For weeks I have tried to write this article. But something else takes my attention. For me, I can only ascribe this to sovereign providence. And the reason I say this is because it all makes sense now. Let me give a little background for this article.
Why write an article on preaching? One reason is that I know deep within my heart that I have been called to preach God’s word, not only through the pen but also through word of mouth. I am aware that I have said elsewhere that I am very hesitant to call myself a preacher. That hasn’t changed. But it doesn’t stop me from preaching.
Before I was born, my mom playfully made a statement as a teenager that could become my calling in the ministerial sense. My mom told her peers that she wanted to give birth to a baby boy as her first child. And this child, in her own words, would become a pastor (preacher). It went exactly as she had wished. Though I am not a pastor. But I am in the ministry.
As of last year, God has been telling me about starting a preaching ministry. But this month, He gave me a stronger desire to start immediately. Hence my goal for this article is to talk about what I think true biblical preaching is, namely, speaking to show the majesty of God.
“The way we perceive the Christian faith and experience Christianity is owing to the kind of preaching we are exposed to.”
What is Preaching and why is it Important?
In my opinion, defining preaching is a bit complex. But Church history teaches that strong biblical preaching is the main method God Himself anointed for the vitality and health of the church. P. T. Forsyth states the importance of preaching in Christianity: “With preaching Christianity stands or falls because it is a declaration of the gospel.” I agree because the way we perceive the Christian faith and experience Christianity is owing to the kind of preaching we are exposed to. Edwin Dargan, also, stresses that “preaching is an essential part and a distinguishing feature of Christianity, and accordingly the larger history of general religious movements includes that of preaching."
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones likewise states the urgency of the ministry of the Word in this way: "The most urgent need in the Christian Church today is true preaching; and as it is the greatest and the most urgent need in the church, it is obviously the greatest need of the world also . . . preaching always comes first and is given priority. If this [salvation] is the greatest of need of man, if his ultimate need is something that arises out of this ignorance of his which, in turn, is the result of rebellion against God, well then, what needs first and foremost is to be told about this, to be told the truth about himself, and to be told of the only way in which this can be dealt with. So I assert that it is the peculiar task of the church, and of the preacher."
Paul wrote in Romans 10:14 stressing the need for preaching and preachers: "How can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?"
Preaching is the charge from God to speak in accordance with His revealed, inspired word to show His majesty. In other words, preaching is a call, a command, a privilege, and an exhibition that involves explanation and exultation.
Preaching: A Calling
The call to preach is an astounding calling! It is sharing in Paul's calling from the Lord Jesus. "I am sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me" (Acts 26:17–18).
The call to preaching is a call to do what only God can do—open the eyes of the blind—the blind who cannot see "the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:4 ESV). Only the Creator of the universe can say, "Let there be light in the darkness!" in the sin-and-Satan-blinded heart—and expect the blind to see. And this is exactly what He says into blind hearts. "For God, who said, 'Let there be light in the darkness,' has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6).
Preaching: A Command
True preaching is not just teaching. It is not just giving counsel. It is not a discussion. Preaching is the heartfelt heralding of the reality communicated by the inspired spokesmen of God Himself in the Bible. Paul says, "All Scripture is inspired by God" (2 Timothy 3:16). Then he says, "Preach the word of God" (2 Timothy 4:2). In between this highest of all praises of Scripture (God-inspired), and this command to "Preach the word of God," comes the most astonishing preface in the Bible to a great command.
This preface turns the command to preach the word of God into an exalted, solemn, supremely weighty adjuration: "I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus . . . Preach the word of God" (2 Timothy 4:1–2)
I know of nothing quite like this in all the Bible. This is indeed an unparalleled preparation for a three-word command. The preaching of the word of God is in obedience to a solemn, apostolic charge. This charge-empowered preaching happens "in the presence of God," the Creator of all things.
It happens "in the presence of Christ Jesus," God's Son and savior of the world. It happens in the light of a great final judgment by the very one we preach. It happens—always happens—in the presence of those who will be judged, whether living or dead. It happens in the certainty of Christ’s appearance in this world. And it happens in the power and presence of Christ's all-encompassing kingdom.
Preaching: A Privilege
It is a great privilege to stand before God's people and tell them the greatest realities in the world. To exult with them over the most exalted truths in the universe. To explain to them the most mysterious wonders ever conceived in the mind of God. Preachers are "mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God’s mysteries" (1 Corinthians 4:1).
The preacher is to represent the highest authority in the world—"God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, 'Come back to God!'" (2 Corinthians 5:20). A preacher is to meditate day and night, as a vocation, on realities that are more valuable than gold and silver; to chew on, and savor, and speak the most delicious truths that exist—truths that are sweeter than honey and drippings from the honeycomb (Psalm 19:10)—sweeter than the most intense sweetness in the world.
“Our preaching falls short of true Christian preaching because it fails to help people see how the text takes us to the reality that is all-important, namely, God.”
Preaching: An Exhibition
There is a widespread kind of preaching that is Bible-based but not Bible-saturated. Even the reading of the biblical text followed by preaching that makes its points—sometimes very good points found in the text—without showing people the very words and phrases from which the points are taken. Our preaching falls short of true Christian preaching because it fails to help people see how the text takes us to the reality that is all-important, namely, God.
True preaching that is not just Bible-based but also Bible-saturated is that which involves rigorous attention to the very words of the biblical text as a means of radically penetrating the reality the text aims to communicate, namely, God. This means that the ultimate goal of Christian preaching is to speak to show the glory of God. It is to exhibit the manifold majesty of God.
Preaching: Explanation and Exultation
Preaching is no preaching until it is an explanation of the reality it seeks to communicate. Preaching includes exposition of biblical texts, or it is not preaching. Ultimate reality—glorious reality—comes to us through written texts. But careful exposition is not preaching. Not yet. Preaching is the effect of breath-taking, truth-carrying, text-mediating, Spirit-revealing reality. And that effect is not boredom. It is not emotional neutrality. It is not lukewarm. It is not silliness, or cleverness, or levity. Preaching is the art of speaking to show the most important reality of all, namely, God.
The effect of breath-taking, truth-carrying, text-mediating, and Spirit-revealing reality in preaching is exultation over the word of God. Or more precisely, it is the overflow of the heart from Spirit-wakened emotion appropriate to the reality in the text. But it is never neutral. Indeed emotionally blank preaching does not embody the reality of the text; it betrays it.
Christian preaching is a heartfelt heralding of the reality communicated by the inspired writers of God's word, the Bible. The calling of the Christian preacher is to illumine the mind by exposition of God's words and to enliven the heart with the glory they carry.
What a calling!
O. O. Living (@oo_living) answered the call to follow Jesus Christ at the age of fourteen after hearing the teachings of a Christian lady. He is founder and teacher of Godcentered Christianity. Living is author of 5 books including God’s Passion for His Glory and most recently, Joy to the World.