NOAH: Who Was He? Part 2 - Not a ‘Feel Good’ Preacher
Part 1 directly addresses who Noah was, a righteous man who walked with God. The question was asked, “Couldn’t we say that Noah failed significantly as a preacher?”
Soft Preaching of the “Feel Good Gospel”
These days, many Bible teachers are guilty of “soft” preaching, that is a unwillingness to preach against hard cultural and social issues such as abortion, homosexuality, or other hot-button topics. Instead Pastors teach of a god who wants people to be happy, successful, and who will receive many blessings. They prefer to focus on positive messages of love and acceptance; that all good people will be saved. The sermons come off as comforting self-help messages masquerading as the Gospel.
Here are some short examples:
God Will Bring You Friends That Celebrate You | Fake Friends | Joel Osteen
Unlock Your Courage: Bishop T.D. Jakes' Powerful Motivational Speech
Shifting Intentions | Steven Furtick - Motivational Video
Can you imagine the apostles today listening to these sermons? Many today want to have their ears tickled:
“For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths.” (2 Timothy 4:3–4, Christian Standard Bible [CSB])
“For my part, brothers and sisters, I was not able to speak to you as spiritual people but as people of the flesh, as babies in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, since you were not yet ready for it. In fact, you are still not ready,because you are still worldly. For since there is envy and strife among you, are you not worldly and behaving like mere humans?” (1 Corinthians 3:1–3, CSB)
“Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the basic principles of God’s revelation again. You need milk, not solid food. Now everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness, because he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature — for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil.” (Hebrews 5:12–14, CSB)
What is the danger of feeding on milk, instead of solid food? People today do not want to hear about:
Self-denial, taking up our crosses, or dying to the flesh
“Therefore, everyone who will acknowledge me before others, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever denies me before others, I will also deny him before my Father in heaven. Don’t assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. The one who loves a father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; the one who loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Anyone who finds his life will lose it, and anyone who loses his life because of me will find it.” (Mat. 10:32-39, CSB)
Spiritual transformation
“Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thoughts. They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts. They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more.” (Ephesians 4:17, CSB)
Necessity of suffering in the life of a believer
“In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (2 Timothy 3:12)
“We are God’s children, and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” (Romans 8:16b-17)
dying for our faith or for our brothers
“This is how we have come to know love: He laid down his life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” (1 John 3:16)
God’s wrath against sin nor the coming judgment
“Because of your hardened and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed.” (Romans 2:5)
So did Noah fail as a preacher? He DID NOT fail. It was the people who refused to listen to a message of conviction, self denial, and repentance. They chose to live in disobedience to God.
Many also turned away from Jesus …
“Therefore, when many of his disciples heard this, they said, ‘This teaching is hard. Who can accept it?’ Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, asked them, ‘Does this offend you? Then what if you were to observe the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? The Spirit is the one who gives life. The flesh doesn’t help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. But there are some among you who don’t believe.’ (For Jesus knew from the beginning those who did not believe and the one who would betray him.) He said, ‘This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted to him by the Father.’ From that moment many of his disciples turned back and no longer accompanied him.” (John 6:60-66)
Jesus never watered down the message; He taught truth. We must follow his example, even if people dislike us or even turn against us. This is why we need to keep building ourselves up and become like boxers training for a fight …
“Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize. Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable crown. So I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air. Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” (1 Cor 9:24-27)
“Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit — which is the word of God. Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. For this I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough to speak about it as I should.” (Ephesians 6:10-20)
Additional resources:
The difference between hard preaching and soft preaching with John MacArthur
How Viral Churches Create Surface-Level Christians from Daily Disciple
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