Preach the Bible, not the News

INTRODUCTION

Good morning! My name is David Sorn, and I’m the Lead Pastor here at Renovation Church.

You ever notice how every week there’s something in the news cycle that it feels like everybody is supposed to have an opinion about?

Maybe it’s just a viral video

A presidential mistake, or win (depending on who you ask)

Or another tragedy somewhere

And in our current climate, everybody feels pressured to have an opinion.

And organizations, and companies, and even churches are pressured to make statements after each big news story

It’s become so expected that it feels like the new modern church service order is 3 songs, announcements, statement on the news, message, song”

But is this right?

Is that the purpose of church and a worship service?

We have gotten so many questions on this, that I wanted to take an entire message to articulate for you Biblical Teaching on that very question.

So let’s take a look at the Bible.

1 Timothy 6:2b-5

Page 812

We are actually going to jump over verse 1 and half of verse 2 in chapter 6 which is a passage where Paul gives advice to Christian slaves.

We actually gave an entire message on the Bible’s view of slavery just a couple of years ago…and you can find that in our Philemon series online

So let’s start with the second half of verse 2…we’ll start right under the heading that says, “False Teachers and the Love of Money

(1 Timothy 6:2b-5) – NIV

These are the things you are to teach and insist on. 3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4 they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5 and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

THE PULPIT IS FOR PROCLAMATION, NOT REACTION.

(Preach the Bible, Not the News)

Paul tells Timothy that his teaching must center on sound doctrine, and not on the latest controversies or quarrels.

He says people have an “unhealthy interest” in these things, and that “unhealthy interest” leads to strife…to division.

And so Pastor Timothy’s focus should be on the Kingdom of God.

And so in obedience to this Biblical teaching (and other Scriptures), we rarely ever comment here on the news as it happens

This may feel odd to you at first, or even wrong.

But my aim is to show you Biblically, why this is the way of Scripture.

And so here is first reason why churches should focus on preaching the Bible, and not the news…

WHY CHURCHES SHOULD PREACH THE BIBLE AND NOT THE NEWS

#1: The pulpit is for proclamation, not reaction

The words that come from this stage and this pulpit must be the proclamation, the sound teaching, of the Word of God.

And not first and foremost a commentary on the latest happenings in our news, and in our political world.

But this feels foreign to a lot of us right now.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul says:

(Romans 12:2a) – NIV

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

And so we have to ask what are the patterns of our world right now?

One massive pattern is the fact that we live in a world of reactivity.

We live in a world of influencers, podcasters, and pundits.

Who respond to every news story almost instantly.

They’ve got tweets out in seconds.

And a reel up in 5 minutes.

It’s literally financially beneficial for them to get in the algorithm right away.

And the more controversial they are, the more clicks they’ll get

And because REACTIVITY is the pattern of our world (and thus has become normative for us), we expect the church to be “REACTIVE” as well.

But we’re not of this world.

WHY CHURCHES SHOULD PREACH THE BIBLE, AND NOT THE NEWS

#1: The pulpit is for proclamation, not reaction

We’re not called to react, but to be rooted…in God’s Word.

And if I stand up here every Sunday, or even every other Sunday, and I say, “Here’s what happened in the news this week, and here’s our statement…here’s how you need to react to that…”

Then I’m teaching you that your faith needs to rise and fall with the waves of the news rather than being anchored in Christ.

And if I react with you to every news story, we’ll end up accidentally doing exactly what Paul is warning Timothy about, and we’ll get an unhealthy interest in the quarrels of our day.

But when you come here on a Sunday to worship, I don’t want to fire you up with reactive anxiety.

My role is to get you to trade scrolling for Scripture…

…to trade anxiety for a trust in God’s sovereignty

And so the news doesn’t set the conversation here, Scripture does.

And for some of you, honestly, as your pastor, I can’t encourage you enough to get off Social Media and back into Scripture

The algorithms on Social Media now are insane, and they are incredibly efficient at working us up into a frenzy by showing you the same stories over and over again…making you believe that this is the only thing in the world happening.

