Christian preachers must always ensure that whatever topic they preach about always comes back to love. This even applies when speaking about very difficult subjects such as sin, where the preacher has an obligation to all that are listening to call out sin as sin. The famous saying “love the sinner, hate the sin” is famous for a reason. A preachers job is to love. However, if a preacher does not correct a sinner and call out sin as sin, is he showing love? Would it be an expression of love to ignore or hide from a subject that may have eternal consequences to those who need to hear his message? Inversely, would it be effective to preach to the sinner with anger, hate and vitriol? Would such preaching reach a sinner and compel them to change their behavior?
The message of love is one of patience, kindness, and long suffering. The message of love is not one of envy or boasting, it is not a message of pride, nor is it self-seeking, angry or resentful. A message of love always rejoices in the truth, it always protects, always trusts, and always is a message of hope. The message of love always perseveres and will never fail. Love is not just a concept that Jesus talked about. It is THE message that Jesus lived and died for us to hear, learn and live. There is no harder endeavor than to truly love your enemy in this way. A preacher must consider that his audience may often be like minded members of his congregation, however, there are others with varying opinions, feelings and thoughts. If he is to persuade those that hear his message, including his enemies, he must always preach love.