Ecclesiology
Lesson XXXII
Preaching and Preachers
August 9, 2007
Preaching
has always been a part of Christianity.
That it was ordained of God is clear from Scripture. We state some examples:
Mark
Acts 8:4-8 “Therefore they that were
scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word ....” To “preach the word” is to preach Christ.
Acts 8:35 “Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at
the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.”
Acts
1 Corinthians 1:20 “It pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” It does not say by “foolish preaching.”
1 Timothy 2:7 Paul writes: “…I am ordained a preacher and an
apostle.” If that were being written
today, the office of ‘apostle’ would be named first, not that of only a preacher!
2 Timothy
2 Corinthians 1:19 “For the Son of God,
Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us…”
2 Corinthians 2:12 “…When I came to Troas
to preach
Christ’s gospel...”
2 Corinthians 4:5“For we preach
not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord.”
Ephesians 3:8 “Unto me who am less
that the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach
among the Gentiles the unsearchable
riches of Christ.”
Is
it any wonder, that after declaring the fact of the Divine Inspiration of all
Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16), Paul gave the charge he had received from the Lord
Jesus (2 Timothy 4:1) to young Timothy, to “preach the Word.”?
If we do not preach the word, it is not preaching.
“Paul
preached
wherever he could get a hearing:
in a synagogue (Acts 9:20),
by a river-side (Acts 16:13),
on Mars hill (Acts 17:22),
on the steps of the Citadel (Acts
22:1) and
in a hired house (Acts 28:30-31).
He
never wasted his energy on building a material shrine.” - Quote from Herbert
Lockyer.
2 Timothy 3:14-16
(14) But continue thou in the things which thou hast
learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned [them];
(15) And that from a child thou hast known the holy
scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which
is in Christ Jesus.
(16) All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is]
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness:
2 Timothy 4:1-2
(1) I charge [thee] therefore before God, and the Lord
Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his
kingdom;
(2) Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season;
reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
The
Scriptures make wise unto salvation because all Scripture is given by
inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:14-16).
Therefore Paul charged Timothy to “preach the Word” (2 Timothy 4:2). That charge needs emphasis today. For, alas, the emphasis is not on preaching. If Churches are going to remain as Churches
they must be places of preaching.
“Present
day preachers are expected to be organizers, counselors, youth directors,
educational experts, builders and money raisers, and above all, good fellows in
the community.” Modern standards do not
demand that a preacher be a good preacher.
It was the Scottish people who had made great preachers in
Acts 6:3-4
(3) Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men
of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over
this business.
(4) But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and
to the ministry of the word.
Acts 6:3-4 “Wherefore, brethren,
look ye out among yourselves seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost
and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to fishing
and playing golf! NO! We will give ourselves to prayer and the
ministry of the Word.” This was to be
their major activity.
Recently
I read that the average American preacher prays less than 10 minutes a day.
The
pulpit today is one of the weakest places in the Church. Most sermons are heartless, dull and boring. They are ill prepared and poorly
delivered. Much of this has been caused
by our accepting that preaching is secondary in ministry and not
primary. This also explains the removal
of pulpits from many Churches because everything else on the program must be
given first place and if any time remains it will be given to preaching the
Word.
We
believe the Church will never be strong as it should be if the preaching is not
strong. The pulpit can never be strong
without anointed preaching. Jerry Falwell said, “Anointing means a special
touch for a specific task.”
2 Samuel 23:1
(1) Now these [be] the last words of David. David the son
of Jesse said, and the man [who was] raised up on high, the anointed of the God
of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said,
In
2 Samuel 23:1, we read that David was raised up by God. David was anointed by God. David became the sweet singer in Israel
because of that Divine anointing. One
may give a speech without anointing. One
may give a lecture without anointing.
But one cannot do much preaching without anointing that comes from God.
Anointing
is more important than talent. Anointing
is more important than training. Talent
may tickle the ears but anointing cuts to the hearts. In Acts 7:54 of Stephen’s sermon we read,
“When they heard these things they were cut to the heart.” Talent can create an emotional experience but
anointing creates a spiritual experience.
