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We Have God’s Will In Clear Communication And Certain Terms

Facing The World By Viewing All Things Through The Lenses Of Truth

Facing The World By Viewing All Things Through The Lenses Of Truth

Preaching is the primary business of the church. It remains front-and-center in Christian worship because it demonstrates that God still speaks through His word. The act of preaching the Bible points the congregation to the only authoritative source for knowing God. Unfortunately, the grand nature of communicating truth is not always reflected in the content of the sermons and the behavior of the preachers. Often, humanistic philosophy, personal anecdotes, and fraternal qualifiers replace scripture for content, and shocking examples of sensationalism and gimmickry masquerade as the power of God. Our belief in the inspiration and preservation of the scripture should keep us committed to the practice of expounding the word of God faithfully . The conviction that we have God’s words written down ( scripture ) should demand that we always seek to preach them (2 Tim. 3:14-17). In doing so, we succeed in our efforts to preach faithfully and to fail to do so, we fail to preach at all. Better preaching requires faithfulness . Great preaching can be accomplished without intellectualism, entertaining personalities, and highly developed delivery techniques. However, great preaching will remain an endangered species without faithfulness . One of the salient verses in scripture concerning ministerial faithfulness is found in Paul’s dissertation to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:24: But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. This kind of faithfulness was described by John Gill, as, “to testify the gospel of the grace of God, to profess and preach it, to bear a constant and public testimony to it at death, as in life, and faithfully to declare it, and assert it to the last.” Concerning Paul’s commitment to preaching with faithfulness, John Phillips said, “Paul…looked at life from a higher perspective than most of us. Self-preservation was not high on his list of priorities ( Exploring Acts , p. 403).” If one is willing to be faithful unto death, certainly nothing will deter him from preaching faithfully. In contrast, who would die for humanistic anecdotes and syllogisms? THREE FACTORS FOR FAITHFULNESS FROM ACTS 20 1. Humility Humility is the opposite of pride (Pr. 6:3; 16:19; 29:23) and consists of lowliness of mind - a proper self-assessment. Pride is haughty, high-minded self-interest, which is a sure killer of faithfulness in preaching. J. I. Packer, called pride the number-one occupational hazard for the preacher. When we begin to preach and promote self , the biblical perspective will be lost and the power gone, or, as Spurgeon said, “You will never glory in God till first of all God has killed your glorying in yourself.” Acts 20 is clear - Paul lived for God and others, not himself. He served “the Lord with all humility of mind” (v. 19), he did not count his life dear unto himself (v. 24), and he frequently warned “with tears” (v. 31). It is difficult to imagine Paul discouraged because the church forgot his birthday. Paul was satisfied by the truth that God alone stood with him (2 Tim. 4:17). Historically, humility has been considered an obvious prerequisite to ministerial success. Lowliness of mind is expected in a man of God. While we all have encountered those top-heavy, self-ascribed dignitaries who are proud of their virtue, we must not allow their oft’ intimidating pretense to dissuade us from pursuing humility. In spite of clear scriptural rebukes for pride such as, “the Lord will destroy the proud,” and “every one that is of a proud heart is an abomination to the Lord” (Prov. 16:5; 16:25), preachers are often more peacock that plow mule. Many would rather strut than serve. Hubris, even bullying, and belligerence is preferred by some over sound exposition and charitable application. It is so bad in certain circles that preachers even boast of their willingness to fight other preachers. It would be funny if it were not so humiliating. The obvious pitfall is to assume that fruitfulness in preaching is predicated upon the exaltation of the preacher. This colossal error has caused many to take refuge in the misinterpretation of verses such as… “The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the Lord’s anointed…” (1 Sam. 26:11). “…I magnify mine office.” (Rom. 11:13). “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” (1 Cor. 11:1) …To the exclusion of verses like… “…that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another. For who maketh thee to differ from another?” (1 Cor. 4:6, 7). “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves…” (2 Cor. 10:12). “…lest I should be exalted above measure.” (2 Cor. 12:7). “And I will gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.” (2 Cor. 12:15). “…for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me.” (Gal. 2:6). Being humble, for the preacher, necessitates submission to a text of scripture. This trajectory precludes arrogance. This kind of genuine humility in the heart of a preacher is essential to faithfulness. Without it, authentic ministry suffers insurmountable blows to reputation and usefulness. Subtle forms of pride will show up in the preaching experience in two ways: the notion that the preacher must be considered “great” in order to do big things and in the aggrandizement of personal agenda. The antidote to each respectively is self-awareness and self-denial, the combination of both is de facto, humility. 