Preaching Hard Truth to Break Hard Hearts — C.H. Spurgeon

Spurgeon,

In the beginning, the preacher’s business is not to convert men, but the very reverse! It is idle to attempt to heal those who are not wounded, to attempt to clothe those who have never been stripped and to make those rich who have never realized their poverty.

As long as the world stands, we shall need the Holy Spirit, not only as the Comforter, but also as the Convincer, who will “reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” I am inclined to think that the large number of backsliders who, after they have professed to be converted, turn back to the world, may be accounted for by the fact that they never seriously felt their guilt and were never brought low by the work of the Holy Spirit convicting them of sin.

Give me the old-fashioned form of conversion in which our fathers rejoice. I have lived long enough to see people jump into what they call salvation, and jump out of it as men plunge into a cold bath when they get up in the morning! Here is a person with a diseased leg. The doctor has looked at the limb, but he has not used his knife, he has not cut out the proud flesh—but he has applied a liniment and an ointment—and he has made a wonderful cure!

Marvelous are the healing powers of the clever man. According to common reports he is in high repute everywhere around. Yes, so he may be, but that limb will never be right again—the surgeon has done a permanent injury to it under the pretense of having rendered its owner a great service.

I believe that some men who are said to have been converted many times need to be converted now—and that multitudes of those who are trumpeted forth as having found the Savior do not yet know why they need a Savior and have not really found Him—but have exercised presumption in the place of faith and a belief in their own excited feelings instead of in the Lord Jesus Christ!

It must be so, I am sure, because we constantly see, on all hands, men who have been washed into deeper stains and who are worse after their so-called conversion than they were before. There must be, dear Friends, a probing of men’s hearts with the Law of God before we can rightly bring to them the healing of the Gospel.

Old Robbie Flockhart’s simile was a good one. He said, “You may take a piece of silk thread and try to sew with it as long as you like, but you will do nothing with it, alone—you need a sharp, piercing needle to go, first, and that will draw the silken thread after it. The needle of the Law of God prepares the way for the thread of the Gospel.”

There must be birth-pangs, or there will be no child born. The old-fashioned Grace of repentance is not to be dispensed with—there must be sorrow for sin—there must be “a broken and a contrite heart.” This, God will not despise. But a “conversion” which does not produce this result, God will not accept as genuine.

So we shall still continue to preach the Law of God. We shall thunder out the terrors of the Lord. We shall not be fashionable and popular, and prophesy smooth things lest our labor should be declared to have been in vain when the Lord shall come.

I charge all Brothers who are anxious for the true conversion of sinners, to be sometimes a little back ward in dealing out comfort to them. Wait till you see that it is really needed! Wait till you perceive that there is a wound before you apply the healing balm.

Until people are willing to confess their sins, you have no ground upon which you can comfort them. It is the man who “confesses and forsakes them” who “shall have mercy.” Christ is a sinner’s Savior and if a man is not a sinner, Christ has no salvation for him.

Until he will take the sinner’s place and frankly acknowledge his guilt, what is the use of preaching to him? Remember Christ’s own words—“They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Expository Preaching and “Proclaiming Christ”

In addition to providing content which explores a wide range of pertinent and contemporary theological issues, the Reformed Forum has sought to provide specific biblical content, particularly through its program “Proclaiming Christ.” In Proclaiming Christ we talk about preaching. We began the program with four foundational episodes that discussed the nature and purpose of preaching as well as some hermeneutical guidelines for the task. We then went on to our primary task: applying those principles to specific biblical texts – namely, the book of Genesis.

Having just recorded a couple more episodes, I wanted to answer this question: how do we actually define preaching – specifically expository preaching – the kind that seeks to bring to light the truth of the text? Many representative definitions have been offered. Haddon Robinson’s classic Biblical Preaching defines it as “the communication of a biblical concept, derived from and transmitted through a historical, grammatical, and literary study of a passage in its context, which the Holy Spirit first applies to the personality and experience of the preacher, then through him to his hearers.”(1) Sidney Greidanus comes closer by defining it: “handling the text ‘in such a way that its real and essential meaning as it existed in the mind of the particular biblical writer and as it existed in the light of the over-all context of Scripture is made plain and applied to the present-day needs of the hearers.’”(2) Brian Chapell defines it as “a message whose structure and thought are derived from a biblical text, that covers the scope of the text, and that explains the features and context of the text in order to disclose the enduring principles for faithful thinking, living, and worship intended by the Spirit, who inspired the text.”(3) Graeme Goldsworthy notes that some have suggested that the term “expository” should be dropped altogether in favor simply of “biblical” preaching.(4) I’m not convinced of this myself as the moniker “biblical” is claimed by more positions on preaching than there are flavors of Baskin Robbins. But the point is well taken that if we are to expose the text then “we must then proceed to ask how the meaning of the text is thus exposed.”(5)

With that in mind, allow me to propose a definition of expository preaching – one that seeks neither to be too restrictive nor too broad, but yet one that fills what I consider to be a gap in many contemporary definitions. A hat tip here to Jim Cassidy for helping me not make this definition too cumbersome.