Acts 7:54
(54) When they heard these things, they were cut to the
heart, and they gnashed on him with [their] teeth.
When
we set our aim in ministry or music to appeal only to a certain class (i.e.
youth or university students), we are manifesting the fact that we are not
depending on the Holy Spirit. When
Christian ministry or music appeals only to the young and not to the old, it is
being directed only to the flesh because there are no old spirits, just old
bodies. In all forms of ministry we must
beware of those who are trying to restate the gospel to make it acceptable to
so-called ‘modern man’. Men in ministry
are obligated not to change the gospel - the gospel is to be proclaimed to
change men. We do not need to try to
make the Bible message relevant, we trust the Holy Spirit to do that.
When
Paul went to Rome, it, like our cities, was plagued with social problems. Until the Lord comes this will continue, for
Jesus said, “The poor ye will always have with you.” But Paul did not get involved and preach
social justice. Rome was a city of
slaves, millions of them, but Paul did not preach against slavery. It was a city of moral degradation and lust,
but Paul did not preach “moral reform.” It
was a city of economic injustice, the rich were getting richer and the poor
getting poorer, but Paul did not launch a campaign to end poverty. It was a city filled with soldiers because of
constant war. But Paul did not preach
against war nor did he join the ‘peace now’ marchers!
We
quote from a published radio sermon by Preston Manning in 1975. In the 1920’s, “many Christians theologians
and laymen were discovering and emphasizing the social aspects of the gospel.
The so called “Social Gospel” emphasized the humanity of Christ rather than His
Deity. It favoured an allegorical
rather than a literal interpretation of the Scriptures. The United Church (of Canada) which embraced
this conception of the Gospel, found themselves drawn increasingly into social
service work and community action, and less involved in personal prayer,
scripture study or personal evangelism and witness”. We are seeing this happen to evangelical
Churches of today.
Paul
had a gospel to preach. A gospel that
would produce social reform, social action and social justice, i.e., a social
gospel, will change nothing.
Romans 1:16
(16) For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it
is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew
first, and also to the Greek.
We
have underestimated the power of the gospel and the power of the Word of God.
To
proclaim any kind of message other than the simple gospel message, which is the
truth revealed in the Bible and especially in Jesus Christ, is not
preaching. The gospel is not something
to argue about. It is not something to
dialogue about. It is not something to
be explained. It is something to be
declared and then received or rejected by men.
1 Corinthians 15:3 “I declare unto you the
gospel…”
The
gospel declares that God has done something for sinners. The gospel declares that God has provided
righteousness for anyone who will believe.
Romans 3:22
(22) Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of
Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no
difference:
If
your pastor ceases to preach the Word of God - God forbid that it should happen
- you have a moral obligation as a congregation to see that he is removed from
the pulpit. We do not belong to those
who believe that a pastor should never move or be removed.
Galatians 2:20
(20) I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet
not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I
live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
In
these days of positive thinkers, and days when we are surrounded by a
Christianity that has become a new form of Christian Science, we are told not
to talk about anything that is negative.
We have more or less swallowed the ‘power of positive thinking’. We have done so to the point where the power
of our thinking has almost replaced the power of Christ. We must learn the truth of Scripture that we
do not live by the power of our faith, “but the life we now live in the flesh
we live by the faith of the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us” (Galatians
2:20). You may talk ‘positive’ all you
will. All you will do is live in a dream
world. And you will never be able to
face issues as they really are.
Isaiah 8:20
(20) To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not
according to this word, [it is] because [there is] no light in them.
Remembering
and observing that Jude describes the last days and our having to face the real
world, facing things as they really are, there is no point in trying to use
“mind over matter” theory to persuade ourselves that perilous times are not
upon us. The Bible declares that they
are. And in the Bible we have the mind
of Christ. And remember God will never
contradict His word. Never! Never!
“If they speak not according to this word there is no light in them” (Isaiah
8:20). Remember that anything that is
not Scriptural is not spiritual.
