Preaching so as Not to Convert Anybody

A friend of mine sent the excerpt below to me. May all of us who preach or teach stay true to the word. The stuff below comes from The sermon is entitled "Creatures Born to be Killed, Part 2" and can be found at www.gracetoyou.com by John MacArthur.

____________________________________

"Over a hundred years ago, an article by Charles Finney was entitled, "Mastering the Art of Preaching so as to Convert Nobody." In it there were some ways to be sure you could preach so as to convert nobody. I paraphrased some of them. Here's a few.

Let your supreme motive be to secure your own popularity and success. If you preach that way you're not going to say anything to offend and if you don't offend you can't convert anybody. Aim at pleasing for money and sexual favors, rather than correcting for holiness. Let your sermons be literary, flowery, ornate, flowing beautifully so your hearers never remember the lack of content. Be sparing of thought lest your sermon contain enough truth to convert someone. Avoid preaching doctrines that are offensive to the carnal mind. Deal with sin in the abstract and make no allusion to the sins of your audience. Preach salvation by grace but ignore the condemned and lost condition of the sinner, lest he should understand what you mean by grace and sense his need of it. Make no appeal to the fears of sinners, but make the impression that they have no reason to fear, God loves them. Preach the love of God and ignore the holiness of His love. Do not rebuke the worldly tendencies of the church, lest you should hurt their feelings and convert some of them. Select your themes and so present them as to attract and flatter the wealthy, aristocratic, self-indulgent, extravagant, pleasure-seeking classes and you won't convert any of them to the cross-bearing religion of Christ. Ridicule solemn earnestness in pulling sinners out of the fire and recommend by precept or example that jovial, fun-loving religion and sinners will have little respect for serious preaching. Cultivate fastidious tastes in your people by avoiding all disagreeable allusions to the last judgment and final retribution. Treat old and uncomfortable doctrines as obsolete and out of place. And so exhibit religion as to encourage the selfish pursuit of it. Make the impression upon sinners that their own safety and happiness is the supreme motive of being religious. And see to it that you say nothing to any of your hearers to demean him or her, but only what is flattering.

That's the way they preach. You have to listen carefully to be able to discern it. Words full of nothing that convicts and nothing that converts. And nothing of truth that changes lives. And they entice, people are sucked up in masses to their empty wells."