To the Preacher…
I am not a great preacher, neither have I studied much hermeneutics and I can’t seem to get my mind around these types of books (The Meaning of Meaning?). But I do struggle with some of the current preaching today. Can I give a few suggestions to those of you who stand behind a pulpit or even sit and present a bible study in your home? Assuming you are true to the text….
1. Avoid moralism! Your listeners are wired to think moralistically. In other words, they already are looking to find the next thing they can do in order to be accepted by God. Don’t make your message an easy target.
Straightening out the lives of parishioners is the stock and trade of the pastorate. But much of this straightening is often unrelated to Christ and the real depth of congregational problems. Moralism whether it takes the form of denunciation or pep talks, can ultimately only create awareness of sin and guilt or manufactured virtues built on will power. A ministry which leads to genuine sanctification and growth, on the other hand, avoids moralism, first by making clear the deep rootage of sin-problems in the flesh so that the congregation is not battling these in the dark, and then by showing that every victory over the flesh is won by faith in Christ, laying hold of union with him in death and resurrection and relying on his Spirit for power over sin… Ministries which attack only the surface of sin and fail to ground spiritual growth in the believer’s union with Christ produce either self-righteousness or despair, and both of these conditions are inimical to spiritual life. Richard Lovelace, The Dynamics of Spiritual Life (emphasis mine)
2. Don’t be pedantic. Your listeners don’t want commentary they need life! In the words of DA Carson, we need to devote a fair bit of thought to the relations between ancient text and contemporary context, between expository lecture and expository preaching (where men and women are made to feel the text’s bite and balm), between rigorous exegetical accuracy and colorful presentation.
3. Remember the gospel! Think motivation. What motivates Christians to greater levels of commitment, sacrifice and holiness? Only the Gospel. In I Corinthians 5, Paul states that the love of Christ controlled him. What was it that both constrained (think compulsion) and restrained (think banks of a river)? What both compelled him to be “out of his mind” and yet restrained him to hold his “reserve”if necessary? It was the love of Christ, not just his love for Christ, but as the Greek suggests (and the majority of commentators agree) namely “Christ’s love” or “the love Christ showed” for him. No one doubts that believers’ love for Christ motivates their actions, but here Paul is concentrating on an earlier stage of motivation, namely the love shown by Christ in dying for humankind. (M Harris, NIGNT II Cor). When preaching we must see that Christians, as much as unbelievers, need the gospel, to see Jesus’ sacrificial love demonstrated at the cross. That every thing Christ demands of us he has already done for us. Here are a couple MP3 and articles by Dr. Keller that have really helped me in this area…. (all of these can be found here)