Word of Salvation – September 2017
The Priority of Preaching the Word
By Rev. Craig Van Echten
On 2Timothy 4:1-4
Textual Theme: There is an urgent need for Timothy to see to it that the word is preached in every circumstance to every person.
Purpose Statement: To encourage Timothy to Preach the Word.
Proposition: Having the Word preached is central to the ministry of a healthy Church
Brothers and sisters,
We continue with our theme which is: What is a healthy Church? So is preaching the Word a mark of a healthy church? I know it’s pretty central to our worship. It also chews up a lot of a Pastor’s resources. But is it necessary for a healthy Church to have preaching?
Couldn’t we receive the Word through other ways and forms? What if, instead of preaching, we did a Bible study together, in like a small group setting? What if, instead of preaching, we went out and did some evangelism? What if, instead of preaching, we simply spent time together reading God’s Word? It is necessary for a healthy Church to have preaching?
And is preaching really that effective in our technological age? In the past people were used to receiving information via reading text. Before T.V, internet, and mass media people were used to following logical arguments. Now it’s changed. Today, how many people read books? More, and more, people receive information visually. Is preaching really that effective in this culture?
Not only that, is the whole structure of preaching still effective? Sermons are generally monologue. It’s all one way. This sort of structure doesn’t involve others. In the 1980’s someone said it this way, ‘one-way communication is as outmoded as the model T’ ‘a monstrous monologue by a moron to mutes.
And there are other issues too? Some preachers are boring, stale, hard to follow, and irrelevant.
So again I ask, is preaching really essential for a Church to be healthy. Or is the sermon like using a ‘kerosene lamp in the age of electric light?’
Let me begin with centrality of God’s Word. The Apostle Paul could have said, ‘preach a poem’ ‘preach about the Greek gods’ ‘preach Greek wisdom’ ‘preach what the experts are saying’ ‘preach morality’ ‘preach social justice ’ But, Paul writing by the Holy Spirit says, “Preach the Word.”
For God’s Word alone has authority. And in the context to our passage we read, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” (2Tim. 3:16) Notice “All Scripture is breathed out by God.” To put it differently, the Bible has its origin in God. The Bible is God’s Word. It doesn’t just contain God’s Word. The whole book is God’s Word. So Timothy is to preach the text of God’s Word.
As well as authority, God’s Word has power. By that powerful word God created the World. And He sustains this creation by His Word. So his word is powerful, life giving and life sustaining.
And the same goes for our Spiritual lives. God’s Word is powerful to create faith. Abraham, Ruth, David, you name it. God spoke into their lives and they believed. The Word creates the Church. We are not here because we ultimately chose God. No, He chose us. And gave us new birth through the Word. To the praise of His grace. Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ.” And not only does God create faith, He sustains it by His Word. In His high priestly prayer, Jesus prayed “Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth.”
And so the word is central. Both because of its authority and its power. Now at this point I want us to stand back a moment and ask: Are we healthy in this regard? Is the Word central to us as a Church? Do we trust the Word to be life creating and life sustaining? Do we gather around the Word in corporate Worship? Do we gather around the Word in our home groups? Would this be a strong point? Just ponder that for a moment.
One of the ways in which Pastors try to make the word central is through expository preaching. ‘Expository’ is the term used for a method of preaching. Where you are exposing the text. You are bringing God’s Word to light. Just as we saw in Nehemiah 8. And you come to the text with no agenda, but to preach what is there.
We could also preach topically. There’s a place for that. The problem with only preaching topics is: hobby horses. Who is setting the agenda? With a topic the preacher often knows what he’s going to say. And after a while the same hobby horses come up. And if not done well, verses in the Bible can be taken way out of context.
The point of all this is to say: God must speak. And so we want the word to come through in all areas of Church life. We want the Word to be central.
Now what about the act of preaching? It’s one thing to say the word must speak. It’s quite another to say that the Word must be preached.
The second thing we see is the priority of preaching. I’m sure we all agree that the Word is central. And that’s it is the Word that we must bring to light. But what methods are we to use for doing that?
In this text we find some of Paul’s final instructions. For this is the last letter that Paul writes before His death. In verse 6 he says, “the time of his departure has come.”
So what are these last instructions focused on? ‘Encourage people in their daily devotions’ ‘Encourage family worship’ ‘Build up those small groups’
Rather, Paul commands Timothy “Preach the Word.” Importantly, we see that God here, prescribes a particular method for bringing the Word. This is a little bit surprising. Because often God gives a principle, and then we work out the rest ourselves. For example, “meet together.” It doesn’t matter where, what time, or even if we should have a building. But, with preaching, God has commanded a particular method.
Now what does it mean to preach?
