JackHammer

I originally posted this on my own blog on July, 28, 2005. I have edited it slightly for presentation here:

I was at the First Baptist Church of Hammond last night and, WOW, I have never heard such horrible preaching.  Maybe I shouldn’t say never, but if I have, it’s been a long time.  The message was supposed to be about the will of God and the lust of the flesh.  Most of it was about the will of God and most of that came from nowhere in the Bible. It was hardly even a motivational speech.  What made it worse, was the terrible twisting of Scriptures.  Dr. Schaap did yell a lot and threaten that if you didn’t follow him, you would be in big trouble (because you’re not in the will of God).  He also said the way to follow the Spirit of God is to follow someone who is following the Spirit of God.  I wondered, “Where does that end?”  (How does the one that’s following the Spirit of God follow the Spirit of God?) I’m not against pastoral authority or example, but when does someone begin to follow the Spirit of God for himself?  He also said (and this is a classic) that he had more mercy than God did!  I don’t know if the over 2,000 present there caught that, but it was a shocker to me.  I didn’t think anyone could come close to the amount of mercy God has shown.  Well, the preaching was very shallow — no teaching, except falsehoods, and lots of yelling, threatening, and persuasion.

Real preaching must have teaching in it to be preaching.  Just repeating ourselves loudly won’t “cut it.”  As a preacher, I can only stand on the authority of the Word of God.  Just because I’m in the pulpit doesn’t give me more or any autonomous authority.  My authority comes from the Word of God, therefore, I must speak/preach from it.  If there is no teaching of the facts of the Word, I cannot make claims and application?

I decided that I must return sometime in the future for the entertainment factor if for nothing else. I haven’t been back yet, but it’s still on the long list of things to do.  I would add, going there challenged me to always Preach the WORD, not just always to PREACH.

Some of the strongest defenders of the King James Version, perhaps even a majority of them, often use the Bible like the Words themselves, nearly independent of any meaning, have magical properties that can ward away evil spirits.  This is not to say that there are not more that do the same with their modern translations (I believe there are).  As long as those Words are employed even pieced together like a newsprint mosaic of a kidnapper’s ransom note, something powerful will happen.  If we’re so glad that we have all the Words, then we should rightly divide them.   We don’t show more respect for them by ripping them from their context or getting a unique message from them that God “spoke,” often stated as:  “God spoke to me through this passage,” or “God gave me this message.”  Guess what?  God gave everybody the same message, so if the one you got is different than that one, the one and only God of Heaven didn’t give it to you.

There’s only one interpretation.  This is one reason why we need convictions not only about the preservation of the Words of God but also the teachings of God.  We ought to pass down to the next generation the right understanding of those Words.  If the right Words are assigned the wrong meaning, they are absent a kind of preservation—preservation of the teaching.  Preaching the wrong meaning to right Words still results in error.

Several of these same KJV advocates might ridicule exposition by scoffing that this exegesis stuff approaches Scripture like a “math book.”  Math wasn’t one of my better subjects, so I hope not, but no one should demean labor over the meaning of a passage.  Some of these very church leaders seem to judge success of a sermon by the kind of emotional impact it had.  “Were they excited and how many people came forward?” Or, “I think they really liked it.”  Or even, “Were they fired up?”  Positive outcome to these questions gets interpreted as “God used me” or “You could feel the power of God in that place.”

The Word of God derives its power from God.  Ephesians 6:17 says that the Holy Spirit uses God’s Word.  God will not work in the life-changing kind of power (dunamis) from preaching in error.  I’m not saying that something won’t happen, but the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Truth, so if a life changes through error, that wasn’t because of the Holy Spirit.

Through the centuries, many men have used great speaking abilities to move crowds.  Their ability should not be confused with the power of God.  “A” god, yes, but “the” God, no.  This is not an argument for monotone with few hand gestures.  This is to say that judging something to be full of power from God because of a feeling people got from it is merely existentialism, a form of humanism.  A person’s feeling becomes the determining factor and arbitrates the value of the message.  Change isn’t rooted in objective meaning but in the effect the sermon brings to the individual.  When the mortar is thin, you must fling it hard.  Such force brings impressive results, but not in the way of real wall building.

