One of the most important task of any leader in the movement of Jesus is to communicate the good news and the truth of biblical revelation to the people under his influence. A vision for the who, the what, the why and how of preaching is a must in every generation until Jesus returns. It is of particular importance in the post-Christian west as we seek to be faithful both to the gospel and to reaching people in culture.
How great the confusion will be left to those who follow if pulpit ministries goes astray! We have observed throughout history that false teachers can have an incredible sway on others. When they occupy the sacred desk of the pastor, how much more the damage may be done.
What will follow here is simply a brief elaboration on my philosophy of the preaching ministry for our day and time. I will unpack this by highlighting some aspects of the preaching task which I feel is essential to this sort of work. In doing so, I hope to give a vision into a passion for mission and how I see responsible pulpit ministry as essential to ministry.
For simplicity, I’ve chosen headers for each section which read “Preaching should…” as these things are my recommendations to any of you who would engage in the preaching task. The first focus follows here and others will flow out on the blog in the week ahead.
Preaching Should be Biblical
In his correspondence with his young apprentice Timothy, the apostle Paul echoes this strong word:
[1] I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: [2] preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. [3] For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, [4] and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. [5] As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
These words are contained in Paul’s final letter and contains some strong clarity for young ministers starting out. First, he gives a charge that should clear the head and perk up the ears. He basically says, I challenge you in front of God, Jesus and Kingdom come. Serious stuff here.
His challenge to Timothy was to preach! But not simply preach his opinions, his clever ideas, things he read in blogs, et. al. He tells him to preach the Word. This ministry will involve preaching the Word of another, that of God himself. It is also interesting that the pastor in his preaching of the Word should be ready to reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. This list is very similar to and parallels that which Paul says about the “Scriptures” in 2 Timothy 3:16 in the immediate textual neighborhood just a few sentences prior. He is to bring God’s Scriptures to the church in light of the tendency of people to wander away into false teaching, drawn away into myths, to teaching they simply want to hear and a myriad of other worldly ideas.
This preaching and teaching of the Scriptures was also exemplified in the personal ministry of the apostle as well. We read in Acts 20:27 that he did not shrink back from declaring to the Ephesians the whole counsel of God. He discipled them and prepared them for leadership by preaching the Word of God to them. Abraham Kuruvilla, in his work A Vision for Preaching, describes the aim of preaching being biblical in the following helpful manner:
What does it mean to affirm that preaching is biblical? We have seen that Scripture, divine discourse, is to be the source material for sermons in the church, for the Bible is abiding, weighty, and binding upon the people of God for their faith and practice. [1]
There are also exhortations and examples we must look to for the congregation as well. As hearing and heeding the Word of God is not a passive engagement from the church. The ancient church in Thessalonica was said they received the word of God not as the words of men but as the Word of God (1 Thessalonians 2:13). Furthermore, James exhorted early Jewish believers to be quick to hear and to receive the implanted word with all meekness. This word, James tells us, is able to save souls. The Word needs to be heard but also heeded and obeyed. (See full context by reading James 1:19-25).
Preaching should be biblical in that it should explain the meaning of and application of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Christians should sit under such teaching and eager to hear the Words of God to follow Jesus in life and mission. Far too often the traditions of men get substituted in for the words of God. (Mark 7:1-13) This temptation should be resisted by keeping our Bibles open and our hearts tuned to the words of the Lord.
Up next...Preaching Should be Contextual
Notes
[1]Abraham Kuruvilla, A Vision for Preaching : Understanding the Heart of Pastoral Ministry (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2015), 26.