For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, “Violence and destruction!”
For the word of the LORD has become for me a reproach and derision all day long.
If I say, “I will not mention Him, or speak any more in His name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.”
Jeremiah 20:8-9
It is one thing to overflow with wanting to preach good news. It’s another thing to feel the burden to preach the bad news as well.
To be very sure, there are some preachers—unfaithful preachers—who pridefully love preaching the bad news. They are more excited to pile on sinful burdens and fear on people than they are to remove the burdens (Gal. 6:1-2) and proclaim the love of God (1 Jn. 4:18). They think that this type of fear is what will promote obedience.
But, this kind of preaching changes no one. These men significantly lack the sweetness of the good news that actually transforms people. They lack placarding Christ before their eyes so that they might be melted by His grace and transformed into His image (2 Cor 3:18)
The bad news is always in context. And that context is always the gospel of grace. Faithful preaching preaches the bad news and the good news.
But, this means that faithful preaching of the good news means preaching the bad news
The oft-quoted text above in Jeremiah 20 is typically used today for the desire of preaching the good news. This is necessary! If there is no burden to preach the love of God in Christ then the calling is most unsure. And a significant part of that burden is to proclaim Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:1-2). But, the calling to preach is also the God-sent burden to preach all the news—including the bad news. This is the context of Jeremiah 20.
Jeremiah has felt the hatred of others upon him for preaching the full gospel. Judah only wanted good news—comforting news. They didn’t want to be convicted, shamed, or exposed. We read in Jeremiah 20:2 that Pashhur the priest beat Jeremiah and put him in the stocks for preaching the bad news. This is way worse than having mean tweets about you. The people to whom God has sent him to warn them about their sin and looming destruction—the people to whom Jeremiah has been passionately preaching to turn from their sins and embrace Yahweh’s grace—those same people are the ones who regularly reject, mock, shame, persecute, and beat him.
This is the context of Jeremiah’s famous statement about preaching in 20:9. And what does he say? He says that he can’t not preach the full gospel which includes bad news and good news. Yes, I know that was a double negative sentence but that was purposeful. The temptation of Jeremiah was to be ashamed of the gospel (Rom. 1:16) and to not preach the bad news which makes that good news so good. But, Jeremiah says he can’t be silent about that. He can’t not preach that.
The problem is that if he leaves this out: 1) God won’t be glorified. 2) Sin won’t be repented of. And, 3) The Messiah won’t be believed in.
Isn’t this true today? How frequently people want preachers to not preach all of God’s word. Some people don’t want to hear about how horribly heinous sin is. They prefer to talk about it only as sickness, brokenness, and unfulfilling. They don’t want to hear the preacher say that they are wicked (Gen. 6:5). They don’t want to hear that sin is not merely their actions but their heart and nature (Mark 7:14-23; Rom. 5:6-11; Eph. 2:1-3). They don’t want to hear about God’s wrath being revealed against all ungodliness (Rom. 1:18-32). They don’t want to hear about how worldliness is enmity with God (1 Jn. 2:15-17). They don’t want to hear that the Bible does demand their total worldview (Rom. 12:1-2).
And what preachers must remember is that it’s not merely the listeners but the preacher too. How often do we see preachers (because we are sinners too) who shirk from preaching all God’s word because of the idolatry of wanting a following or wanting to be liked. We have lingering sin that must be put to death. Certainly Jeremiah would’ve felt this tension within his own saint-sinner heart.
Nevertheless, Jeremiah knows that if he shuts up about God’s wrath then the message will be like a fire shut up in his bones. He doesn’t have the desire to make people feel bad just to make them feel bad. He has the desire to see them repent. He has the desire to see them be transformed. Ultimately, he has the desire to see God glorified.
This is why the primary motivation for preaching must be the glory of God. That must be the greatest burden of the preacher. Even as a younger preacher, from all different ages of people, I have felt this pressure of not preaching all God’s Word. I’ve felt it from within my heart and without from others. I’ve felt it from within the church and without the church. But I have also noticed that in the moment I begin to ponder about being quiet (i.e. watering down, leaving out, neglecting, lacking full biblical definitions, etc.) that the Lord mercifully sends me the fire shut up within.
It’s not fun to preach bad news. Preachers sit under their own preaching. We’re preaching to ourselves too (even when we use “you” language). We see the facial expressions. We hear the comments. We witness the people leaving to never come back. But, it’s God’s message, not ours. It’s God’s gospel, not ours. We are to preach all of it (Jer. 1:17) the way He would have us preach it. That means that we say what He says the way He says it with the intended response the way He would have us respond.
But, we ought never to be ashamed. For the gospel—which the bad news is part of—is God’s omnipotence for salvation. Salvation is not merely for conversion but also for sanctification. Therefore, if you want to see people converted and changed then be like Jeremiah and preach “everything” that God commands you. It is only then that people will see the beauty of Jesus and the amazing grace of the gospel.