Gyrations and gesticulation become the standard of good preaching, conditioning wide mouths, protruding blood vessels,  uvulas flapping like a boxer’s speed bag, decibels rising to the level of a jet airplane taking off.  The speaker whips up such a frenzy with his voice, often circumventing human reason, that perhaps at the least, he could scare away any demon present.

When a man knows what the Bible says, he can practice it.  He can obey God.   At a bare minimum, the audience of preaching needs to understand what the passage is saying in order to believe and do what the Lord says.  A preacher who at least explains the passage evidences a desire for men to hear from God.  In the end then, God can get the glory and His Word will be respected.  The truths of these Words set people free.   The Holy Spirit’s illumination brings conviction.  The Word will be the Word of truth, which stabilizes and perfects, throughly furnishing the man of God unto every good work.

Second Timothy 4:2 tells us to “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season…”

What word is it that we are to preach? It would be the Word referred to in the previous verses. The Word given by inspiration of God and profitable. How do you read this verse? Is it like this:

…and is profitable for DOCTRINE, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

or like this:

…and is profitable for doctrine, for REPROOF, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

how about like this:

…and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for CORRECTION, for instruction in righteousness.

maybe this way:

…and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for INSTRUCTION in righteousness.

I think I’ve heard preaching of each of these kinds. But my contention is that all preaching should have all of these in it. Not just teaching, or just reproving, or just correcting, or just telling how to. Real preaching or real pastoring has a balance of all of these. Don’t call yourself a preacher of the word if you can’t or don’t do all of these.

Preach the Word.

I remember hearing a sermon in high school or college chapel on a perfect text for some typical preachers. The text had only six words. Three parallel commands. Three sets of two words. Actually, only four words total because one of them was repeated twice. So with the repeated words comes the parallel poetry of the three points. Three things we must NOT do!

Touch not, taste not, handle not. Colossians 2:21

The theme of this sermon was to give us biblical reasons NOT to touch, taste, or handle certain things. It was a typical litanny of “do’s” and “don’ts.” Of course, with this text, it was mostly the “don’ts.”

Please forgive me. I don’t remember any of the details of the message. I don’t remember the particular illustrations. I don’t remember the particular applications. I don’t remember the explanation of the text (except that if there was any, it couldn’t have been legitimate).

All I remember now is that the whole message was NOT biblical. Oh yes, it was moralistic. Yes, it contained many truths. Yes, it probably convicted some. But it was NOT biblical.

 

If you will look at the immediate context of this verse, it should be easy to see that Paul was fighting against those that would say “touch not, taste not, handle not!” He was not commanding us to not touch, not taste, or not handle.

This experience of mine never fails to be an illustration of how not to preach. It is a non-biblical sermon. The preacher had something he wanted to preach to young people about, so he made up an outline and looked for a verse to “back it up.” He may as well have looked up some poetry, conservative commentary, or statistics to “back it up.” Because the verses he picked are in direct opposition to what he was trying to preach!

This practice is deplorable. Yet it is often practiced among those who claim to be Bible preachers. Too many preachers know already what they are going to preach when they go to open their Bibles. Rather, let us have preachers who open their Bibles to see what God would have them deliver to His people.

I thought that might get your attention.  Hitler still fascinates, doesn’t he?  I got on a Hitler kick several years ago that motivated me to read four or five books about him and the Third Reich.  I think you might be relieved to know that the desire has not returned.  I wanted to know how he ever persuaded the German people to listen to him.  One reason was that Hitler was an amazing speaker.  He certainly could hold an audience, keep their rapt attention for awhile.  You know it wasn’t his dashing good looks.  Yet, I could see how amazing it could have been to have heard such a voice and vocabulary escape the lips of someone so diminuitive and odd.

Hitler moved people who were already primed for someone with unflinching conviction and hope, who knew how to prey on widespread bitterness, resentment, and nationalism.  He knew what buttons to push and when.  I think the Antichrist will have Hitleresque qualities.  Unfortunately, so do many preachers.  What am I talking about?  They know that speaking style and word choice sway people, so they do it.