Expository preaching is the Spirit empowered proclamation of God’s herald in which the text of Scripture is revealed not only in its original context, but in its consummate redemptive purpose, as it sets forth the person and work of Christ, with a view to the salvation of souls and the enabling of believers to live out its message.

This is the definition out of which I work in preaching, and also what I trust comes through in Proclaiming Christ. Not all of the panelists of the program might necessarily adhere to this definition particularly, but I do think it describes the general sentiments of the program. We seek to bring to light the truth of the text itself and expose the listener to that text’s specific content as it is revealed within its context and place in the canon, and fulfilled as part of the Scriptural whole.

I’d like to walk through each element of this definition, and hope later to offer further thoughts on one particular aspect: the eschatological or “consummate redemptive purpose” dimension. I welcome your feedback.

Spirit Empowered

The most crucial element in preparation and proclamation is the materially invisible but spiritually indispensable empowerment of the Spirit. That same Spirit who moved upon the original creation bringing it to life (Gen. 1:2), also moves upon the new creation bringing life as the word of God begins to work (John 3:8; 6:63; I Peter 1:12). The Spirit stirs the message in the heart of the preacher (Luke 24:49; Acts 17:16; 18:25), illumines his understanding (I Cor. 2:10; John 16:13), empowers the preaching (Micah 3:8; Acts 1:8; I Cor. 2:4; I Thess. 1:5), convicts and converts the sinner (John 3:5; James 1:18; I John 5:6-11), and enables the believer’s walk (I Peter 1:2; Eph. 3:16; Gal. 5:22). In light of voluminous biblical data, preaching without the Spirit’s empowerment is hopeless folly, preaching with it is boundless efficacy.

The Proclamation of God’s Herald

Expository preaching is not a matter of offering a subjective opinion, but making an authoritative declaration. Khrussw, the most prominent New Testament word for preaching, predominantly speaks of the announcement of a herald, (6) stressing the message as a thing which is given to the messenger, and not sourced in his own authority (John 3:1; Matt 12:41; I Tim 2:7).(7) Functionally related to Khrussw, euaggelizw speaks of announcing good news with an emphasis on the news as a received message,(8) and not one sourced in the messenger. Two other prominent words, marturia and didaskw, are also closely connected, particularly when speaking of the authority of Christ himself.(9) Thus the preponderance of scriptural terms for preaching speak not of the messenger, but of the source of the message.

The Text of Scripture Is Revealed

It is thus imperative that expository preaching exposes the meaning of the words of God set forth in the text itself. The word “exposition” extends from the Latin exponere,(10) which means to set forth, explain, or expose.(11) The preacher is to take the text of God’s word and bring it to light, exposing its meaning to the listener, and exposing the listener to its power. While there are many styles of preaching (topical, systematic, etc.), all true preaching is expository in nature,(12) and rooted in the text of Scripture. Paul’s charge to Timothy is to ??????? t?? ????? – preach the Word (I Tim. 4:2), and “rightly handle the word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15). His preaching task was to “bring to light for everyone” – the plan of God for salvation (Eph. 3:9).

In Its Original Context

Scripture was not written in a vacuum, but was deposited in a particular context which informs its meaning. Thus the preacher’s first hermeneutical task “is to relate the text to its immediate theological horizon,” and then to the surrounding canon.(13) The details of context inform the meanings of words, and only after these considerations should the preacher move to specific meaning, broader fulfillment, and contemporary application. Without such consideration the text becomes a confused fragmentation of definitions and un-relatable terms at times manipulated to promote the intention of the messenger, rather than the revelation of the message giver.