For example: I’ve been trying to mostly stay off social media, but about a month ago, I clicked on a story of a woman who stole a baseball from a kid at a Philadelphia Phillies game.

(Phillies Karen)

And for the next 3 days, I think this was literally all social media showed me.

It was like we landed on the moon again

And not only am I seeing video of the actual event, I’m seeing all of the pundits and influencers immediately chiming in: “What a horrible person!

And that’s become the pattern of our age: news, commentary, outrage, repeat

And because you & I swim in that worldly pattern of reactivity, people start to think, “Where is my pastor on this? Why has he not commented yet on this baseball-stealing woman and the atrocity she committed?

But how many of you saw this story?

Right.

And so sometimes we’re not talking about an issue because quite frankly, most people don’t even know about the issue that Social Media has lied to you and told you is everywhere

And so trade in your scrolling for Scripture.

They literally make money off of you getting mad.

THE LOUDEST & FASTEST IS RARELY THE WISEST

But some of you are going, “I get that, but what if it IS a legitimately big story?

“Like, if there is a BIG political story, a shooting, or tragedy that happens on a Thursday, isn’t it right for churches to put out a statement on it that next Sunday morning.”

Here’s the second principle I want you to see:

WHY CHURCHES SHOULD PREACH THE BIBLE AND NOT THE NEWS

#1: The pulpit is for proclamation, not reaction

#2: Loudest & fastest is rarely the wisest

We live in a world where the culture has discipled us to believe that the first takes are the best takes.

But how often are the first takes wrong?

A lot.

More evidence comes out.

Or we get a deeper perspective, or a new witness.

And the statements that everyone made right away, end up looking foolish.

But the idea of speaking quickly (or reacting) has become so normative to the current pattern of our world (as Romans 12 said)…

.. that when churches don’t quickly offer up a statement, it’s often incredibly frustrating, even infuriating to many modern Americans who are used to hearing commentary on issues within seconds online.

So much so that I’ve received more hate mail and angry emails over the last 3 months than I have in any other period in my 21 years of ministry

Almost exclusively with people who are upset that we’re not commenting on whatever the issue is that week.

And maybe that’s my fault for not overtly walking you all through this earlier.

But I tell you, I got called a coward by several people.

And listen, I’ve got plenty of problems, and I am a lot of things, but one thing I am not, is a coward.

If you’ve been here for more than a minute, you know that I’m not afraid to talk about anything.

I like to be bold, but I also believe in being wise.

And the Bible says in Ecclesiastes that there is a time for everything.

And if my timing and teaching is based off the news (especially when everyone’s worked up about the week’s news), I won’t be able to disciple ANYONE well.

And if I’m going to lead you into the truth on how God wants us to live…or how to react to evil in this world…

The best way for me to do it isn’t to get up and talk passionately out of the news

That may be the “pattern of the world,” but it’s not the pattern of the King.

Jesus lived in a world absolutely full of oppression, politics, and division, and yet he didn’t spend his sermons talking about the latest atrocity the Romans committed or giving commentary on Caesar’s latest tax policy

In fact, he famously said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”

Because He was focusing not on building an earthly kingdom, but the Kingdom of God

Now, this doesn’t mean that Jesus just “stayed all spiritual” and never talked about relevant moral issues or justice or what is right.

Of course He did. He did often in fact!

But Jesus’ launching point for teaching moral issues wasn’t out of the news or politics of his day.

And so, like Jesus, we too should speak bravely & often about the relevant moral issues of our day.

In some ways what many of you feel is right and good.

If we’re silent about the moral issues of our day, we’re complicit.

But here’s what I want you to understand, not just about boldness, but about wisdom:

If we’re going to truly change hearts, the PATH and TIMING we take to address moral issues really matters. 
Our pathway into the issue must be the Bible, not the news of the week.

So let me give you a real-life example of this.

I believe our culture is incredibly confused when it comes to sexuality and gender.

And so we’ve chosen to talk about it. Often even.