In 21st century America, Hitler’s act doesn’t make it.  I’m not saying that there are not places in the U.S. or in other parts of the world where someone like Hitler couldn’t find his niche.  Certain third world countries either have or are looking for their own little Hitler.  However, that does not mean that we don’t have men that have taken the general principles and twiqued them to fit the contemporary audience.

I’ve known for awhile that speech is powerful.  We can have an incredible impact on people with the words we use and how we use them.  And this is mein kampf.  Yes, my struggle.  I know it isn’t the right way.  We should be as good as we can be with our language and syntax.  However, we have to be very careful, because our goal cannot be to addict people to a speaking style or a personality.

We have to talk in a way that will help people continue participating in linear thought.  We must limit ourselves by our material, the Bible.  We want people to love the Bible, not us.  I think I’m good at telling stories.  I think I’m funny.  I think I could just entertain people every week.  But I can’t.  Paul makes this point in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5:

And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

That passage alone has restrained me from using many of the techniques I have had available to use on an audience.  One of my responsibilities is to draw attention away from me and toward the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God.  Like John the Baptist said in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

My struggle, you see, is with my desire to increase.  Yes.  I know our church could be bigger if I cut loose, so to speak.  Well, I would also have to loosen up our doctrine and practice, but to be completely honest, I know that with a larger church comes more fame, and finally, more money.  If I have more money, I have more things.  From that, I’m even more popular than I was with the fame from the speaking.  With more money, more presents for other people and, therefore, more adoration.  I think you get the drift.

Some pastors are very good speakers, but I don’t think they are very good preachers.  They are also not very good pastors.  A good pastor that is a good preacher will elevate the Word of God, not himself, and will fill the minds of those with whom he comes in contact with its Words and Truths.  He will fill himself up first and then those Words will always come spilling out of his mouth.  Not everyone will like that, because it requires thinking.  People will have to sacrifice some to get the Words and their meaning, sort of like getting manna like the hoar frost (Ex. 16:14) off the ground, but they will receive them if they want them.  And when they are done with their struggle, they will say like David, “Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it” (Ps. 119:140).  Not exactly Hitler, is it?

I have been summarizing the types of sermons in Alfred P. Gibbs’ The Preacher and His Preaching for some of the posts on this month’s topic of preaching. In my first installment, I gave his description of expositional and textual sermons. The next installment summarized the biographical sermon and the historical incident sermon. Last week I introduced the topical sermon.  There are other types of sermons.  One example we see in Scripture is the personal testimony.  So, how do these types of sermons work together to preach the whole counsel of God?  I want to briefly look at the book of Galatians to give some examples.

First, most of the passages in Galatians naturally lend themselves toward the expostitional type of sermon.  So I am not going to list all the passages that could be expositional.  Second, I am not going to list all the passages that could be preached in all the different styles available.  I just want to show some examples.

Almost from the start we see the need to do a topical study on the terms “gospel” and “grace.”

I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel.   Galatians 1:6

Here, we see that the topic of the book of Galatians is going to be grace and the gospel and we see from this verse that the two (grace and gospel) are either the same or closely comparable — so a topical study/sermon is in order.

Then, starting in verse 13 of chapter one through chapter two verse 16, or even 21, there are strong biographical elements that could be used to supplement a biographical study/sermon on the life of Paul.  There is also in that section a historical incident that is quite important.  The account of the “Jerusalem council” is told here and in the book of Acts.

Lastly, there are many wonderful texts throughout the book of Galatians.  It seems to me that to preach the whole passage around these texts would force the preacher not to be able to bring to God’s people the great truths that have been given us in some of the individual verses of Galatians:

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Galatians 2:16

I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. Galatians 2:21

But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. Galatians 3:11

But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, Galatians 4:4

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:16

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. Galatians 6:7-8

My encouragement to preachers is this:  Preach the Word.  Whatever type of sermon the Word suggests, preach in that way.  But above all, preach the Word.  Do not come to sermon preparation with an idea and then try to develop it with Scripture.  Come to the Scriptures looking for what is there that needs to be delivered to God’s people.