In Its Consummate Redemptive Purpose

The infallible rule of the interpretation of Scripture is that one must interpret Scripture with Scripture (WCF 1.9). Scripture does not have a meaning determined by man (II Pet. 1:20), but by God, and thus accurately to determine meaning one must turn to God’s recorded words. Ultimate interpretation must take into consideration the whole of God’s revelation. Thus individual texts do not become isolated fountain heads for dogma, but fit within a divine theological paradigm revealed through the warp and woof of biblical revelation. This paradigm is often referred to in terms of “biblical theology,” which underscores the “massive inner coherence of the divine plot in salvation history.”(14) While each text must be interpreted in light of its context, there is a “concordant unity”(15) which ties each part to a unified whole. “The text is part of one unified word from God. The whole Bible is the context of the text.”(16) Scripture’s unified story leads to a consummate goal: the manifestation of the glory of God through his work of redemption. From the first promise of the gospel in Genesis 3:15 the story of Scripture is consistently forward-looking.(17) The biblical agenda for preaching as expressed in Col. 1:27 includes presenting everyone mature in Christ, as through the preaching of the word believers are transformed as they await the consummation (I Cor. 1:8). The larger agenda of preaching is “the continued formation of a community that awaits the parousia”(18) (cf. I Thess 2).

It Sets Forth the Person and Work of Christ

The central element preaching must always be the revelation of the person and work of Jesus Christ. Though the Paul preached primarily from the Old Testament, he resolutely declares “we preach Christ crucified” (I Cor. 1:23), determining in his preaching “not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (I Cor. 2:2; cf II Cor. 4:4, 5). The content of his preaching centered always on “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Eph. 3:8). Christ is the central message of the Scriptures as he himself testified (Luke 24:27), and the central content of the disciples’ preaching (Acts 5:42; 11:20; cf. Rom. 16:25). Thus a “proper interpretation of any part of the Bible requires us to relate it to the person and work of Jesus.”(19)

A View to the Salvation of Souls

The salvation of souls comes primarily through the preaching of the word by the herald sent by the church for that task (Romans 10:14, 15). Preaching is the means by which the call to repentance is issued (Matt. 3:1; 12:41; Luke 3:3; 11:32), reconciliation is offered (Acts 10:36), and by which the gospel of the kingdom is proclaimed (Mark 1:14; Acts 20:25). It is the means by which the Holy Spirit grants faith (I Cor. 2:4). The people of God are set apart through the word (John 17:17), because that word of truth is “the gospel of your salvation” (Eph. 1:13), and the means by which the children of God are given birth (James 1:18).

The Enabling of Believers to Live Out Its Message

The believer is sanctified by the word of God (John 17:17), which means that the word not only provides information, but empowerment to godly living. In preaching one must “move from the truths of the text to the theme, thoughts, and thrust of the text expressed homiletically.”(20) That is, preaching remains in embryo until it develops the imperative. The objective teaching of the text – the indicative – must be developed into the imperative thrust of the text. The one who has seen Christ must also understand what it is to live in Christ. “The person who has died to sin no longer lives and acts in the sphere or realm of sin”(21) (cf. Rom. 6:10). When we have heard the preaching of Christ, we are compelled to live for Christ – as certainly as he has been resurrected (II Cor. 5:14). This not only affects our minds (Col. 3:1), but our bodies (Rom. 12:1), words (Eph. 4:29) and conduct (I Pet. 1:15; II Pet. 3:11). The life enabled by the power of the gospel “consists not only in having once been raised with Christ and in having been placed under a new rule, but also in being renewed from day to day (2 Cor. 4:16).”(22) To be faithful to the text however, the content of the imperative must not be an invention of the preacher, but must be derived from the indicative of the text. “The imperative is grounded on the reality that has been given with the indicative, appeals to it, and is intended to bring it to full development.”(23)

Good preaching will certainly effect change, instruct, and edify. But its primary purpose is to proclaim the person and work of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, from the perspective of the believer seated in the heavenly places, that God may be glorified and believers may be empowered to live out their union with Christ. Anything short of this misses the mark. I hope each of these elements comes through in nearly every episode of Proclaiming Christ.

His grateful servant,
Mark A. Winder
Pastor, Wolf River Presbyterian Church, Collierville, Tennessee
901-853-5556
www.wolfriverchurch.org.

NOTES

1 Haddon Robbinson, Biblical Preaching: The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages (Grand Rapids: Baker book House, 1980), 20.

2 Sidney Greidanus, The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text: Interpreting and Preaching Biblical Literature (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988), 11.

3 Brian Chapell, Christ Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005), 31.

4 Graeme Goldsworthy, Preaching the Whole Bible As Christian Scripture (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000), 121.

5 Ibid.

6 Walter Bauer, A Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament, trans. William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1957), 432.