2. Commitment to People To the elders of Ephesus, Paul rehearsed his commitment to the people God called him to serve. He said, “Ye know…after what manner I have been with you at all seasons” (v. 18) and “I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you” (v. 20), “I am pure from the blood of all men” (v. 26), “I ceased not to warn every one” (v. 31), and “I coveted no man’s silver, or gold or apparel” (v. 33). A lack of humility will lend itself to an ego-centric, preaching ministry. Contrariwise, the humble man of God will prioritize people - their needs, burdens, and concerns - above his own. Paul’s profound love for those to whom he ministered is a matter of record (Rom. 1:7-12; 9:1-3; 10:1; 2 Cor. 1:24; 1 Thess. 2; et al.). As this kind of love is produced in our hearts for the people to whom we preach, we will experience fruitfulness in kind. The glorious gospel is worthy of this consistency. Paul’s care for of the saints at Thessalonica provides an insightful guide for how to treat the people to whom we preach. Here’s a simple, observational rundown of the characteristics of faithful preaching from 1 Thessalonians 2. Look for… 1. Boldness (v. 1), not belligerence. Paul’s boldness was not displayed in his willingness to challenge other preachers to a brawl (re: nutty social media accounts), but his determination to speak unto them the gospel of God with much contention. Paul was defensive of the gospel, not his silly, personal opinions about every matter on earth from Lebron James to Donald Trump. 2. Honest exhortation (vv. 3-4), not manipulative, intimidating diatribes (a bitter and abusive speech or piece of writing). Paul had no personal agenda to perpetuate, nor fraternal loyalties to highlight, thus, deceit was not a temptation. His aim was to please God by preaching the gospel. He was not trying to raise money or get ahead (v. 5); he was living and dying for the gospel. 3. Gentle affection (vv. 6-8), not glory-seeking, self-promotion. A nurse does not enter the nursery, hoping the children will see how great she is. A nurse comes to cherish the children, to feed and protect them. The nurse provides an example of what the pastor is supposed to do through his preaching ministry - love his people by preaching the gospel and expounding its exigencies. This, and this alone is faithful preaching. The backdrop against which this amazing example of service is set is Paul’s steadfast belief in the effectuality of God’s word (2 Thess. 2:13). He believed in the sufficiency of scripture and that conviction drove him. Faith in God’s word and its efficacy will lead us to preach it. Weak faith leads to weak preaching. 3. The Content of the Message There was no doubt about Paul’s message. He preached “repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 21). He testified “the gospel of the grace of God” (v. 24), preached “the gospel of the kingdom of God…all the counsel of God,” (v. 25, 27), and “the word of his grace” (v. 32). He laid down the most lucid and comprehensive order for the work of preaching found in scripture - “Preach the word” (2 Tim. 4:1-8). While this should be obvious, it is not; for much time is spent in the pulpit on things that are not in the Bible, do not relate to anything in the Bible and indeed do not illustrate biblical truth. The energy expended in many sermons on subject matter not supported by the text or any other passage of scripture is stunning. THE fundamental truth of Christianity is that God has spoken and continues to speak through His word. God…wrote…a book. We must preach that book. The Bible is our agenda. We do not “get our message” from the text; the text is the message. We labor to understand it in study, work to communicate what we understand in the preparation of the sermon and we deliver it faithfully by communicating just that - the content of scripture as God has revealed it. Imagine the tragedy of an ordinary man getting up on Sunday morning, often his only day off, and going to church. He is a lost man, but he can sense his need for something more in life. He awakens his family; they get dressed and rush out the door with little more than a donut for breakfast. They pull onto the property of a local church to which they have been invited and navigate the off-putting currents of awkwardly, happy people. They are greeted and herded into place. They take in the music, sing some hymns (hopefully), stare at the decor, people and preacher. The moment of “truth” arrives and the pastor ascends the steps to the platform and preaches a sermon that is part Rush Limbaugh and part Jerry Seinfeld with a little religious jargon sprinkled in. The text of scripture is like the national anthem at a ball game. Once read, it is hardly referenced again. The pastor preaches patriotism, old-fashioned values, morals, work ethic and an assortment of things that may be amenable to whatever degree, but there is very little gospel, no Bible expounded in context and applied faithfully. What is said might be the truth, but it is not God’s truth. This scenario is dreadful. Every preacher of the word of God should fear their potential for this tragedy above all else. Better preaching requires faithfulness and faithfulness involves humility, a commitment to people, and the right message. When we strive for these things, the difference will be self-evident. The difference will be faithfulness and in the these three areas, we can all do better.

