In yesterday’s devotional, I used Romans 13:7. “Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.” Paul conveys this thought in a different context to Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:17. “Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.”
Most Christians have a favorite preacher. One of mine was Adrian Rogers, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, TN. He pastored the church from 1972 until his retirement in March 2005. By November of that same year, Pastor Rogers was home with the Lord following complications of pneumonia that stemmed from his colon cancer treatments.
What got me thinking about him was a series of Instagram reels highlighting points he made in his sermons. He alliterated all of his points, including most of the sayings throughout his sermons. He had a folksy but blunt way of conveying the truth. They were called Adrianisms.
Pastor Rogers deserves Biblical honor. He is worthy of double honor because he faithfully labored in the Word and doctrine. Never once did his message capitulate to the liberal leanings in the Southern Baptist Convention. Instead, he stood for true fundamental tenets of the faith.
For the remainder of the devotional, I’d like to just share some of his sermon points that I’ve seen on Instagram. Each quote comes from a different sermon. While they don’t flow as a single sermon, they show you the heart of a man that faithfully preached for 33 years from his Tennessee pulpit. I hope they will be a blessing to you and impact you as they have impacted me.
“Never, never, never, never minimize bringing souls to Jesus Christ. There is no substitute. And if this church moves away from evangelism, it signs its death warrant. A church exists by evangelism like a fire exists by burning.”
“Many churches are not telling people how to be saved. They’re telling people to do good, to feed the homeless, to clothe the naked, to heal the sick. And folks, that is wonderful and that is good. And if you’re saved, you ought to do those things. But that is not the Gospel. If you do that and don’t preach the Gospel, all you’re doing is making the world a better place to go to hell from… There is no social Gospel, there is only a saving Gospel.”
“Do you want the key to understanding the Gospel? The key to understanding the Bible is to look for Jesus in the Bible. Jesus is the hero of the Bible. If you read the Bible and don’t find Jesus, reread it. The Bible has one hero. His name is Jesus. One villain, his name is Satan. One problem, that is sin. One solution, that is salvation. One Savior, that is Jesus. That is what the Bible is all about.”
“Now, Jesus held the highest view of the Bible. We have some today tell us, “Well, the Bible is inspired in spots.” And they think they’re inspired to spot the spots. Friend, I want to tell you, if you can’t trust all of it as God originally gave it, you cannot trust any of it. Jesus said, “Not one jot or a tittle shall fail from the law till it all be fulfilled.””
“If you are bound to sin, you are bound to suffer. Just as surely as you put your uncovered hand on a hot stove, you’re going to be burned. If you’re bound to sin, you’re bound to suffer. But you will not suffer alone. The Bible says that no man lives to himself and no man dies to himself. Your sin, my friend, will affect other people. Private sin is never really private.”
“Now I heard someone say that the most important thing is the economy. And most Americans evidently believe that. As a matter of fact, it’s been sloganized, “It’s the economy, stupid.”” Well, is it the economy? Is that the most important issue? I thought about that, and friend, I had rather leave my children and my grandchildren the legacy of a Godly nation than great wealth to be squandered in a Godless society. And I don’t believe it is the economy. I believe it is what God said it is. It is righteousness that is our great need.”
“Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” (Proverbs 14:34)
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