Preach the Word. Show Your Hand.

Watch J.D. Greear’s video here: https://x.com/i/status/1976289647023047093

In theory, I don’t disagree with J.D. Greear. The gospel is, and always will be, the central message of the church. It is the power of God unto salvation. Every sermon, every ministry, every mission should be saturated with it.

But in practice, something has gone terribly wrong.

Then came 2020. And the mask came off.

When lockdowns hit, riots erupted, and cultural revolutions accelerated, congregations began to see where their pastors truly stood. Theological slogans gave way to practical convictions.

Conservative believers who had faithfully sat under their pastors’ teaching suddenly realized their shepherds viewed the world through an entirely different lens. They discovered that “gospel only” often meant “don’t rock the boat.”

Even the watching world took notice. It became painfully obvious that many in the pulpit sounded further left than the average secular neighbor.

This revelation didn’t push people away from the church because it was “too political.” It pushed them away because it was too dishonest.

Today, both the church and the culture demand clarity before they’ll grant a hearing to our gospel. People are no longer content with generic statements about “love” and “grace.” They want to know — do you believe that truth is objective? That life begins at conception? That God created male and female? That Jesus is the only way?

These aren’t side issues. They are worldview foundations.

And those of us who answer plainly are immediately branded “Christian Nationalists,” “fundamentalists,” or worse. But the alternative — avoiding every real-world issue Scripture addresses — is not humility. It’s cowardice.

To sidestep moral clarity in the name of “unity” or “focus on the gospel” is to shrink from declaring what is profitable for the people of God.

To subtly weave progressive ideology into a “gospel only” message is deception, plain and simple.

The Apostle Paul championed the gospel above all, yet he never hid from hard truth. In Acts 20:20 he said, “I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable.” That’s the model — truth without apology, conviction without compromise, grace without cowardice.

The world has moved past the days when “gospel only” could serve as a safe cloak for silence. We’re in a time when every believer — and certainly every preacher — must make plain what they believe about the world God made and the Word God gave.

Time is short. The stakes are eternal.

So preach the Word.
Show your hand.
And let God handle the fallout.

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