May God bless you as you serve Him.

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) John 7:37-39

The preacher reminded me of a dry brook. You could see the evidence of the life that had once been there. Traces of water still lay in puddles here and there. The water that once flowed, I would guess rather freely, had worn a path through the dirt and stone. But now, ants built small hills in the dust where the trickle once ran. Any water that remained from the old stream huddled in stagnant puddles, where bugs danced freely on the surface. The thirsty soul probably wasn’t thirsty enough to drink that.

We find the symbolism of rivers of living water throughout the Bible. In Ezekiel 47, the angel of the Lord showed the prophet a trickle of water coming out from beneath the threshold of the temple’s door. The trickle moved eastward. The prophet followed his guide to the city gate, that faced eastward, and there they saw that same trickle of water.

Ezekiel’s guide measured one thousand cubits from the gate, and directed Ezekiel into that stream. The water was about ankle deep. They measured another one thousand cubits. When the prophet waded into the water, he found the stream about knee deep. One thousand cubits later, Ezekiel waded in up to his waste. And one thousand cubits further, that trickle flowing from the Temple’s threshold became a river. That river was water to swim in, too deep for Ezekiel to cross over. In just over a mile, that trickle from beneath the temple turned into a mighty river.

There, alongside this mighty river, stood Ezekiel and his guide. Trees lined the river on both sides, standing thick and strong along the banks. But where did the river go from there? The guide told Ezekiel that the river flowed down into the wilderness, and into the Dead Sea. And the water of that river was so pure that it would heal the Dead Sea.

Now, the Dead Sea is much like our Salt Lake. Nothing lives in it. Nothing. Nil. Notta thing. Well, that is, unless you count the brine shrimp. If you find a fish, something exported it. The Salt Lake really is dead. A dead sea. And so is THE Dead Sea. The angel told Ezekiel that when this river, the river that started as a mere trickle, flowed into the Dead Sea, the water would be healed, and there would be many fish. In fact, the guide said that wherever the river came, everything would live. Everything, that is, except for the miry places and the marshes. Apparently there are some places that love the stench and filth of their sin too much to be healed.

But along that crystal river, that healing river, will grow every type of fruit tree…

And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.

Wherever the living water flows, there will be life – abundant life. John 7:37-39 brings us back to that same temple, the Temple at Jerusalem on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, when Israel celebrated the harvest, and lived in tents to commemorate their years in the wilderness. On the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, the priest would take a large golden pitcher to the pool of Siloam, fill the pitcher with water from the pool and bring it back to the altar, where he would pour it over the altar. The water from the pool of Siloam would run down that altar, and out of the temple and into the city.

It was there at the Temple that Jesus cried out to all the observers if any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. And John tells us that he was speaking of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus told the woman at the well that whoever drinks of the water that he gives will never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. But what about dry preachers? Are you dry? That fountain has not run dry! God calls for everyone that thirsts to come drink without money and without price. Just as the trickle from the temple’s threshold flows into the scum of the Dead Sea and changes it to a living sea, so the living water from the hills of God flow into you, preacher. The river of life didn’t flow in once, and stop flowing ever since. It is a continual stream. It continually flows. And Christ said that if you will believe on Him, out of your belly will flow rivers of living water.

This is important for all Christians in all places. This is important for all who would teach or preach. But this is essential for the preachers of the gospel. Here we see a living sea, its source, and the effect it has.

The abundant life
Abundant life comes when the water of life reaches the stagnant water of our heart. As those healing waters flow in, they heal that stagnant water, and then enable it to support life. That life will first be evident inside you. You must have life, and that life must be in you. You have been quickened, but are you alive? Would we need to stomp on your toe to find out? We have all endured messages where we felt the preacher needed someone to wake him up. Preacher, are you alive in all your duties? Some are alive during the football game, but dead during prayer time. If you have a dead bone in your body, it must be quickened or it will kill you. Some are alive at church, but dead at home. Your family needs you to be alive there too. Some would shock their families if they ever jumped up from the couch, turned off the TV, and did something with their wife and kids.

