If Not Doing It, Then Can't Preach It

I was having a study recently where the subject of divorce and remarriage came up. The lady I was studying with commented that her preacher certainly could not preach what Matt 19:9 says on that topic because he was divorced himself. This is sad but so true in many cases. When one who teaches the gospel is not practicing the gospel as he ought, not only will it hurt his influence among others (nobody will listen to a hypocrite, II Cor 8:21), but it usually also compromises his preaching.

As another example, if a preacher is not as heavily involved in personal evangelism as he ought, how can he consistently teach that all Christians need to be involved in such (Acts 8:4)?; he would just be condemning himself if he did so.

If a preacher watches modern TV shows, then how can he emphatically preach against watching trashy TV?; he is doing it himself.

If a preacher is not in the habit of warning his regular listening audience of what they need to change on (Acts 20:26-27,31, Ezek 3:18), then how can he effectively teach that other Bible teachers need to be regularly warning their listening audiences of what they need to change on? It is easy to preach about others who are not there.

If a preacher is spending most of his time running errands and what not, then how can he forcefully teach that Christians should be busy about the Lord’s work on a daily basis (Matt 9:37-38)?

If a preacher is not regularly out doing the good deeds Jesus emphasizes in Matt 25:31-46 (and deeds in the same category), then he can’t very well preach others should be doing such, can he?

Conclusion:  Not practicing what one preaches is exactly the kind of judging condemned by Matt 7:1-5.

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