? Have you lost ‘friend’ or family relationships because of your Christian beliefs?
Since we live in a heathen world, we should expect controversy of some sort occasionally because we are living a godly life in conformance to the Word of God. If everything is running smoothly, it may be because we are too willing to overlook sin in ourselves and others or because we are not putting the whole counsel of God to work in our lives.
However, remember that Peter was guilty of cowardice when he denied Jesus—three times! (Matt. 26:69-74). But this same Peter became a great evangelist and leader of the first-century Christian church. So, even if we are guilty of cowardice by not preaching or teaching or living the whole counsel of God, by the grace of God, we can repent of cowardice and walk in fellowship with God as Peter did.
[1] The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Greek Dictionary of the New Testament (Thomas Nelson 2001), 63.
[2] Second Death – is the result of divine wrath at the Final Judgment when the wicked are condemned to separation from God for eternity (c.f., Matt. 8:12, 11:22, 24, 13:50, 18:8; Mark 9:43, 44, 47, 48; Luke 12:47, 48, 16:23, 28, 20:17, 18; 2 Thess. 1:9; Rev. 14:11, 20:10).
[3] Tom Ascol, Charles Spurgeon and Courage in the Pulpit, Founders Ministries, https://founders.org/articles/charles-spurgeon-and-courage-in-the-pulpit/.
