I receive a copy of the Sword of the Lord at my office. I have never subscribed to it, but it comes anyway (I think the former pastor at this church must have had a subscription that continues here). This latest issue (Vol. LXXX, No. 25 - December 5, 2014), features quite possibly the worst sermon I have ever seen in print.
Beginning on the front page, the sermon by John N. Hamblin entitled "Get You Unto the Great Men" falls so far short of biblical preaching that is not even a sermon by the time it finishes on page 18. Hamblin ignored the context of his text verse so completely that he actually preached the opposite of what it means. What sickens me is that I cannot bring myself to believe that he did this by accident. The true interpretation of the passage is too obvious.
Let me give you a description of the sermon.
Title: "Get You Unto the Great Men"
Text: Jeremiah 5:5
"I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of God:
but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds."
Subject: Honoring the outstanding men of generations past
Structure: Inductive - Subject/completion
Introduction:
Hamblin draws attention to the fact that some people today are besmirching the ministries and legacies of great preachers of the past. He does a nice job setting up the subject by observing that past leaders in secular spheres of life are honored (Albert Einstein - Science, George Washington - History, Sam Snead - Golf, Babe Ruth - Baseball, etc.), but in stark contrast, spiritual leaders of the past are not recognized.
Outline:
The body of the "sermon" suggests three ways in which Hamblin wants people to join him in honoring "great men" (preachers)
of the past.
I. Commend their Faithfulness
II. Concentrate on their Focus (Seriously? Sometimes alliteration can go irrevocably wrong!)
III. Continue their Fight
Now I'm all for honoring great preachers of the past generations (although Hamblin's "past" seems not to extend more than 70 years), but I have two problems with this sermon: (1) The "sermon" seeks to fix our eyes on men for inspiration to serve. That may not be Hamblin's intent (in fact, I really don't think he means it that way), but it comes across that way. It seems to say, "You ought to be like Tom Malone or Curtis Hutson." It ought to say, "Cast yourself upon Christ and beg Him to use you in His service!" (2) My biggest problem with this sermon is that it teaches the polar opposite of the text from which it was preached.
I want to explain what I mean about my second problem with this sermon. Let's look at this verse in its context, and then ask one exegetical question. The question we need to ask is this: "Who are the great men that Jeremiah is talking about?"
Jeremiah 5 is similar to Abraham's intercession for Sodom and Gomorrah. (Abraham begs God to spare them if He can find 10 righteous people living there). Here, the Lord tells Jeremiah to search Jerusalem for one man who "executeth judgment" and "seeks truth" (5:1). If the prophet can find at least one such person, God will "pardon" the city (5:1).
So Jeremiah searches and cannot find any such man. But he comes up with an excuse for them. Jeremiah says, "Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God" (5:4). In other words, Jeremiah says, "I went to the poor and uneducated people, and they are ignorant of God's ways. That's why they are living in sin and idolatry."
Having come to that conclusion, Jeremiah says, "You know what? Since I can't find a righteous man among the poor and unlearned of Jerusalem, I should go to the upper class. I should search among the rich and educated of Jerusalem. Surely, these 'great men' will know the way of the Lord because they have had all the advantages of education and learning."
We find Jeremiah's decision to go to the upper class in Hamblin's text verse (Jeremiah 5:5) "I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke and burst the bonds." If you read the rest of this chapter (or this entire section of Jeremiah which extends from chapter 3 through chapter 6), you will find that Jeremiah did not find a righteous man among the "great men" either.
Here is what the LORD told Jeremiah about those "great men" he was going to seek out: "As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich. They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? (Jeremiah 5:27-29).
Let's sum this up.
Jeremiah says, "I know I can find some righteous men among the "great men" (educated, upper-class).
The LORD says, "No you can't. In fact, they're worse than those poor, ignorant people you just visited!"
Hamblin says, "This passage teaches us to look to the "great men."
Who were the great men of Jeremiah 5:5? They were the educated, God-hating, unjust, oppressive idolaters who incurred the wrath of God!