In pursuit of better preaching, I began to research the subject over a year ago. The observations are noteworthy, and I felt it might be encouraging to some if I shared them. While challenging preachers to preach better sermons is as precarious as having lunch with Emily Post , the potential for good is staggering. One encouraged preacher can be used of God to shape eternity. Once the preacher is immersed in the effects of having remobilized the axioms of biblical authority , better preaching will demand… work . It is life -work. Preaching that pulls back the shades of ordinary misapprehension and enables people to see the riches of God’s grace, will only be developed with hard work - daily, relentless work. One could not find a better example of pastoral labor than the oft’ quoted, ubiquitous, Charles Spurgeon. The English Baptist pastor preached thousands of sermons, published in 63 volumes - the largest set of books by anyone in Christian history. Spurgeon’s son said, “There was no one who could preach like my father. In inexhaustible variety, witty wisdom, vigorous proclamation, loving entreaty and lucid teaching, with a multitude of other qualities, he must, at least in my opinion, be ever regarded as the prince of preachers” ( C. H. Spurgeon Autobiography , Vol. 2, p. 278). One biographer said that Spurgeon read six books a week, wrote over 140 of his own and often worked eighteen hours a day. This from the man who said, “Brethren, do something; do something ; DO SOMETHING. While committees waste their time over resolutions, do something. While societies and unions are making constitutions, let us win souls. Too often we discuss and discuss and discuss, while Satan only laughs in his sleeve. It is time we had done planning and sought something to plan. I pray you, be men of action all of you. Get to work and quit yourselves like men” ( An All-Round Ministry , p. 55). This work, this commitment to doing , must value preaching as the pastor’s ultimate priority. Spurgeon certainly did, and Paul required it (1 Tim. 4:13-16; 5:17; 2 Tim. 2:15). Spurgeon said, “Emotion, doubtless, is a very proper thing in the pulpit, and the feeling, the pathos, the power of heart, are good and great things in the right place; but do also use your brains a little, do tell us something when you stand up to preach the everlasting gospel. The sermons that are the most likely to convert people seem to me to be those that are full of truth…Tell your hearers something, dear brethren, whenever you preach, tell them something, tell them something” ( The Soul Winner , p. 99). It is easy for the sundry demands of ministry to crowd out the vital work that goes into good preaching. The inimitable, Brown University President and Baptist leader, Francis Wayland, lamented his struggles with the conflicting concerns of the pastorate: When a man’s mind is thus occupied, his interest in his people will gradually diminish. His outside work seems to be religious; it must be done today: his work for his people may be done tomorrow or next week, and in the end it is not done at all. At last his real work, the work for which he is paid - labor for the souls committed to his care - receives only the chippings and leavings of his time; and even those chippings and leavings have in them no vitality ( A Memoir of the Life and Labors of Francis Wayland , Vol. 2, p. 196). The tangling effects of the pastor’s potential involvements may lead, not only to preaching that is less than good, but personal and moral crises as well. Wayland continued: Another effect of this multiplication of business is, to break up all habits of devotion, till a man’s religion becomes often a dry skeleton of orthodox doctrine, rather than a living fountain within him, quickening his own soul, and refreshing the souls of others. But the minister has the same liability to sin as other people, and some temptations peculiar to himself. If his religion has become inoperative, the power of temptation is redoubled, and nothing but the especial grace of God can preserve him from falling into sin ( Wayland , pp. 196, 197). What an unspeakable tragedy it is for the man of God to give only the “chippings and leavings” of his time to the work of preaching. It is worth more and requires more. Could we not give more to this great work? Granted, every pastor faces variations of scheduling imposition. Each situation allows for fluctuating combinations of time, talent and toil. Some men have the privilege (Lk. 12:48) of giving “full-time” to the work of edifying the body of Christ while necessity requires others to serve bi-vocationally (something many men of God have done