Last year, we did a 4-week series on it.

This year we brought in destransitioner Laura Perry Smalts.

And we BIBLICALLY walked through what Scripture says on those important issues

But notice, the path I took to get into those issues was the Bible, not the news.

I didn’t say, “Did you all see those controversial items that Target was putting in their swimwear section this week…or what Bud Light’s latest transgender can was

Because if I come out loud and fast that next Sunday by talking about those news stories (which is what many want me to do)…if I do that, there’s no power in what I say.

The church’s power doesn’t come from how quickly it speaks, but from where it speaks.

And sure, if there are common trends in our culture or things people are wrestling with, we will absolutely address them—but through biblical teaching, not weekly press releases.

The church can still be deeply relevant without being constantly reactive.

Also, I believe that if you are truly learning God’s Word here, then you don’t need me to issue a statement every time something happens.

You will be able to think Biblically for yourself

And of course, there are indeed absolutely massive world events that we will address because they have changed how 100% of people live.

Think like September 11th.

When COVID hit

But just so you have the right expectations, we’re going to make statements on the news here more like twice a decade than twice a month.

WEEKLY COMMENTARY WILL ONLY BECOME POINTLESS OR PARTISAN

I can tell that some of you are still not convinced, so let’s keep talking about this.

Because some of you are going, “Yeah, but when these things happen, I want to know what you as our pastor are thinking. We need to hear from you on these issues!”

But listen, if I do that (and I issue statements twice a month), in the end, it won’t give you what you want

This is our 3rd reason why we’re focused on the Bible not the news

WHY CHURCHES SHOULD PREACH THE BIBLE AND NOT THE NEWS

#1: The pulpit is for proclamation, not reaction

#2: Loudest & fastest is rarely the wisest

#3: Weekly commentary will only become pointless or partisan

Let me start with that first point…pointless.

How many of you love those statements that big corporations put out after controversial or big news events?

Oh…no one?

Why? Why don’t you like them?

Because they don’t say anything! They’ve been PR’d to death

And if you listen carefully, the statements that churches put out don’t say anything either.

“As a church, we condemn violence, and we think it’s wrong.”

I always think, is there actually anyone here wondering, “I wonder what Pastor David thinks about the murder of innocents? Is he against that or maybe for that?”

And so churches issue general statements, but let me let you behind the curtain and tell you what happens next.

People get upset that their church didn’t say more!

In fact, there are thousands of people leaving their churches right now because their church isn’t saying “MORE”

But what is more?

What people are looking for is actually a partisan answer. A political answer.

They want to listen carefully to what their church says, so they can tell if their church is on their political side.

I’ll tell you: For every big news story lately we get 10 angry emails of people who were frustrated that we didn’t make a statement, but know that we also get another 10 other emails thanking us for NOT making a statement.

And then when an issue happens on the other side of the spectrum, the same people who emailed us before and thanked us for not talking about it, now email us and ask why we didn’t talk about it…and vice versa!

What are they looking for?

They want to know: Do we fit with their political worldview?

Because if we don’t, then maybe this isn’t the church for them.

But I would ask you, “Are you letting your Biblical worldview shape your political worldview,” or have you perhaps flipped around your priorities…and now your political worldview is the main way by which you see life?

This is why I think one of the most dangerous movements in the church right now, are the Christian influencers and pundits who say, “If your church didn’t talk about “x” on Sunday, find a new church”

This is absolutely devasting for the church in America.

And it’s pure arrogance and pride.

This is precisely what Paul is warning Timothy about in our passage

Look at verse 4 again.

They are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 

This is the work of the devil in our country. It bears his trademark.

It’s full of “evil suspicions” as Paul writes

It was all in the text: strife, malicious talk.

Division

Division, quite frankly, on things that are NOT core issues in Christianity.

Look at me: If your influencer is telling you to leave a gospel-filled, Bible-believing church because they didn’t comment on their issue, maybe it’s not time to find a new church, maybe it’s time to find a new influencer

Listen, the devil is always going to work to divide us over issues that aren’t central to our faith.