You must have life, and that life must be an abundant life (John 10:10). This warm, overflowing life ought to be evident in every part of your life. Tired? That should be more cause for rejoicing. The people to whom you preach should see the evidence of abundant life. Your children should see this abundant life. Some wonder how they could ever live without a TV or how they could ever cut out of their life those things that deter from God. An abundant life needs no crutch.

Soon, that living sea supports all sorts of life, both in the water and on the shore. That living water produces fruits of love and joy and peace. Ezekiel said that though they were eaten, the fruit from those trees along the river were never consumed, but were new every month. The fruit was for meat and the leaf for medicine. And that sea, once dead, also supports a multitude of fish.

But before we look any further, we need to see…

The source of the abundant life
The abundant life comes from the Holy Spirit. It is this Crystal Fountain that must fill us, and we must be filled. Remember, that Crystal Fountain fills the thirsty soul. If one would be filled, one must drink. Do you thirst for the fountain?

Christ said that it was the words that he spake that are spirit, and are life. God told Ezekiel to eat the roll. So then, the source of this abundant life comes through an abundance of Bible reading. It really is as simple as that. Fill your mind with the Word. Fill your days with prayer and with Bible-reading. Let it saturate you. Soak in it.

Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh.

What do you want to have flowing from your mouth? Do you want your words to have an effect? Then fill your mind with God’s Word. Pray until you feel sure that you have spoken to God. Read until you feel sure that God has spoken to you.

Do you have a lesson to teach? A message to preach? How will you get that across to your people? Soak in the lesson. Read it, study it, be sure you understand what the words mean, what the main points are. But then just soak in it until it fills you. And when you come across those difficult passages, the parts that you don’t understand, open it before God, and ask Him to explain it. Verse by verse. Look up what you need to look up, but then lay in the Word, roll in it, fill your mind with it, and let it soak in. Let the Spirit of God fill you through God’s Word. And let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.

When that pure stream of living water healed you, it didn’t divert itself to another place. Once it starts, that stream continually flows to the same heart. You drank it once for your salvation, now drink it every day for that abundant life.

You won’t drink until you believe, so believe that you need the water of life. Believe that this water will work effectively in you. Believe that this water of life will also bless many.

The overflow of the abundant life
The abundant life is like one of those fountains where the water flows out and fills the basin until it overflows into the next, and then into the next. Let the living water fill you, and you won’t be able to stop the overflow. This is the work of the Holy Spirit of God. He fills you, then uses you to fill others. But all flows from him.

Notice first the overflow of life in you. There will be within you a well of water springing up into eternal life. As Ezekiel 47 tells us, there will be many trees, whose fruit will serve for meat, and whose leaves will be for medicine to heal others. And there will be multitudes of fishes.

Notice also the overflow of life from you. Out of your belly will flow rivers of living water. Not a river, but rivers will flow.

…in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

They will be rivers of living water. And they will do for others what they have done for us.

One final thing should provoke us to be filled to overflowing. We will affect many when our heart overflows. When we open our mouths to preach, and out of our belly flows rivers of living water, many will be blessed. Your church family will be blessed, but not them only. Your own family will be blessed. The families in your church will be blessed. Your city will be blessed. And you will be fulfilling your purpose.

The stream can’t be stopped, so when we flood our place of service, those rivers of living water will need to go somewhere. Think of the missions that could be started across the globe. But don’t look too far ahead yet. The future distracts us too much from the present. Instead, look at today. Today is where this is needed.

For many, these rivers of living water aren’t overflowing from us yet. If they aren’t, it isn’t because somebody stopped up the rivers that they can’t overflow. If they aren’t overflowing, we aren’t filled to overflowing. So, get in the Word. I can’t imagine a preacher who doesn’t read his Bible. You that don’t read your Bible or pray, repent and start now. You that do, do more. Soak in it. Fill your mind with it.

He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

I wonder what that dry preacher believes in…

Israel, God’s Old Testament congregation, gathered for worship, which included sacrifices, singing, playing, prayer, and preaching.  All of these were offered to God.  Attendance was mandatory. 

