Preach the Word

The Lord is remarkably clear in His instructions to those who follow His word regarding the teaching of His precepts.

2 Timothy 4:1-5

I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Preach God's word at all times, no matter what the consequences are, no matter who is being spoken to, and no matter what people want to hear. The gospel is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16-17). God commands us to preach it and it alone to all people's everywhere; "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."Amen." (Matthew 28:18-20)

I recently had the privilege of attending the Twenty-sixth Annual Spiritual Sword Lectureship at the Getwell Church of Christ in Memphis, TN. The lectureship was entitled "The Glory of Preaching". While there were several excellent lessons given on the various aspects of preaching, one stood out amongst them all. Dave Miller, director of the Brown Trail School of Preaching in Bedford, TX, gave a lesson entitled "The Kind of Preaching Needed Today". I believe that Brother Miller has captured the essence of what preaching should be. What follows is a summary of the lesson he gave.

People are people, regardless of their particular time in history, their culture, their education, or their affluence. "That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 1:9). People often are under the assumption that the current time is more advanced, modern, and relevant than times past. But the Bible is perpetually relevant regardless of man's assumptions along these lines. The kind of preaching needed today is the same kind of preaching that has always been needed. The subject has not changed because the human condition has not changed. Man, through his sin, requires a divine antidote to be blessed with eternal life. And God has provided this cure in His word. Therefore, in order to learn of this gift of salvation, we must be taught. And if we must be taught, there must be a teacher. In order to know what sort of preaching is needed today, we must turn to the Bible to find the example. And the greatest preacher who ever lived, the model preacher, the superlative preacher, the perfect preacher was none other than Jesus Christ.

If we look closely within the New Testament we find that Jesus' preaching was above all loving (Matthew 15:22-28, Matthew 19:13-15, Matthew 23:37, John 11:35, and Hebrews 4:15). His preaching downplayed emotion and was direct, logical, and scriptural. One particular instance of all of these traits can be found in Matthew 22:23-33:

The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying: "Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her." Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven. But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

Here Jesus, in a few simple, logical, brilliant sentences, absolutely demolishes the Sadducees erroneous belief that there was no resurrection. As is often the case, people like to bring up situations that are extreme in order to make a point. For example, people today might say what if a man was lost in the desert and there was no water around and he knew he needed to be baptized before he died be he couldn't that God would not save him? Likewise the Sadducees had the supposedly true story of the woman who was married to seven brothers. The first thing Jesus says to them is "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures..." Now the Sadducees were very well educated and probably had read the Scriptures quite a bit. Given the character of Jesus we find elsewhere in the Bible, I am sure that he said this to them with all the love and compassion He could muster. But, no matter what tone Jesus used, I am sure that the Sadducees were quite offended. But Jesus does not stop there. Next He says, "For in the resurrection". Remember that the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection. Not only does Jesus state that there is a resurrection, but He goes on to describe what it will be like. Then, again not letting the Sadducees go ("have you not read...") and going directly to the heart of the matter, Jesus quotes Exodus 3:6. Again, it is not stated in the text but I am sure that the Sadducees had to be a bit upset and confused. They had to be wondering to themselves what Exodus had to do with the resurrection. After all, Exodus 3 details the experience of Moses and the burning bush. In that chapter however, God stated that He is presently the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when He spoke to Moses. Now when God was speaking to Moses, all three had long been dead! In a few short sentences, Jesus rebuked the erroneous views of the Sadducees concerning the resurrection, taught them of the truth on the matter which had to convince them whether they liked it or not, and exhorted them that God is the God of the living. A perfect sermon!

Many other features of Jesus' preaching merit consideration. Jesus' preaching arose out of a prayerful life (e.g., Matthew 14:23). It was extremely penetrating in that it cut to the heart of the issue and to the heart of the attitude of the individual (e.g., Matthew 9:4, 15:3). Though his preaching was intended to save people, it accepted, even accommodated, rejection (e.g., Matthew 13:14-14, 15:13-14, John 6:67). His preaching disarmed the opponents (e.g., Matthew 21:24, 22:42). It was contemplative and required careful thinking and thoughtful reflection. His preaching corrected error, misconception, and false religious views (e.g., Matthew 15:3-9). It was courageous and fearless (e.g., Matthew 10:16, 22-28, 34ff; 21:12).

The day will never come while the universe stands that preaching will not be necessary. Whatever may be happening in society or the church, the solution will always be the same--preach the word! Jesus is the model. He is the Master Preacher who demonstrated in his own life on earth the kind of preaching that is needed today. May we emulate him! ¹

ENDNOTES

1 - I have included the conclusion of Dave Miller's lesson here. The full text of his lesson can be found in Chapter 19 of the 26th Annual Spiritual Sword Lectureship book entitled "The Glory of Preaching". The book is published by Sain Publications and can be ordered from the Getwell Church of Christ.