Dear Pastor V,

I’ve been thinking about our conversation the other day regarding some of the struggles you’re experiencing at church. Please know that I’m praying for you and asking the Lord to give you wisdom, encouragement, and fruit in your ministry.

You asked what I believe needs to change if we desire to see more genuine life transformation and more people come to faith in Christ. I certainly don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I recently came across a passage in Richard Sibbes’ classic The Bruised Reed that has stayed with me. I wanted to pass it along because I believe it speaks directly to something that is often missing, not only in our churches, but perhaps in much of Bible Belt and mainline American Christianity.

Sibbes writes that “men, for the most part, are not lost enough in their own feeling for a Savior (p. 14).” Those words struck me. His point is simple yet profound: we will never truly see Christ for who He is until we first see ourselves for who we are . . . lost, helpless, and in desperate need of His grace.

I believe this has significant implications for our preaching. We certainly are not called to preach people into despair while withholding the hope of the gospel. The light of God’s grace must always shine brightly. At the same time, if we proclaim the gospel without first exposing the reality of sin through God’s law, we fail to present the whole counsel of God. People must understand their need before they can appreciate the sufficiency of Christ.

As we often say at our church, “You’ve got to get lost before you can get saved.” That is not a call for emotional manipulation or psychological pressure. Rather, it is a recognition that genuine conviction is the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit through the faithful preaching of God’s Word.

Jesus Himself made this point when He said,

“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”— Mark 2:17 (ESV)

He spoke those words to people who believed they were spiritually healthy. Their greatest problem was not that they were too sinful to come to Christ, but that they were too self-righteous to realize they needed Him.

Likewise, Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount with these words:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
— Matthew 5:3 (ESV)

Before anyone can embrace the riches of Christ, they must first recognize their own spiritual bankruptcy. The kingdom belongs to those who know they have nothing to offer God apart from His mercy.

Perhaps this is one of the areas where our preaching must recover biblical balance. We must faithfully preach both law and gospel. The law exposes our sin and drives us to the end of ourselves; the gospel reveals the grace of Christ that alone can save. When the Spirit uses both, hearts are humbled, Christ is exalted, and genuine conversions follow.

I’m praying for you, brother. May the Lord continue to strengthen your hands, encourage your heart, and use your faithful preaching to bring many to saving faith in Christ.

Paul P.