I am an Independent, Fundamental Baptist. This makes me sick! Shame on you, Sword of the LORD! Shame on you for boldly declaring that you love and preach God's Word while you preach and publish the opposite of what it says!!!!
Your thoughts, FFF?
Beginning on the front page, the sermon by John N. Hamblin entitled "Get You Unto the Great Men" falls so far short of biblical preaching that is not even a sermon by the time it finishes on page 18. Hamblin ignored the context of his text verse so completely that he actually preached the opposite of what it means. What sickens me is that I cannot bring myself to believe that he did this by accident. The true interpretation of the passage is too obvious.
Let me give you a description of the sermon.
Title: "Get You Unto the Great Men"
Text: Jeremiah 5:5
"I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of God:
but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds."
Subject: Honoring the outstanding men of generations past
Structure: Inductive - Subject/completion
Introduction:
Hamblin draws attention to the fact that some people today are besmirching the ministries and legacies of great preachers of the past. He does a nice job setting up the subject by observing that past leaders in secular spheres of life are honored (Albert Einstein - Science, George Washington - History, Sam Snead - Golf, Babe Ruth - Baseball, etc.), but in stark contrast, spiritual leaders of the past are not recognized.
Outline:
The body of the "sermon" suggests three ways in which Hamblin wants people to join him in honoring "great men" (preachers)
of the past.
I. Commend their Faithfulness
II. Concentrate on their Focus (Seriously? Sometimes alliteration can go irrevocably wrong!)
III. Continue their Fight
Now I'm all for honoring great preachers of the past generations (although Hamblin's "past" seems not to extend more than 70 years), but I have two problems with this sermon: (1) The "sermon" seeks to fix our eyes on men for inspiration to serve. That may not be Hamblin's intent (in fact, I really don't think he means it that way), but it comes across that way. It seems to say, "You ought to be like Tom Malone or Curtis Hutson." It ought to say, "Cast yourself upon Christ and beg Him to use you in His service!" (2) My biggest problem with this sermon is that it teaches the polar opposite of the text from which it was preached.
I want to explain what I mean about my second problem with this sermon. Let's look at this verse in its context, and then ask one exegetical question. The question we need to ask is this: "Who are the great men that Jeremiah is talking about?"
Jeremiah 5 is similar to Abraham's intercession for Sodom and Gomorrah. (Abraham begs God to spare them if He can find 10 righteous people living there). Here, the Lord tells Jeremiah to search Jerusalem for one man who "executeth judgment" and "seeks truth" (5:1). If the prophet can find at least one such person, God will "pardon" the city (5:1).
So Jeremiah searches and cannot find any such man. But he comes up with an excuse for them. Jeremiah says, "Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God" (5:4). In other words, Jeremiah says, "I went to the poor and uneducated people, and they are ignorant of God's ways. That's why they are living in sin and idolatry."
Having come to that conclusion, Jeremiah says, "You know what? Since I can't find a righteous man among the poor and unlearned of Jerusalem, I should go to the upper class. I should search among the rich and educated of Jerusalem. Surely, these 'great men' will know the way of the Lord because they have had all the advantages of education and learning."
We find Jeremiah's decision to go to the upper class in Hamblin's text verse (Jeremiah 5:5) "I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke and burst the bonds." If you read the rest of this chapter (or this entire section of Jeremiah which extends from chapter 3 through chapter 6), you will find that Jeremiah did not find a righteous man among the "great men" either.
Here is what the LORD told Jeremiah about those "great men" he was going to seek out: "As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich. They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? (Jeremiah 5:27-29).
Let's sum this up.
Jeremiah says, "I know I can find some righteous men among the "great men" (educated, upper-class).
The LORD says, "No you can't. In fact, they're worse than those poor, ignorant people you just visited!"
Hamblin says, "This passage teaches us to look to the "great men."
Who were the great men of Jeremiah 5:5? They were the educated, God-hating, unjust, oppressive idolaters who incurred the wrath of God!
I am an Independent, Fundamental Baptist. This makes me sick! Shame on you, Sword of the LORD! Shame on you for boldly declaring that you love and preach God's Word while you preach and publish the opposite of what it says!!!!
Your thoughts, FFF?