7 Stuart Olyott, Preaching Pure and Simple (Bryntirion, Bridgend, UK: Bryntirion Press, 2005), 12.

8 Bauer, 317.

9 Edmund Clowney, Preaching and Biblical Theology (Grand Rapids: William B. Erdmans Publishing Company, 1961), 57ff.

10 Glynnis Chantrell,ed., The Oxford Dictionary of Word Histories (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 192.

11 Frederic M. Wheelock, Wheelock’s Latin, 6th ed. (New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2000), 474.

12 Sinclair Ferguson, “Exegesis,” in The Preacher and Preaching: Reviving the Art in the 20th Century, ed. Samuel Logan (Phillipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1986), 192.

13 Clowney, 88.

14 Goldsworthy, 17.

15 Richard Gaffin, “The Redemptive-Historical View,” in Biblical Hermeneutics: Five Views, eds. Stanley Porter and Beth Stovell (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2012), 97.

16 Ibid., 16.

17 From Genesis 3:15 to the subsequent confirmations and expansions of God’s covenant promise, to the establishment of a typological kingdom in Israel, to the expectations of the prophets, to the eschatological horizon of the New Testament, the movement of redemptive history is a consistent “straining forward to what lies ahead,” pressing “on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13, 14).

18 James Thompson, Preaching Like Paul (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001), 90.

19 Goldsworthy, 84.

20 Stephen Olford and David Olford, Anointed Expository Preaching (Nashville: B&H Academic, 1998), 155.

21 John Murray, Principles of Conduct: Aspects of Biblical Ethics (Grand Rapids: William B. Erdmans Publishing Company, 1957), 204.

22 Herman Ridderbos, Paul: An Outline of His Theology, trans. John R. Dewitt. (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1966), 224.

23 Ibid., 255.

Preaching with Authority

Every preacher who stands behind a pulpit or on a street corner should desire to preach with authority.  He should hope that when people hear him that they are rather hearing God speaking to them through him.  He should long for his preaching to be effectual, moving people into obedient response to the Word of God.

For this is how Jesus preached. Following one of his sermons, this is the description of the response:  ”When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes” (Matthew 7:28-29).

So how does one preach with authority?  Certainly the preacher should pray that God would bestow authority upon him as he proclaims the gospel.  Yet are there principles he can follow so that when he preaches he just does not sound like he is just attempting to be authoritative, but actually preaches with authority?  I believe so, especially if we remember the context where this statement regarding Jesus’ preaching was made.  The crowds were amazed at the teaching of Jesus as they heard the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).

Certainly there are unique ways Jesus taught on this occasion, as the Lord and Savior that He is, that the preacher cannot imitate.  Jesus came as the new Moses, sitting on the mountainside as he addressed the crowds (Matthew 5:1).  Several times he said “in former times you heard it was said” and quoted Scripture, then followed that with “but now I say to you,” revealing He spoke as the final, divine prophet of God.  He made personal, ultimate pronouncements on people and their eternal state as the Judge of heaven (Matthew 5:20, 25-26; 6:15; 7:22-23).  So there is an authority all his own by which the Lord preached.

Yet are there other qualities found in his message that the wise preacher can emulate?  In the Sermon on the Mount at least five qualities of his preaching stand out that give authority to his message.

Grounded in Law.  A large section of the Sermon on the Mount is Jesus teaching on the moral law of God, addressing such matters as murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, justice, and enemies (Matthew 5:17-48).  As he stated in the message, he did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill them.  When Jesus told his hearers their righteousness needed to surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, he was not just speaking of the righteous standing justification by faith grants believers.  Rather, he was proclaiming that faith in him requires a heart-based desire to obey his Law.

Because so much preaching avoids today the Old Testament and particularly the Law of God, it lacks the power and fear the Law is to give.  How contrary that is to Jesus and his apostles who, as testified to by the Gospel, Acts, and the Epistles, continually returned to the Law in their teaching.  It gave their messages thunder and firepower.

Overflowing with Mercy. Our Lord’s life, ministry, and teaching were filled with mercy, and the Sermon on the Mount is no exception.  From pronouncing blessing on the poor in spirit and the merciful, to calling us to forgive our debtors, to turn the other cheek, to pray for our enemies, to give another mile to those who ask, Jesus both pronounces mercy to, and expects mercy from, his hearers.  Just as Old Testament Law had embedded in it directives to care for the poor, the widow, and the needy, so this message abounds with directives to live a gracious life.