You’ve probably got a particular picture in your mind. And it could be a negative one. Maybe what you’ve seen has been too dry, stale, irrelevant, and unaffecting.
So what does this text mean by this word “preach?”
This Greek word for “preach” is not unique to this text. Some variation of this word is used at least 57x in the N.T. And essentially this word means to herald. This word always refers to a public verbal proclamation by a herald. “ So it is not a simply another word for teach or explain or argue. It is what a town crier did: “Hear ye, Hear ye, Hear ye! The King has a proclamation.” So to put it differently, our text could be faithfully translated, ‘herald the word.’
Now it’s this heralding that makes this method distinctive. This method brings the Word with authority. The authority of the King. The herald does not bring his own message. He does not change the message. But he brings the King’s message. So when Jesus sent out the 70 to preach He said, “The one who hears you, hears me.” (Lk. 10:16).
So preaching or heralding has an authority that other methods don’t carry. And that’s why preaching is monologue. Preaching is not about the preacher and his opinions. It’s about hearing the message of the King. So in 1Thessalonians 2:13 “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.”
So through preaching God speaks directly to the hearts of his people. No other method can replicate this. That’s why this same preaching has to be a priority for Timothy. And for us.
But what if the preacher says something unbiblical? Timothy was an ordinary Pastor. Not even an Apostle. He was human like Peter and myself. Not perfect. What if he said something wrong?
Well, the authority of the messenger is not absolute. No authority in this world is absolute. If the message becomes hear ye, hear ye, the message of me. And fails to bring the King’s Word. He loses his authority. But when he does speak faithfully, it is not the Word of men but the word of God.
At home or work you will get phone calls. And you know some of them are not important. And you respond some time in the future. But some are very important. And you respond immediately. What if the Lord phoned you? Since preaching is the message of the King. How much do we surround ourselves with preaching?
Finally, preaching must continue despite contemporary communication. Preaching will always fall on hard times. It will not always be the flavour of the day. This was true for Timothy and it’s still true today.
Of course, we shouldn’t try to make it more difficult than it has to be. Preaching shouldn’t be boring and stale. Afterall, one is speaking for the King. It ought to be passionate and urgent.
Neither should preaching be irrelevant to the hearers. Look at verse 2, “reprove, rebuke and exhort.” Preaching needs to be relevant. Relevant to people’s Spiritual state and circumstances.
This is something Pastors try to work hard on. But we have still have much to improve on. We wish we could get to the heart of a text faster, and then see more clearly how it applies to the lives of the hearers. Please pray for your preacher!
But when all is said and done, people can still turn their nose up at preaching. Paul warns Timothy about this. I imagine Timothy would have been well trained. But he is warned, “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, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”
Can you see what is happening? People are not first deciding is it true, they first decide what they want to hear, and select a teacher to suit. Truth is abandoned for the passions. Not that desire or passion is wrong. But they are passionate not for the truth but what tickles. For example, the preacher’s style, oratory, the preacher himself, his voice, bearing, looks, mannerisms etc. And there is a craving for myths. Myths like fascinating stories and philosophical speculations.
Is it any different today? Truth abandoned for what tickles our fancy?
It’s important to note here that culture doesn’t determine the method. Despite the culture, Timothy is to go on preaching. In fact, in Roman culture, Christian preaching was seen as foolish. It didn’t reflect the Greek rhetoric of the time. So in 1Cor. 2:4 “and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.”
Preaching was a weak method, humanly speaking. But Timothy is commanded to continue nevertheless. Today preaching is still a weak method. Isn’t it? An authoritative monologue does not go down in a culture that emphasizes personal choice and freedom. A sermon using logic and words is not popular in a visual culture, with a youtube attention span! But it is still the power of God. And we need to believe that. We are not slaves to the culture. Rather, God’s Word transforms culture. And so we need preaching all the more. It’s no surprise that great revivals were preceded by great preaching. Do you want the young people of the Church to believe? Forget the gimmicks, let them come under the preaching of the Word. And set that example for them.
It is critical. Paul pulls out all the stops to make that clear in verse 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 kingdom: preach the Word.”
Conclusion
Are we a healthy church? Do we have a healthy respect for preaching? I can’t speak for all of your hearts. We have such a rich heritage when it comes to preaching. Let’s not take that for granted. And please don’t think of this as a Reformed thing. It’s a biblical thing. That’s why it’s a Reformed thing. And since it’s a biblical thing we find preaching at the centre of the worship of many other churches and denominations.
But the challenge for us this: To maintain its priority. And to believe in its power. Today some people are saying a Pastor’s resources are better used elsewhere. What a load of rubbish. We need more preaching not less. Are we too busy to listen to the King? Surely, that’s not healthy? Believe in the power of the preached Word.
1Cor. 1:23 “but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
Amen (2250 words)