What
is happening in our part of the world?
We still have Church buildings but are they still Churches? We have a
report in our hands that states: “Only
7% of the American Adult population are Christian Evangelicals; 12% of the
adult population describe themselves as atheists or agnostics; another large
group, 31% of all American adults, are non-evangelical, born-again
Christians.” Thirty-nine percent (39%)
call themselves nominal Christians. It
is our conclusion that ‘non-evangelicals’ (who often say they are not
fundamentalists) and ‘nominal Christians’ have been the cause of a spiritual
decline in all denominational Churches.
Like Samson, they “wist not that the Lord was departed from him” (Judges
16:20). They are much like the Laodicean
Church with Christ standing on the outside knocking on the door (Revelation
3:20).
Dr
Kenneth Hannah records what happened to
“First they removed the choir area
so they could put in a stage for dramatic production”
[As we
have observed in many a church, what was in our day a ‘platform’ is now called
a ‘stage’.]
“Then they removed the pulpit because
they no longer needed it since they were no longer preaching.”
[Strange,
is it not, that we have seen most pulpits removed today?]
“Then lastly they removed the
pews. It became a place where dancing
went on and finally it became so obscene that the police closed it down.”
Extreme
you reply, but it did happen!
We
must remember, as preachers, to face the fact that we no longer preach to
biblically oriented people. What brought
this change?
In
1842, the “Ontario School Reader” included:
‘A’ is for Adam who was the
first man. He broke God’s command and
thus sin began.
‘B’ is the Book which to
guide us was given. Though written by man the words came from Heaven.
‘C’ is for Christ, who for
sinners was slain. By Him, Oh how freely
salvation we gain.
Could
we find anything like that in our public schools today? My Grade Five Reader contains passages from
the Bible and some of the stories I had to read were taken from the Bible. In the school I attended in the late 1920’s
and the 1930’s, as late as the early forties, the Bible was to be taught the
last fifteen minutes of every day. It
was in order for George Washington to say: “It is impossible to govern rightly
without God and the Bible,” Mark Twain wrote:
“George Washington, as a boy, was ignorant of the commonest
accomplishment of youth, he could not even lie.”
With
sadness we write: It is our studied opinion that much preaching today is more psychological
than it is theological. We have also
observed over the years, that the first thing that becomes less and less
important with such preaching is the importance of Bible Doctrine. And that is soon followed by less and less
preaching about the Second Coming of Christ.
Recently
a preacher told me that he had met a young lady with her ‘degrees’, who when he
brought up the subject of the Second Coming, she had no interest in hearing
anything about it. More and more are
joining the ranks of those predicted by Peter “… that there shall come in the
last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts and saying, Where is the
promise of His Coming?...” (2 Peter
3:3-4).
2 Peter 3:3-4
(3) Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last
days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
(4) And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for
since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as [they were] from the
beginning of the creation.
Departing
from the truth, it follows that preachers and their followers are soon “turned
unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). ‘Fables’
are dressed-up lies.
2 Timothy 4:3-4
(3) For the time will come when they will not endure
sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves
teachers, having itching ears;
(4) And they shall turn away [their] ears from the truth,
and shall be turned unto fables.
Here
are a few examples of recent teachings.
“Jesus promised to save
everybody.” He did not!
“Jesus promised to take everybody
to Heaven”. He did not!
“Jesus promised that all his
followers should be in health”. He did
not!
“Jesus promised that all should be
healthy and wealthy.” He did not!
Such
lies have not been uncommon among us.
Others
are being taken up with what is called “prophetic ministry”. As Jack Deere, a former professor at Dallas
Theological Seminary, calls it, “the word freshly spoken from heaven”. People who get caught up in this kind of
thinking soon turn from the “More sure Word of prophecy” (2 Peter 1: 19). Is it any wonder that there are so many
confused Christians?
2 Peter 1: 19
(19) We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto
ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place,
until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
We
conclude by asking the question:
What kind
of preachers and preaching are needed today?