This in part explains the reaction of the crowd, who noticed Christ taught “not as their scribes.”  These men used the Law to burden and oppress the people.  Jesus showed how, through a renewed heart in faith and union with him, that God’s commands are not burdensome but light because they lead us to love others (I John 5:3).

Filled with Moral Imperative. Too much preaching, especially in Reformed camps, is indicative rather than imperative in nature.  Men, afraid that they might be accused of being an Arminian if they call people to faith or a denier of justification by faith if they stress good works too much, settle for making their sermons little more than running commentaries over the text.

Near the beginning of his message, Jesus said the commands of Scripture are not to be relaxed and we are not to teach others to relax them or we will be deemed least in his kingdom.  Rather, we are commanded to let our light shine by obeying and teaching his commands,  which he offers in plentiful amount in this message.  ”Leave your gift at the altar.”  ”Be reconciled to your brother.”  ”Tear out your right eye.”  ”Do not resist one who is evil.”  ”Pray for your enemies.”   That’s just a few from the fifth chapter, which ends with another one that could be viewed as quite a task.  ”Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  Calling the congregation to obedience should not lead them to deny justification by faith, but to rely upon it!

Abounding in Illustrations.   Read aloud Matthew 5-7 and you will find this exercise takes less time than listening to most men’s sermons.  If and when you do read it out loud, listen to all of the illustrative language you hear packed into this message.  Jesus speaks actively about such things as tearing out eyes, leaving a gift at the altar, getting slapped on the cheek, going two miles, paying the last penny, or how the sun and the rain fall on the just and unjust alike.  He uses concrete imagery, talking about such wide and varied things as trumpets, eyes, lamps, moth, rust, birds, flowers, barns, thieves, specks, logs, fish, serpents, scorpions, sheep, wolves, fish, trees, rain, winds, flood…the list could go on.  He tells little stories throughout, from guys praying on street corners to sons asking fathers for bread to ending with men building houses on rock and sand.

Like the true Solomon he was, Jesus was wise in the ways this world works and thus used its imagery to teach spiritual lessons.  This makes sense, as he did create the world after all!  His teaching did not contain just an occasional illustration, but was illustrative in its entire nature.  Far from this illustrative language and these stories detracting from the  message, they added authority to it by relating all of life to the teaching and relating all the teaching to life.  People hearing this type of teaching know they do not have a dry academician on hand trying to get his talk stuffed into a scholarly journal somewhere, but a true preacher seeking to stuff their hearts with the very word of God.  The godly preacher will be a student of the world and creation around him.

Glorifying the Father.  All the previously mentioned elements may be present in a sermon, but if this final one is absent so will be the authority we should desire.  For another highlight of this message of Jesus is his expressed desire to honor his heavenly Father.

In an article contained in the book The Beauty and Glory of the Father, Bill VanDoodewaard points out how saturated the Sermon on the Mount is with Jesus speaking of his and our heavenly Father.  Some twenty references are made to the Father.  In almost every instance, Jesus speaks of him as the “heavenly Father” or “our Father who is in heaven.”  As he stated in other places, it is clear that Christ is not speaking here on his own initiative.  Rather, he is telling us what the Father instructed him to do.  Thus, his sermon rang with the power of a message from heaven because that is exactly what it was!  Similarly, preachers’ hearts must be absolutely filled when they preach with an earnest desire as ambassadors to deliver the Father’s word to his people.

Then, and only then, will they preach with his authority.

Preaching with Authority: Three Characteristics of Expository Preaching

Authentic expository preaching is marked by three distinct characteristics: authority, reverence, and centrality. Expository preaching is authoritative because it stands upon the very authority of the Bible as the word of God. Such preaching requires and reinforces a sense of reverent expectation on the part of God’s people. Finally, expository preaching demands the central place in Christian worship and is respected as the event through which the living God speaks to his people.

A keen analysis of our contemporary age comes from sociologist Richard Sennett of New York University. Sennett notes that in times past a major anxiety of most persons was loss of governing authority. Now, the tables have been turned, and modern persons are anxious about any authority over them: “We have come to fear the influence of authority as a threat to our liberties, in the family and in society at large.” If previous generations feared the absence of authority, today we see “a fear of authority when it exists.”

