Mistakes or Sin?

I heard a preacher recently say that he doesn't use the term "sin" in his messages. He prefers to call them "mistakes". Now I can understand how people don't like to be told they are "sinners" and that people like positive, uplifting messages. But to sugar-coat our offenses against God and merely refer to them as "mistakes" does a great disservice to people and eventually will do them more spiritual harm than good. God clearly revealed this to me with this passage I read recently:

The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The oracles they gave you were false and misleading.
Lamentations 2:14
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The problem with much preaching today is that it fails to expose people's sin, so that they can repent and ward off God's discipline or in the case of unbelievers, save themselves from hell by repenting and turning to Christ in faith. God is all about Hope, but delivering only positive messages that call sin "mistakes" leaves out a fundamental point of the gospel message - that we have all grossly offended God and it is for that reason that He had to send his son to die on the cross. Positive preaching without that element of truth is false, worthless, and misleading even though it makes people feel good.
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Jesus said "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?" Matt 16:26 I think an appropriate corollary to that in these days would be "What good will it be for a man if he feels good and is a positive person, yet forfeits his soul?" Let's preach a positive message of Hope and Grace, but only after the message of the depravity of our sinfulness.

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