with great usefulness throughout the years). Some have vast resources for building libraries and collecting material without end, while others, as Alexander Whyte suggested, sell their shirts to buy books. Some are vehicles of near peerless, God-given talent for moving people with persuasiveness and charm; others plod beneath the weight of their inherent limitations. Regardless, let us take the time and talent that God has given us and work ! God can take the hands-full of meal that we can gather from the bottom of the barrels of our human resources and feed His people well. A simple, two-fold admonition is in order: Let us seize our opportunities by faith and work hard! Could it be that the potential for better preaching among us dies, not for lack of ability, but the absence of vigorous faith? If we believe that God will bless His word, then our efforts should be proportionately applied to the significance of the duty before us. Because we believe, because we expect God to work - we work! Every opportunity is big. Every Lord’s day sermon is monumental. Every open door is meaningful. May we prepare accordingly. May we seize our opportunities by faith and work hard! Faith that expects God to work that believes what God said because He said it in His word has sustained centuries of preaching from the darkest of places and through the severest of trials. One American example of rare, faith-based fortitude in preaching and ministerial labor is Isaac Backus. Born in 1724 in Norwich, Connecticut, Backus grew, by slow degree, into a Baptist by conviction and an ardent defender of religious liberty. Alvah Hovey described the labors of this “firm, consistent, earnest and charitable Baptist” in this way: Without turning back to rail at those whom he had left, his energies were faithfully applied to the great work of preaching Christ at home and by the way. From year to year the little church under his care grew in numbers and strength; neglected districts were made glad as heretofore by his occasional but zealous proclamation of the gospel; and feeble interests were kept alive by his wise counsels and stout-hearted faith ( The Life and Times of Isaac Backus , Alvah Hovey, p. 129). During a space of eleven years (1756-1767), Backus preached 2,412 sermons (avg. 4 per week) and traveled 14,691 miles on horseback, not counting the travel and labor within the immediate reach of his local church labor. Cathcart recorded that Backus traveled, in a six-month stretch in 1789, through Virginia and North Carolina to strengthen the churches. He traveled 3,000 miles and preached 126 sermons. He accomplished, according to Cathcart, an immense amount of work during his ministerial life. Alvah Hovey wrote of the journeys of Backus: These were frequent and laborious until the end of life. Over the hills, across the valleys, and beside the streams of New England, he pursued his rugged and toilsome way, and accomplished his useful mission…Once he was thrown from his horse and severely injured; at another time was near losing his life by the cold; and very often he rode from morning till night in the chill and drenching rain ( Hovey , pp. 312, 313). Backus set the example for seizing the God-given opportunities by faith and working hard! His labor involved more than enduring the difficulties of eighteenth-century travel; he gave himself to study . Hovey said, “He applied himself with deep earnestness to the study of God’s word, with the best helps accessible and examined with great care the chief works in his own language upon systematic theology, ecclesiastical history and church polity.” Backus, a prolific author and powerful influence with the pen, “keenly watched the shifting forms of error and assiduously qualified himself to withstand their approaches,” a commitment that necessitated reading “the fugitive writings of the day.” What would be the fruit of the Backus brand of ministerial commitment? Would we not all desire to see souls converted by the grace of God? Besides the passion for God’s glory, what longing could legitimately overshadow the burden for souls in the heart of the preacher? Backus said this: (March 28, 1756) Preached twice to this people, and the Lord did draw near of a truth and give my soul sweet enlargement. Such bowels of compassion for sinners I haven’t felt for a long while. Oh, that the Lord would appear for the deliverance of these precious souls! (March 30, 1756) After meeting in the evening, I spoke with a young woman who gave me a clear account of her conversion. I hear that some others have been recently converted in this place. How blessed a thing it is to see a new-born soul! (April 