Some homileticians suggest that preachers should simply embrace this new worldview and surrender any claim to an authoritative message. Those who have lost confidence in the authority of the Bible as the word of God are left with little to say and no authority for their message. Fred Craddock, among the most influential figures in recent homiletic thought, famously describes today’s preacher “as one without authority.” His portrait of the preacher’s predicament is haunting: “The old thunderbolts rust in the attic while the minister tries to lead his people through the morass of relativities and proximate possibilities.” “No longer can the preacher presuppose the general recognition of his authority as a clergyman, or the authority of his institution, or the authority of Scripture,” Craddock argues. Summarizing the predicament of the postmodern preacher, he relates that the preacher “seriously asks himself whether he should continue to serve up monologue in a dialogical world.”

The obvious question to pose to Craddock’s analysis is this: If we have no authoritative message, why preach? Without authority, the preacher and the congregation are involved in a massive waste of precious time. The very idea that preaching can be transformed into a dialogue between the pulpit and the pew indicates the confusion of our era.

Contrasted to this is the note of authority found in all true expository preaching. As Martyn Lloyd-Jones notes:

Any study of church history, and particularly any study of the great periods of revival or reawakening, demonstrates above everything else just this one fact: that the Christian Church during all such periods has spoken with authority. The great characteristic of all revivals has been the authority of the preacher. There seemed to be something new, extra, and irresistible in what he declared on behalf of God.

The preacher dares to speak on behalf of God. He stands in the pulpit as a steward “of the mysteries of God” (1 Cor 4:1) and declares the truth of God’s word, proclaims the power of that word, and applies the word to life. This is an admittedly audacious act. No one should even contemplate such an endeavor without absolute confidence in a divine call to preach and in the unblemished authority of the Scriptures.

In the final analysis, the ultimate authority for preaching is the authority of the Bible as the word of God. Without this authority, the preacher stands naked and silent before the congregation and the watching world. If the Bible is not the word of God, the preacher is involved in an act of self-delusion or professional pretension.

Standing on the authority of Scripture, the preacher declares a truth received, not a message invented. The teaching office is not an advisory role based on religious expertise, but a prophetic function whereby God speaks to his people.

Authentic expository preaching is also marked by reverence. The congregation that gathered before Ezra and the other preachers demonstrated a love and reverence for the word of God (Neh 8). When the book was read, the people stood up. This act of standing reveals the heart of the people and their sense of expectation as the word was read and preached.

Expository preaching requires an attitude of reverence on the part of the congregation. Preaching is not a dialogue, but it does involve at least two parties—the preacher and the congregation. The congregation’s role in the preaching event is to hear, receive, and obey the word of God. In so doing, the church demonstrates reverence for the preaching and teaching of the Bible and understands that the sermon brings the word of Christ near to the congregation. This is true worship.

Lacking reverence for the word of God, many congregations are caught in a frantic quest for significance in worship. Christians leave worship services asking each other, “Did you get anything out of that?” Churches produce surveys to measure expectations for worship: Would you like more music? What kind? How about drama? Is our preacher sufficiently creative?

Expository preaching demands a very different set of questions. Will I obey the word of God? How must my thinking be realigned by Scripture? How must I change my behavior to be fully obedient to the word? These questions reveal submission to the authority of God and reverence for the Bible as his word.

Likewise, the preacher must demonstrate his own reverence for God’s word by dealing truthfully and responsibly with the text. He must not be flippant or casual, much less dismissive or disrespectful. Of this we can be certain, no congregation will revere the Bible more than the preacher does.

If expository preaching is authoritative, and if it demands reverence, it must also be at the center of Christian worship. Worship properly directed to the honor and glory of God will find its center in the reading and preaching of the word of God. Expository preaching cannot be assigned a supporting role in the act of worship—it must be central.

In the course of the Reformation, Luther’s driving purpose was to restore preaching to its proper place in Christian worship. Referring to the incident between Mary and Martha in Luke 10, Luther reminded his congregation and students that Jesus Christ declared that “only

 one thing is necessary,” the preaching of the word (Luke 10:42). Therefore, Luther’s central concern was to reform worship in the churches by re-establishing there the centrality of the reading and preaching of the word.
That same reformation is needed in American evangelicalism today. Expository preaching must once again be central to the life of the church and central to Christian worship. In the end, the church will not be judged by its Lord for the quality of its music but for the faithfulness of its preaching.

When today’s evangelicals speak casually of the distinction between worship and preaching (meaning that the church will enjoy an offering of music before adding on a bit of preaching), they betray their misunderstanding of both worship and the act of preaching. Worship is not something we do before we settle down for the word of God; it is the act through which the people of God direct all their attentiveness to the one true and living God who speaks to them and receives their praises. God is most beautifully praised when his people hear his word, love his word, and obey his word.