And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.     Leviticus 10:11

There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them.    Joshua 8:35

So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.     Nehemiah 8:8

The primary criterion for Old Testament worship was acceptability to God—would God be pleased?  Sometimes it is all called “the sacrificial system” to differentiate it from New Testament worship.  However, New Testament worship is also a “sacrificial system” of its own—a living sacrificial system in contrast to a dead one in the Old Testament.  A holy priesthood offers up spiritual sacrifices unto God (1 Peter 2:5; Philippians 3:3; 4:18).  Like the Old Testament, the main requirement in New Testament worship is God’s acceptance.

Preaching is one of the New Testament offerings, part of the church, God’s New Testament congregation.[1]  The preacher contributes to this by studying, rightly dividing (2 Timothy 2:15), and then preaching the Word (2 Timothy 4:2), giving attendance to reading, exhortation, and doctrine (1 Timothy 4:13).  The congregation is quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, setting aside sin, and receiving with meekness what is preached, not being just a hearer, but also a doer (James 1:19-22).  When both do their part, the preacher and the congregation, due to the sufficiency of the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16, 17), the congregation is perfected for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:12), prevented from being tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:14), throughly furnished to every good work (2 Timothy 3:17), and provoked to love (Hebrews 10:25).

Paul looked at preaching as worship.  In Romans 1:9 he wrote:

For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son.

The word “serve” here is latreia, which is a word understood as a kind of offering like the sacrifices of the Old Testament.  It is translated “worship” in Philippians 3:3.  The work of the Levitical priesthood is described by this word in Hebrews 8:5 and 9:9.  When Paul preached the Gospel, he viewed it as a sacrifice offered to God.  He worshiped God in his preaching.

So preaching is worship. Well, it should be.  As worship, the chief criterion is whether God is pleased by it.  Again, preaching should be God-centered, focusing on what God wants to hear.  Whether the congregation likes it or not, if God does, then we have succeeded in a sermon.  We have worshiped God.

[1]  Since a church is God’s temple (1 Corinthians 3:17), the locus of worship in the age in which we live, and the pastor is the overseer of a church (1 Timothy 3:1, “bishop,” episkopos=overseer), then the pastor is the designated “worship leader” of a church.

I have been summarizing the types of sermons in Alfred P. Gibbs’ The Preacher and His Preaching for some of the posts on this month’s topic of preaching. In my first installment, I gave his description of expositional and textual sermons. The next installment summarized the biographical sermon and the historical incident sermon. This week I introduce the topical sermon. You’ll have to wait one more week to see how I believe this all fits together.

The Topical Sermon

This sermon is built by choosing a particular topic and then searching through Scripture to see what the Bible says about the subject. The topic can be compared to a river with all the Scripture passages that are related to it compared to the tributaries and streams that feed the river. Each subtopic or division of the subject must be clearly related to the topic. Good topical sermons possess unity, coherence, and emphasis.

There are five advantages of topical sermons:

1. It enables both preacher and hearer to grasp a subject of the Bible as a whole.
2. It affords ample opportunity for a thorough discussion of the subject.
3. It impresses an audience with the unity of holy Scripture.
4. The great doctrines of the Bible can best be studied by this method.
5. It makes for variety of presentation.

There are disadvantages of topical sermons. If the preacher tries to continually preach topical messages, he will necessarily run out of topics on which to speak. It must also be considered that there are only a certain number of topics that can be studied in this way. The Bible is not necessarily a topical textbook. There is more to preach in the Bible than just topics.

When preparing a topical sermon, you should read all that the Bible has to say about the topic again and again. You should then ask your seven interrogative friends to help you.

I have seven faithful serving men,
Who taught me all I ken;
Their names are What, Why, How and Who,
And Where, When, and What-then.

I must point out that all these questions are asked of the Scriptures. For many, the meaning of topical sermon has morphed into something other than preaching what the Bible has to say about a topic into preaching what they believe about a topic and throwing some verses at the major headings. The latter is not a biblical topical sermon.

