The Problems of Preachers

1. Preacher's aren't "special" people.

1) Society has this idea that a preacher is a super-Christian.

2) This is largely due to the distinction that most make between "clergy" and "laity."

3) The Bible nowhere teaches that concept or distinction.

4) The Bible teaches that all Christians, regardless of their role, are equals before God.

5) 1 Peter 2:5 "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."

2. Just because a man becomes a preacher doesn't mean he stops being a man.

1) Preachers are susceptible to the same fleshly desires as anyone else.

2) 2 Corinthians 11:29 "Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?"

3) Preachers eat, sleep, drink, watch TV, listen to the radio, go to the bathroom, and many other "normal" things.

4) Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:4 "Have we not power to eat and to drink?"

5) Preachers have the same feelings as everyone else: happiness, sadness, fear, worry, courage, tranquility, turmoil, etc.

6) They have hopes, desires, dreams, aspirations.

7) Some preachers also have secular work.

8) Paul was a tentmaker according to Acts 18:3.

9) Preacher's need prayers.

10) 1 Thessalonians 5:25 "Brethren, pray for us."

3. Preachers get married and have families.

1) Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:5 "Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?"

2) Preachers' wives aren't any different than anyone else's wife.

3) They eat, sleep, and do domestic work; sometimes work outside the home.

4) Preacher's children often times don't even know that they are a "preacher's kid" though they are stereotyped that way often.

5) Their children eat, sleep, play, go to school, learn, study, and etc.

6) Preachers' families aren't really any different from other people's families.

4. Consider the example of Peter.

1) Matthew 8:4 says he had a mother-in-law; that means he was married. (See also 1 Cor.9:5).

2) Peter had children; we know this because he was an elder according to 1 Peter 5:1 and elders are required to have children ( 1 Timothy 3:4-5, Titus 1:6).

3) Peter was a fisherman ( John 21:3).

1. There is an expectation in society for preachers not to have problems.

1) For that reason, many preachers live in glass houses.

2) Many think that because of these expectations they have to be flawless.

3) This puts unwarranted pressure on the preacher and on his family.

4) 2 Corinthians 12:4 "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."

5) The preacher doesn't have to live up to other people's expectations.

2. Preachers often have personal problems.

1) Preachers are human; they make mistakes; they sometimes have bad judgment and sin.

a. In that regard, they fall under the same instruction as every other Christian.

b. If they sin, they must repent of their sin ( Acts 17:30, 2 Peter 3:9).

2) Preachers sometimes say things that they shouldn't; as do we all.

3) Preachers can have personal crises.

a. Preachers may be forgetful.

b. Sometimes they have mental problems: depression, hypochondria, anxiety, lack of self confidence.

c. They may get bored, lonely, angry, or frustrated.

d. Preachers can even lose faith.

4) Preachers can even have annoying personalities.

3. Preachers sometimes have family problems.

1) There may be problems in a preacher's marriage.

2) His wife may have personal problems.

3) Preachers aren't necessarily perfect parents.

4) Sometimes his children have problems in school, with others, or even discipline problems.

5) A preacher's family, marriage, and children aren't perfect just because he's a preacher.

6) A lot of times other people don't want to hang around a preacher's family because he is a preacher and this can cause problems in the home.

4. Again, let's consider what the Bible says about Peter's life.

1) Jesus rebuked Peter for tempting Him in Matthew 16:23 calling him "Satan."

2) Peter denied Jesus three times after saying he wouldn't ( Mark 14:72).

3) Peter swore and cursed ( Matthew 26:74).

4) Peter was a hypocrite ( Galatians 2:13).

5) He was prejudiced against his fellow man ( Acts 10, Galatians 2).

6) He was guilty of public nudity ( John 21:7).

7) He even spent time in prison ( Acts 12:5).

1. We need to understand some things about the relationship of the preacher to the gospel.

2. Regardless of how the preacher or his family behaves, the gospel is still the same; it doesn't change.

1) Some preachers aren't as loving as they ought to be toward their families.

2) Some preachers are lazy.

3) Some preachers are bad fathers.

4) Some preachers have been found guilty of terrible crimes.

5) The list could go on and on.

6) The gospel, however, doesn't change because a preacher does something wrong.

7) Galatians 1:6-9 "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."

3. The Preacher shouldn't be believed simply because he is the preacher, but because he preaches the truth.

1) There are many who put their faith in the preacher instead of putting their faith in God and His word.

2) The Bereans tested Paul's preaching. Acts 17:11 declares, "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so."

3) John wrote, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world" ( 1 John 4:1).

4) Paul said, "Prove all things; hold fast to that which is good" ( 1 Thessalonians 5:21).

4. Expect a preacher to be a Christian, but don't expect him to be anything more than just that.

1) A preacher ought not to be a Christian because he is a preacher, but a preacher because he is a Christian.

2) John tells us that we all will sin. 1 John 1:8 "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."

3) Yes, a preacher has an obligation to examine his life to make sure he is living according to how he is preaching

4) 1 Timothy 4:16 says "Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee."

5) But all Christians have an obligation to examine themselves.

6) 2 Corinthians 13:5 "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?"

7) A preacher's life ought to be an open book, but so ought the lives of all Christians to be.