The Folly of Pragmatism in Ministry!

Pragmatism basically means "whatever works is right".  I don't know how much more clear God's word can be regarding the folly of thinking conversion or spiritual growth can come through anything but God's word!

2 Cor. 4: Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (NKJV)

God's word will be rejected by the natural man 100% of the time, no matter how crafty the speaker or how great an atmosphere we create. We are all blind to the gospel until the moment God commands light to shine in our hearts and we willingly see and believe that Christ Jesus is Lord!

So we preach that Christ Jesus is Lord! Not that He is a ticket out of hell if you pray some prayer, that He just wants to make your life better if you let Him or that He just can't be happy without you! No, we preach that He is God, He should be worshipped, served and obeyed and to believe or do less in response to Him, is to not know Him at all and perish in your sin.

That is the message we proclaim and either God will convict and convert the hearer through the Holy Spirit or people will remain in their natural God rejecting state. The messenger is no more or less a success either way, since the power is all of God.

Pragmatists will not be satisfied with these results and will start looking for ways to increase the harvest by tweaking the message or atmosphere - how ridiculous and dangerous, when you understand how God saves!

"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."