Next week I will demonstrate how all these sermon types may work together to preach the whole counsel of God to His people. You might want to do a little exercise on this matter ahead of time. If you are a preacher, as you read the Bible, consider what type of sermon the text suggests.

Careful exegesis characterizes solid Bible preaching. If the preacher’s goal is to preach the Word, then he will preach what the Word says. When diligent exegesis characterizes his preaching, and when he is careful to preach what the Word says rather than what he has on his mind, then this preacher can preach any style of message. Topical messages are truly wonderful when they present the whole of Scripture. I personally enjoy preaching textual messages more than anything else. Exposition, when it presents the whole of the meaning of the passage, can provide the hearer with a rich and full exegesis of Scripture.

On the other hand, the absence of exegesis in topical messages turns the Word into a trampoline, from which the preacher can bounce from point to point. In the absence of careful exegesis, textual messages turn into a springboard into nearly unrelated topics… shut your Bibles and let me talk to you tonight. More than once, I have endured “expositional” messages that reminded me more of a diving board display. The preacher said he would preach the passage verse-by-verse. But instead, he bounced on each verse a few times, did a spectacular swan dive into the pool, swam around for a bit, climbed back out, bounced on the diving board (the next verse) again, this time followed by a jackhammer dive, and so forth until he reached the end of his passage. This is not exposition, nor is it careful exegesis. This is that very special form of interpretation known as eisegesis.

Exegetical preaching carefully explains, unfolds, and illustrates the meaning of Scripture. In order to accomplish solid exegesis, the preacher himself must fully understand the passage. In my studies, I have encountered a very helpful method for examining a topic, text, or passage. This method was developed by Hermogoras nearly two hundred years before Christ. It utilizes a series of questions to ask of the issue. These questions should not be considered a replacement for careful exegesis. Rather, they are careful exegesis.

These questions will help the preacher to thoroughly examine the material from which he will preach. Although the questions will greatly aid the preacher in examination, they will not write his message for him. After a careful examination of the issue, the preacher still must arrange his points and prepare his presentation. But these questions will enable him to be thorough in his examination.

The questions divide into four categories: conjecture, definition, quality, and procedure. The questions of conjecture seek to get at the fundamentals of the issue. If we were dealing with the eighth commandment, “Thou shalt not steal”, we would ask if stealing exists, and does it happen. Does stealing exist? Is it true? Where did it come from? How did it begin? What is its cause? Can it be changed? [1]

The questions of definition examine what essentially the issue is, asking how it can be defined, or what kind of thing or event it is. Again, on the issue of stealing, we would seek a precise definition of what constitutes stealing. What kind of thing is stealing? How would you classify it (to what larger class of things does it belong)? What are its parts and how are they related? [2]

The questions of quality are more complex. Thus far, the study focused on the fundamentals of the issue. Now, the study will focus on the issue, event, or act itself, seeking to establish the rightness or wrongness of the topic at hand. questions of quality divide into two categories: simple and comparative. [3] The first asks simply, is stealing right or wrong? Is it a good thing or bad thing? Should it be sought or avoided? Is it honorable or dishonorable? [4]

You could probably guess that the comparative questions of quality make comparisons between the issue and other, similar issues. In our study of the eighth commandment, you would compare stealing to borrowing or purchasing. Is stealing better or worse than something else? Is it more desirable or less desirable than some other alternative? Is it more or less right or more or less wrong than any other choice? Is stealing more or less honorable than any other option? Is it more or less base than another choice? [5]

Finally, one should ask questions of procedure. In this case, we will not have a series of questions to ask. Rather, we should simply consider what should or should not be done. In the case of the eighth commandment, we would seek to establish what the commandment requires and what the commandment forbids. In our questioning of the passage, we have moved from the theoretical to the practical, a direction that sound preaching should always take.

Again, we should always remember that these questions will neither write your message for you, nor will it give you a finished product. When one has answered these questions, he has a starting point of sound exegesis, and from there will be able to preach what the topic, text, or passage says.

 

Footnotes:

1. Sharon Crowley, Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students (New York, NY: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1994), p. 39
2. IBID, p. 39
3. IBID, p. 40
4. IBID, p. 40
5. IBID, p. 40