March 20, 2021

Do Nothing Sermons

Please beware of the do nothing sermon. I cringe a little bit every time I come across what I call a "do nothing sermon”. The do nothing sermon preaches that there is nothing we can do to save ourselves. Good points can usually be gleaned from do nothing sermons, such as the goodness of God's grace and the downfalls of pride. But most of the time, do nothing sermons either deny or ignore the fact that Jesus Christ teaches us to keep His commands. Or they will preach that keeping His commands is wrong, being works and self-righteous.

The do nothing sermon often states the obvious about being unable to force our way into Heaven without God's approval and not being entitled to salvation because of anything we do or who we are. If you listen long enough, the do nothing sermon usually ends up contradicting itself by preaching that we do need to repent, be baptized using their special technique, or continue supporting their church with various things including money and tithes. I'm not denying the importance of repentance, baptism or tithes. I'm just saying that the do nothing sermon usually ends up being confusing because they preach that we do nothing EXCEPT for this or that. Either we do nothing to be saved or we do something to be saved. Which is it?

Maybe one day I will come across a do nothing sermon that finally makes sense to me. Until then, while listening to do nothing sermons, I will remind myself that Jesus Christ says to keep His commands:

"Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me..." -John 14:21

Thanks be to God,