As in the Reformation, the most important corrective to our corruption of worship (and defense against the consumerist demands of the day) is to rightly return expository preaching and the public reading of God’s word to primacy and centrality in worship. Only then will the “missing jewel” be truly rediscovered.

The Seedbed of Big-God Preaching

In December, 1744, Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon foreshadowing The End for Which God Created the World, which he completed eleven years later, three years before he died. It’s title was “Approaching the End of God’s Grand Design.”

It is the kind of sermon that draws me back again and again to Edwards to rescue me from the spiritual strangle hold of small things. It’s this kind of seeing that makes the seedbed of Big-God Theology and Big-God Preaching. You can read it here. If there was ever a day we needed Big-God Preaching it is now.

He states the Doctrine: There is a time coming when God's grand design in all his various works and dispensations from age to age will be completed and his end fully obtained.

Then he asks: “What is this one great design that God has in view in all his works and dispensations?”

And answers: “’Tis to present to his Son a spouse3 in perfect glory from amongst sinful, miserable mankind, blessing all that comply with his will in this matter and destroying all his enemies that oppose it, and so to communicate and glorify himself2 through Jesus Christ1, God-man.”

That is a very carefully crafted sentence. He explains it piece by piece. The following comments correspond to the superscript numbers above.

1. “. . . through Jesus Christ” — “The one grand medium by which God glorifies himself in all is Jesus Christ, God-man.” “God's design in all the works {of creation} is to glorify his Son, and through him to glorify himself.”

2. “. . . to communicate and glorify himself”—“God's end in the creation of the world consists in these two things, viz. to communicate himself and to glorify himself.

God created the world to communicate himself, not to receive anything. But such was the infinite goodness of God that it was his will to communicate himself, to communicate of his own glory and happiness; and he made the world to glorify himself. . . .

These two things ought [not] to be separated when we speak of God's end in the creation of the world. . . . Indeed, God's communicating himself and glorifying {himself} ought not to be looked upon as though they were two distinct ends, but as what together makes one last end, as glorifying God and enjoying {God} make one chief end of man. For God glorifies himself in communicating himself, and he communicates himself in glorifying himself.

3. “. . . to present to his Son a spouse” — The principal means by which God glorifies his Son in the world that is created is by providing him a spouse, to be presented [to] him in perfect union, in perfect purity, beauty and glory.

The way in which the eternal Son of God is glorified in the creation is by communicating himself to the creatures, not by receiving anything from the creatures. . . . And because it was a spouse to communicate his goodness to that he desired, therefore that she might be one fit not to give but receive good, one was pitched upon that was remarkably empty and poor in herself, not of the highest order of creatures, but mankind. . . fallen, miserable, helpless: a state wherein his emptiness and need of goodness did more remarkably appear.

And because the design was that Christ should communicate goodness, therefore such an one was chosen that needed that Christ should suffer, and it was the will of Christ to suffer because suffering is the greatest expression of goodness and manifestation of kindness.

The great design was that Christ in this way should procure or obtain this his spouse, bring her to come to him, present her to himself and make her perfectly beautiful, perfectly and unspeakably happy. . . . And this is the way that God the Father intended to glorify his Son.

I read this sermon for my own soul on the Lord’s Day just past. What a gift. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for opening the eyes of Jonathan Edwards. Thank you for expanding his heart to sense your greatness where most of us pass by unmoved. Thank you for preserving so much of his seeing and savoring for us. And thank you for leading me again and again back to this soul-expanding spring of life.

An appetite for preaching

Tim Challies has been reading In Light of Eternity, a biography of Leonard Ravenhill?. He quotes from one of Ravenhill’s mentors, Samuel Chadwick:

I would rather preach than do anything else I know in this world. I have never missed a chance to preach. I would rather preach than eat my dinner, or have a holiday or anything else the world can offer. I would rather pay to preach than be paid not to preach. It has its price in agony of sweat and tears and no calling has such joys and heartbreaks, but it is a calling an archangel might covet; and I thank God that of His grace He called me into this ministry. Is there any joy like that of saving a soul from death? Any thrill like that of opening blind eyes? Any reward like the love of little children to the second and third generation? Any treasures like the grateful love of hearts healed and comforted? I tell you it is a glorious privilege to share the travail and the wine of God. I wish I had been a better minister, but there is nothing in God’s world I would rather be.

