One of the Goodwin recordings embarrassed me.

     Don and Beverly Davis had sent it to me.  It was mixed in with all the other CD's.  This recording had no date on it.  The label simply said, 6-27-1965.  I wondered what this recording would be about.  I listened to it, taking notes and trying to think of how to categorize it.  There was nothing on it about the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts, healing, miracles, or faith.  I kept listening and listening, wondering when Dad Goodwin would quit preaching against sin and get to the point.

     Then it hit me.

      That was the point!

     This was a message Dad Goodwin was preaching against sin.

     My God.  I realized that in 26 years of attending Word of Faith and Charismatic churches, this was the first sermon I could recall hearing in which a preacher warned that a holy God will judge our sin.

     I've heard the comment, "Well, if you preach against sin, you'll have plenty of it because you will have what you say."

     Now, confronted with a genuine message against sin preached by a man of high morals, strong anointing, and filled with faith, that old comment seemed foolishly empty.

     I began to believe it was the wisdom of God that this CD had no title.  It needs no title.  Warning believers of the consequences of sin, and of God's judgment of sin, should be a message as common in our churches as the dates on a calendar.  So I left it with no title, just a date:   "6-27-1965."  You can listen to it, if you've got the guts, by clicking on that link.

     We want the faith and Glory that Wigglesworth, Carter, and the Goodwins walked in, but we forget that along with teaching faith and the things of the Spirit, they preached consistently against the dangers of sin.

     I pointed out to a very substantial man of God one time the fact that we no longer preach against sin, and warn of its consequences.  He acknowledged this is true, but added that years ago he had heard sin preached too hard, so hard that it drove everyone away.  He feared repeating that mistake.  I understand and agree with his concern.  The truth is that some of our Pentecostal forefathers preached it too hard, too hot, too straight, and too narrow.  They preached such a level of extreme sinlessness that they themselves could not measure up to it, and the process just put everyone under condemnation.  That was a mistake.  But to abandon entirely preaching against sin is just as great of a mistake.

     God knows we are merely human.  He doesn't expect super-human holiness from us.  Knowing we have no righteousness or holiness of our own, He desires to provide us with His righteousness and holiness, that we may rise up on a higher spiritual level and walk with Him in the Glory:

     " . . . they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ . . ." Romans 5:17. 

     However, God also said through the Prophet Isaiah,

     "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet and tell My people their transgression. . . "  Isa. 58:1.

     Not only are we leaders responsible to tell people of the righteousness and the blessings, but we are required also to live holy lives and warn the saints of the penalty of sin.

   In the next article in this series, we will examine the sin of refusing to judge.  To access this article, please click on the title in the left column, or click: