Ugh. A dangerous man. Full of himself but (apparently) entirely blind to the fact that he is. Listen to how he starts his sermon. Is it Christ he lifts up? Is it God to whom he immediately directs his audience? Is it the word of God that Paul delivers to his listeners? No, it is first to
himself that Paul draws attention; how
he will preach; what his audience will do in reaction to
his words; what question
he wants them to ask in response to his sermon; what danger
he stands under as a preacher; how
he shares in the authority of God as a preacher, etc. And then, he goes on to distinguish
himself from his audience, not by explaining his conformity to God's Truth, but by consigning all of his listeners to the category of false convert and himself to that of the sole true child of God because they live in North American and he's a missionary to distant countries.
God's word preached in the power of the Holy Spirit needs nothing else. Not yelling, not finger-pointing, not critical comparisons - just God at work through a human vessel that has got out of His way, that has vacated the limelight, so that
Christ may be seen.
God's word is a hammer, a piercing sword, a fire, and cleansing water, not a preacher's rants against the culture, not denigrating comparisons to other Christians, not a dire tone. It is
the Holy Spirit who convicts, who illuminates, who draws the sinner to repentance, confession and submission (
John 16:8; John 14:26; John 6:44; Galatians 5:22-25), not "shock preaching." Nothing of a preacher is required but that he be a holy, faithful, Christ-loving conduit through which these things -
Scripture and Spirit - are communicated.
It's bizarre to me that Washer criticizes "false fire," never giving any hint that he recognizes that his own homiletic histrionics are the very thing he's criticized. Wow. And then he states that "there is no such thing as a carnal Christian." The apostle Paul begs to differ:
1 Corinthians 3:1
1 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as carnal babes in Christ.
These same brethren (
1 Corinthians 7:24, 29, 1 Coritnthians 10:1 1 Corinthians 11:2, etc.), guilty of allowing gross sexual sin in their midst (
1 Corinthians 5, 6;9-20), of being divisive, litigious, partisan, and selfish (
1 Corinthians 6, 11), Paul called "God's field and building," "God's temple" and the possession of Christ (
1 Corinthians 3:19, 16, 23; 6:19-20).
Galatians 3:1-3
1 You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
2 This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
Here, Paul the apostle criticized the fleshly - that is, carnal - means by which the believers in the province of Galatia were attempting to be believers. Carnal though they were in this regard, they were still, in the apostle Paul's view, nonetheless fellow born-again believers.
Consider, too, the words of the Holy Spirit through the apostle John to the churches of Sardis and Laodicea in Asia Minor:
Revelation 3:1-2
1 "To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: 'I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
2 'Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.
Revelation 3:15-18
15 'I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.
16 'So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.
17 'Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,
18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.
Though these congregations of
Christians were in horrible shape spiritually, even though terrible carnality characterized their communities, they were
still churches of God whose "lampstands" had not been removed.
In making his case for holiness, then, Paul Washer denies the plain statement of Scripture and in so doing shows himself the very "false prophet" he challenged his audience to see if he was. Of course, since he was speaking to kids, most of whom he seems to think aren't even saved, it was very easy to foist this mistaken "no carnal Christian" stuff on them.
I appreciate that Washer wants to encourage holiness on his young audience. I'm glad to hear a man preach about Christians "examining themselves whether they be in the faith." But Washer's methods of doing so have way too much of Paul Washer in them and not nearly enough Spirit and Scripture.
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