You Haven'T Got the Guts
E.A. Johnston boldly challenges pastors and evangelists to courageously preach the lordship of Christ and the necessity of repentance, condemning the fear of man that leads to watered-down messages.
In 'You Haven'T Got the Guts,' E.A. Johnston delivers a prophetic challenge to pastors and evangelists who shy away from preaching the full gospel message. He confronts the fear of man that leads to diluted sermons and calls for a return to boldness in proclaiming Christ's lordship and the necessity of repentance. Johnston contrasts modern timidity with the courageous preaching of past evangelists, urging ministers to prioritize faithfulness over popularity.
Full Transcript
Now I'm going to make a statement, friends, that I believe is true. But it won't endear me to anybody. But most folks don't like me anyhow, so here goes my statement.
This is a statement addressed to pastors and evangelists in America today. You haven't got the guts. That's my statement.
Now let me finish my sentence. You haven't got the guts to preach the lordship of Jesus Christ and man's duty of repentance. And the reason why you haven't got the guts is because you fear man more than God.
Now I believe, friends, it's why we don't have a Sam Jones or a Mordecai Ham today. Because we preachers are into self-preservation and we avoid confrontation of any kind. So we preach nice little messages that don't disturb anybody.
But the trouble is, they don't save anybody either. We are content to see folks go to hell today. So long as we can preserve our reputations and our positions in our denominations that we work so hard to get, you haven't got the guts to preach that.
If Jesus is not your lord, then he was never your savior. Because if you preach that message today, in this day of the apostate church, other men in ministry will call you a heretic. And a good number of them will be of your denomination.
And you haven't got the guts to preach man's duty of repentance and tell men and women and boys and girls that, unless they repent, they will bust hell wide open when they die, even if they are the chairman of the deacons or the top dog of the denomination. And I know a few pastors and evangelists who have the guts to preach these truths. And they are doing so in this country today.
But they are in a minority. Most ministers fear their people more than they fear the devil. And they will preach soothing things, so not to rock the boat of their church.
They will preach certain gospel truths. But it is in what they won't preach that sniffs them out as cowards, who don't have the guts to preach the hard sayings of Christ, for fear they will end up like Christ, who, when he preached hard sayings, he preached his crowd away. And we can't have that because our crowd is tied to our self-esteem as preachers.
Too many of us preach for recognition and acceptance of the people we preach to. We would rather keep them happy and satisfied in our congregations and let them go on to hell than risk losing them by warning them of hell. You haven't got the guts, brother pastor, and you know it.
And the sad thing is, you're okay with it.
Sermon Outline
-
I
- The lack of courage among modern pastors and evangelists
- Fear of man over fear of God
- Consequences of avoiding hard preaching
-
II
- The necessity of preaching the lordship of Jesus Christ
- Man's duty to repent
- The cost of true gospel preaching
-
III
- The contrast with historical preachers like Sam Jones and Mordecai Ham
- The problem of self-preservation in ministry
- The danger of pleasing the crowd over preaching truth
-
IV
- The reality of hell and eternal judgment
- The call to confront sin boldly
- The need for pastors to regain courage and faithfulness
Key Quotes
“You haven't got the guts to preach the lordship of Jesus Christ and man's duty of repentance.” — E.A. Johnston
“Most ministers fear their people more than they fear the devil.” — E.A. Johnston
“We would rather keep them happy and satisfied in our congregations and let them go on to hell than risk losing them by warning them of hell.” — E.A. Johnston
Application Points
- Examine personal fears that may hinder preaching or sharing the gospel boldly.
- Commit to proclaiming the lordship of Jesus Christ without compromise.
- Prioritize the eternal well-being of others over personal reputation or acceptance.