Because when we are divided, we lose.

But I won’t divide us. I’ll keep taking heat from any side…because…

My allegiance is not to the donkey..

My allegiance is not to the elephant

My allegiance is to the lamb!

If you read the New Testament, you see that the Gospel unites people who would normally never sit next to each other: Jew & Gentile, Slave & Free, Rich and poor.

Even amongst Jesus disciples there was a tax collector for the Romans, and a zealot who wanted to end the Romans: total political opposites!

And I’m not saying “Every political worldview is equal, and Jesus sits perfectly in the center.”

No way. That’s not true either

Some of you have some really ungodly political views, and quite frankly you should dig deeper to see if they align with Scripture.

But here’s what I am saying, “If we comment on the news every month, and you want us to actually go beyond the eye-rolling boiler plate statements, it will end up becoming political.

Because the next step in taking a statement further is where you have to comment on solutions.

And solutions aren’t just moral or spiritual, but they have real-life, usually, political ramifications.

Which isn’t bad…

…but political solutions…

…can have multiple solutions that could each potentially still be Biblical

And political workings…

…are not the primary mission of the church

And that’s my 4th point.

POLITICS & MORALITY ARE NOT THE PRIMARY MISSION OF THE CHURCH

WHY CHURCHES SHOULD PREACH THE BIBLE AND NOT THE NEWS

#1: The pulpit is for proclamation, not reaction

#2: Loudest & fastest is rarely the wisest

#3: Weekly commentary will only become pointless or partisan

#4: Politics & morality are not the primary mission of the church

Now this isn’t to say that Christians shouldn’t be political.

I hope you are political. I hope you vote, and get involved.

I truly, truly hope that more of you run for office & your school board.

But we must not forget that the church’s driving mission, it’s primary mission, is the great commission in Matthew 28

It’s to go therefore and make disciples…to make followers of Jesus.

But we’re losing this in America, and my heart grieves for the American church right now.

Because there are thousands of churches that are entering into what is always (in church history) a deadly progression, and here’s the progression:

Many people in the church start clamoring every week for a statement on the latest issue.

And so the church gives it to them.

But it’s not enough (it’s too generic…and people can’t quite tell if it fits their political worldview”

And so the churches say more…but it leans a little political this time.

And some people leave.

But the rest of the people get really excited! “These are the pressing issues of the day,” they say!

And their church sounds more like the influencers and podcasters they’re used to

And the pastors love the excitement, and they begin to build their teaching around it…

And so the church begins to focus more on social issues and moral issues.

And their primary mission becomes diversity, or homelessness, or social justice, or traditional Biblical views on gender & sexuality, the family, or taking back our schools for God

But then every time, not quickly, often over 5, 10, even 15 years, churches that head down this progression…they die. Every time. EVERY…SINGLE…TIME. 100%

Why?

It’s because they inverted how the church is supposed to work.

If the church is a car, the gas in the car that makes the church go…is the gospel!

It’s the fact that we were all sinners, deserving of hell, but Jesus Christ, shockingly, came to die for us, and love us, and bring us to heaven!

And not only that, when we accept Christ as our Savior, we get the Holy Spirit in us, who empowers us!

And THAT love and presence of God right there…makes us want to change the world.

It gives us the gas to get going…

To go out and:

Spread the gospel

And make disciples

And yes, along the drive, we also work to:

Fight for justice

And restore our families

And yes, even make our country a better place

But it STARTS with the gospel. The gas in the car is the Gospel.

But when churches try and run (not on the gospel) but on moral and political issues…they always run out of gas. Every time.

And so at times I might drive some of you crazy.

And you’re going to want me to issue a statement like your favorite pundit or of your favorite podcaster.

But listen, I’m your pastor.

And I’m leading this CHURCH, not by the pattern of this world, but by the Pattern of the King

And I’m playing the long game

And we’re not gonna run out of gas.

We’re going to change the world by the power of the gospel.

Amen? Amen.