We answer.
Men like
Enoch
who walked with God (Genesis 5:22) and preached the second coming before the
first coming had become history. He
preached that God would bring judgment upon the ungodly world (Jude 14, 15).
Genesis 5:22
(22) And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah
three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
Jude 14-15
(14) And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of
these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
(15) To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all
that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly
committed, and of all their hard [speeches] which ungodly sinners have spoken
against him.
Men like
Noah
who walked with God (Genesis 6:9). He
was a preacher of righteousness in a very unrighteous world (2 Peter 2:5). He stood alone. He was out of step with his times. He was content to be considered a cracked pot
for he dared to preach “repent or perish”.
Walk with God and you will not be very popular in this world that is at
enmity with God.
Genesis 6:9
(9) These [are] the generations of Noah: Noah was a just
man [and] perfect in his generations, [and] Noah walked with God.
2 Peter 2:5
(5) And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the
eighth [person], a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the
world of the ungodly;
Men like
Daniel
who purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself (Daniel 1:8). In Daniel 5, he was not at the party. He was not a “wine sipping saint.” He had no part in the ungodliness of his
day. He would not embrace a theology
that would say, when Jesus turned water into wine, he was saying, “Let the
party begin!” Daniel was not afraid to
tell the King, “he was weighed in the balance and found wanting,” therefore
judgment was soon to fall upon him.
Daniel 1:8
(8) But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not
defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he
drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not
defile himself.
We
need men
like Elijah (1 Kings 17:1) who, before wicked Ahab, dared to talk about
a ‘living God’. He had had experience
with God. He did not organize a union
meeting with God’s enemies. In the words
of Vance Havner, “He did not suggest that Ahab read a prayer; Jezebel sing a
solo; and Elijah preach the sermon.” He
drew lines between believers and unbelievers: between the saved and the
unsaved.
1 Kings 17:1
(1) And Elijah the Tishbite, [who was] of the inhabitants
of Gilead, said unto Ahab, [As] the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I
stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
What
kind of preachers do we need?
Men like John
the Baptist who was a burning and a shining light (John 3:35).
John 3:35
(35) The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things
into his hand.
Herod
feared John for he knew that John was just and holy (Mark 6:20).
Mark 6:20
(20) For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just
man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things,
and heard him gladly.
There
were no shady business deals with John.
He did not ignore the sins of the Nation. He went on preaching in spite of his
poverty. He was not looking for a bed of
ease. He was not looking for
promotion. His life ended in prison from
which he was promoted to glory.
We
need more preaching like that of Jesus.
He did not pull punches in His preaching
In
Matthew 23 two words stand out. They are
“woe” and “fools”. See verses
12,13,14,15,16,17,19.
At
the same time He was able to weep over Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37).
Matthew 23: 12-17, 19, 37
(12) And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased;
and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
(13) But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in [yourselves],
neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
(14) Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for
ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye
shall receive the greater damnation.
(15) Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for
ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him
twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
(16) Woe unto you, [ye] blind guides, which say,
Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear
by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
(17) [Ye] fools and blind: for whether is greater, the
gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?
(19) [Ye] fools and blind: for whether [is] greater, the
gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
(37) O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, [thou] that killest the
prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have
gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under [her]
wings, and ye would not!
We
need preachers
like Paul, who because he wanted the gospel to continue with the
Galatians (Galatians 1:5) was not afraid to withstand Peter to the face
(Galatians 2:13-14). Who also had a
great passion for the souls of men and especially his people (Romans 9:1-2),
one who was willing to suffer for the gospel’s sake.
Galatians 1:8
(8) But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any
other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be
accursed..
Galatians 2:13-14
(13) And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him;
insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.
(14) But when I saw that they walked not uprightly
according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before [them] all, If
thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews,
why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
Romans 9:1-2
(1) I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience
also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
(2) That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in
my heart.
Lord,
give us preachers with warm hearts and cool heads who will declare all the
council of God by staying close to the Word when preaching the Word.