3, 1756) Upon returning home and finding his family in good health, Backus wrote: The divine favors have been distinguishing here; and while I have been gone, the assistance which I have enjoyed in preaching and the conversions which I have seen among sinners, together with the language of new-born souls, have made it the most comfortable journey to me that I have taken this winter. Maybe, those of us who enjoy comfortable, heated and air-conditioned vehicles with advanced audio technology; warm, dry homes and hotel rooms; a near-endless restaurant selection in every single town; comfort-oriented wardrobes, offices, and libraries; affordable laptops, iPads, smartphones, internet and all the advancements resulting from scientific and medical progress, the industrial revolution and the subsequent information age…could work a little harder at preaching good sermons. May God help us to seize each opportunity by faith and work hard at the work of preaching!

In a recent blog, I declared, since preaching is our priority trust, a commitment to improvement therein would be in order. The work of feeding the sheep by preaching God’s word is a labor worthy of our most arduous industry. As New Testament believers, we are continuing in “the apostles’ doctrine" (Acts 2:42), and as they, contending for the faith once delivered unto the saints (Jude 3). The apostles are our examples of how to minister. They were the original preachers of the New Testament message. Thomas Armitage called them “comprehensive expositors of Him and His gospel.” Preaching is lofty, challenging work. Doing it well - better than ever - is worthy of our deliberate effort. What does better preaching involve? We are commanded to “Preach the word” (2 Tim. 4:2) because it is “able to make thee wise unto salvation” (2 Tim. 3:15), it is “profitable for doctrine” (2 Tim. 3:16), and it is, to state the distinctive principle of the Baptists, the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. It appears; consequently, the first necessity for better preaching is: Routine remobilization of the axioms of biblical authority. Often, the influence of extreme challenges to our ideological norms, move us imperceptibly toward positions once unthinkable. This digression happened to preaching in the 20th century. Many charge Harry Emerson Fosdick as a prominent influence in this regard. Fosdick, the leading 20th-century liberal, famous for the sermon, “Shall the Fundamentalist Win?” and the book, The Modern Use of the Bible , brought a modernistic philosophy to sermonizing. In his frustration with the difficulties of preaching, Fosdick “came to the conclusion that a new approach to preaching was needed.” In an analysis of Fosdick’s methods, found in the book entitled Preaching As Counseling , Edmund Holt Linn said: The highly regarded expository method seemed to him fraught with weakness. It gave unwarranted importance to some passage in the Bible instead of to the business of living…” Fosdick himself said, “Only the preacher proceeds still upon the idea that folk come to church desperately anxious to discover what happened to the Jebusites.” It is this kind of dismissiveness for God’s word that led an admirer of Fosdick to say, “If any young man wished to learn what to preach, he might look elsewhere; but if he would learn how to preach, let him tarry here.” Separating the how from the what is precisely how preaching took a downward trajectory in the last century. Preaching that is pithy, inspiring and informative and yet without biblical content…is not preaching. Fosdick’s humanistic, liberal approach was described as “personal counseling on a large scale” where “the scriptures seemed to afford a source of interesting materials other than any kind of authority for Fosdick.” Sadly, some very influential fundamentalists, while rejecting Fosdick’s modernism, adopted an approach to preaching that is strikingly similar and theologically vapid. It hardly matters what one professes to believe doctrinally if it never makes it into his sermons. If our preaching is to improve, the authority of the scripture must be our overarching, regulatory principle. When our preaching is shaped and informed by this conviction, that is, when we have remobilized the axioms of biblical authority in our preaching, some things will surface: 1. We will submit our own personal and fraternal agendas to the will of God. The will of God is not, like some strategically located Easter egg, intended to be kept from us. His will is clearly communicated in His word. It is the plain thing that is the main thing, most of the time. By striving to preach God’s word and only His word, to