And a second quote:

Nothing makes for a preacher’s effectiveness more than a true conception of his calling. He is a messenger. That which he speaks is not his own. He is not at liberty to criticize, modify, or tamper with that which is entrusted to him; neither has he any right to withhold it from any person to whom it is sent. But he is neither a postman nor a phonograph. He delivers an open message which he has received from God for men. His first business is to wait for his message, and his next is to see that it is faithfully delivered.

May God give to his true ambassadors a greater appetite for preaching!

Τω αγαπησαντι  ημας  και  λουσαντι  ημας  απο  των  αμαρτιων  ημων  εν  τω  αιματι  αυτου.

Rev. 1:5b

Preaching the Fullness of Christ

UPDATED

The relationship of justification and sanctification has returned to the forefront of the Twitter and blog circles I frequent. William B. Evans rekindled the discussion with a response to Tullian Tchividjian’s formulation of justification, which seems at times to be an aversion to sanctification. Today, Sean Michael Lucas offered a rejoinder. Rick Phillips is the most recent to add to Reformation21's impromptu series - providing seven assertions about these twin benefits and their relationship.

Phillip’s post is helpful, especially his mention of the believer’s union with Christ – specifically in his death. Beginning with John Murray, many have called this particular aspect of the ordo salutis “definitive sanctification.” Phillips’ comments are a welcome addition to the discussion. However, we have seen over the last several years that definitive sanctification is denied or even entirely lost on many theological popularizers. Yet to many it is a critical element to understanding what the Spirit does in transforming or renovating sinners upon union with Christ.

When the Spirit effectually calls a sinner and unites him or her to Christ, the sinner is simultaneously justified, adopted, and definitively sanctified. The power of sin is broken in the sinner’s life. They have died to sin (cf Rom 6:1-14; 1 Cor 1:2, 30; 6:11) and have now embarked upon a life of Spiritual renewal that continues until they either die or the Lord returns.

In my estimation, Tchividjian’s and Lucas’s posts were mostly motivated by what preaches or what will best help their respective congregations. This is an honorable motivation. But before we resign ourselves to preaching a single benefit, let us see that a full understanding of union with Christ has great practical value.

When I sit in the pew, I want my pastor to proclaim to me that by virtue of my faith-union with Christ, I am justified. I am no longer guilty and have escaped any sort of condemnation. But I also want him to tell me that I am part of God’s family. I have been accepted as a son and full heir to the promises and inheritance that Christ has procured. Yet perhaps most local to the concerns of this recent thread, I want my pastor to tell me that I am a slave of righteousness now having the freedom not to sin. Sin has no power over me, because I have died to sin. I belong to Christ and my fight for holiness has a future because I am united to my savior and his Spirit is at work within me. And one day I will see my savior face-to-face and be glorified.

My concern throughout this discussion is not to isolate the main problem facing people in the pews – whether that is legalism, cheap grace, or some other important issue. My concern is to hold up Christ as he is revealed in the fullness of his redemptive work. Moreover, I am convinced that my concern should have a tremendous impact on all of our communication whether it is through sermons, blog posts, or tweets. Granted, we cannot say everything at once. But our message should seek to demonstrate all this Christ is and what he has done. Exhorting anything less than union with Christ and the fullness of the benefits that flow from it will never do justice to Scripture.

 

Purposes and Preaching of Parables

Tonight we will begin a mid-week series on the parable of our Lord Jesus Christ at New Covenant. When I was young, I was–like so many–taught that a parable is simply “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” This is a fair definition, so far as it goes; however, I was also told that Jesus spoke in parables so that the common and ignorant person could understand the deep teachings of God in simple, illustrative form. This explanation is far from capturing the reasons Jesus gave for why He spoke in parables. In Matthew 13:10-15, we read:

Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” And he answered them, ”To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

“‘You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.
For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and with their ears they can barely hear,
and their eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and turn, and I would heal them.’

There is a two-fold purpose to the parable. There is, on the one hand, a revealing of the heavenly mysteries to those for whom that truth is given. But, on the other hand, there is an element of eschatological judgment contained in the parables. Like the prophets before Him, our Lord spoke in parables so that those whose hearts were hard toward Him might not understand the truth, believe it and be saved. The parables are essentially “a veil that both conceal and reveal the truth.” Matthew Henry once called it, “the dark lantern of a parable.”

Throughout church history, a plethora of great books have been written–and sermons preached–on the parables. In our day, there is perhaps none so helpful as those preached by my former professor, Dr. John Carrick. You can find many of the sermons he has preached on the parables here.