never be wise above what is written, we will find ourselves limited to a more sanctified message. This determination keeps us trained on the goal of speaking what God has said, not so much what we want to say. God’s agenda does not accommodate ours. We are obligated to submit to His. The solution is not to say that in our avoidance of personal crusades, we should seek unity at all costs. E. Y. Mullins said, “If denominationalism ever ceases to exist and all Christians become one it will be not by artificial schemes of union, but through the gradual growth of unity of view, that is, through the operation of the voluntary principle.” The gradual development of this "unity of view" will only be produced through the preaching and teaching of the word of God. Biblical persuasion is what produces the “voluntary element" upon which all genuine Christian profession depends. Intimidation, ridicule and backroom politics will not do. The chaffing effect of God’s applied authority is not just for those who are ideologically divergent. His Providence and convicting work will resist our carnal impulses as well. Through the years, I have found some of my own most cherished plans and ideas to be wholly personal and not of God. Remobilization of the axioms of biblical authority will cause us to submit our will to His, in preaching, teaching, leadership, and ministry in general. 2. The content of the word of God will be the message. I wish I could recover the time and energy I burned each week in the first ten years of my pastoral work, searching for a “message,” or what I called, “something to preach.” While I was aware of the command to “Preach the word,” I had my own ideas of how to do that. It took years for it to sink in that whatever passage I studied laboriously and delivered faithfully on any given Sunday, would be light years better than the clever sermonizing I might produce. I was commanded to preach the word with “longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Tim. 4:2), to hold “forth the words of life” (Phil. 2:16), but I was motivated by the desire to be sensational. I valued emotional contrivances over communicating truth clearly and sensibly. There is no correlation between constancy to biblical study and spiritual deadness. There is; however, a direct line between doctrinal ignorance and powerless, wild-eyed mysticism. It is common for some to make a distinction between a classroom and the pulpit. They love to say, “Get out of the library and back to the pea patch.” While I am not exactly sure what that means, I do know that the word of God commands the preacher to work hard in the field of study (2 Tim. 2:15). Paul requested, not only the parchments but the books as well. Bible preaching (the bold proclamation of God’s word that demands a response) cannot exist without the component of teaching (the transfer of knowledge with attention to detail). Doctrine is what is taught . To “continue in the apostles’ doctrine” is to be devoted to strong, informative, theological preaching, teaching, and learning. A commitment to the scripture as “the final authority in all matters of faith and practice” will, without a doubt, result in the distribution of God’s truth as our primary ministry commitment. 3. Salient doctrines will not be trivialized by absurdity. I have become increasingly alarmed by the distasteful, irreverent, undignified way in which God’s highest truth is being delivered. I must say, I have been guilty myself. I have preached about hell and resorted to sensational anecdotes to provide the “power.” I have preached about holiness and utilized the ridicule of others as a means for challenging God’s people. I have preached the gospel and relied upon gut-wrenching stories to bring people to a decision instead of exercising faith in His word and sending it out with painstaking clarity. False ideas abound concerning the Godhead, eternity and the gospel. How necessary it is for God’s men to preach every sermon with faithfulness! We must preach, knowing that lost, confused, ignorant people will formulate their impressions of Christianity by how we handle the truth. “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God,” (Rom. 10:17), not by stories, tantrums, tirades, comedy routines, mysticism and guilt trips. I offer these thoughts, not as a high-toned criticism of others, but as an expression of my painful realization that I have failed here myself. While I am abundantly thankful for God’s merciful demonstrations of grace in using me to the extent that He has, I am loath to continue without careful examination of my own heart and habits. With God’s help, I must preach better.