Marks
of True Preaching
In our last article, we noted that the marks of a true church are
4 in number, namely: (1) true preaching; (2) right administration of the
sacraments; (3) faithful exercise of church discipline; (4) biblical worship.
In this article, we discuss briefly what constitute true preaching. This is a
subject of great importance because in preaching, the voice of God, is heard as
it were by His people. This is why the Lord says "My sheep hear My voice,
and I know them, and they follow me" (Jn 10:27). Christ is obviously not
referring only to His voice during His incarnation, He has to be referring to
effectual hearing and to preaching in general since this was the how the Word
of God was and is brought to the people (cf. Rom 10:14). Thus the Apostle Paul
intimates that the preacher stands as an ambassador of God speaking to the
people instead of God, in the Name of Christ (2 Cor 5:20). Likewise, as Calvin
puts it: "The preaching of the Gospel, which is committed to [the Church],
is the spiritual sceptre of Christ, by which He displays His power [or
authority]" (Isaiah, 3.414). As such, if the preaching in a local
assembly is not consistent with the requirements of God’s Word, then the
assembly cannot be considered a Christian church since the Christ of the Bible
would then not be speaking nor ruling the church. When this happens, the
assembly would then be led and taught by a thief, a robber or an hireling (Jn
10:8, 12), or worst a wolf in sheep’s clothing (Acts 20:29, Matt 7:15).
What are the marks of true preaching? Let me suggest 7 somewhat
overlapping marks. Let us take note of these marks not so that we know how to
find fault with preachers, but that we may better understand and appreciate the
fact that a church is no ordinary human institution and that preaching is not a
professional oration that can be carried out like a company presentation.
Neither should true preaching be heard as an ordinary discourse. Rather, it
ought be heard as the voice of God. This is why the Word of God gives objective
guidelines on what constitute true preaching:
1. It is a
presentation of the whole counsel of God.
Paul’s testimony to the Ephesians is instructive: "For I have not shunned
to declare unto you all the counsel of God" (Acts 20:27). There is a
common saying that "preachers should avoid majoring on minors." This
is may be true and instructive for most young preachers. However, the problem
which one faces is: what is major? And what is minor? What may be considered
major by someone may a minor to another. True preaching, I believe, is not
simply not majoring in minors. Rather, it is preaching all the counsels or
truth of God. One of the best ways of doing so is to preach through the Bible
book by book, chapter by chapter and verse by verse, as was the habit of some
of the greatest expositors in the past such as Calvin, Gill and Lloyd-Jones.
However, not every preacher have the privilege of having sufficient time to
preach sequentially and still be able to cover enough grounds to qualify for
having preach the whole counsel of God. Thus, the Dutch Reformed Churches, for
example, preach according to the Heidelberg Catechism so that a complete body
of divinity is addressed during the 52 weeks of the year. Whatever the system,
it must be emphasised that true preaching involves not just applicatory
messages, but hard doctrine. Ministries that refuse to teach the wrath,
holiness, justice and sovereignty of God or downplay the doctrine of election
are certainly not preaching the whole counsel of God. Preachers who expend most
of their energies teaching about the love of God or the doctrine of …Cont. p. 3 end-times are in danger of false
preaching. Similarly, preachers who refuse to address any particular issue
because it is considered ‘minor’ are also in danger of engaging in skewed and
false preaching.
2. It has two
voices. This is in fact an application of the first point. "The
pastor ought to have two voices; one, for gathering the sheep, and another, for
warding off and driving away wolves and thieves" (Pastoral Epistles,
296), say Calvin. William Perkins concurs: "Preaching has a twofold value:
(1) It is instrumental in gathering the church and bringing together all of the
elect; (2) It drives away the wolves from the folds of the Lord." (Art
of Prophesying, BOT reprint, 3). True preaching involves both edification
and warning. Most pulpits today have a heavy emphasis on edification, but
hardly any word of warning. In fact, many Christians today are averse to
hearing the sound of warning from the pulpit, as it is considered unchristian.
If that be so, then Paul would be of all preachers most unchristian, for he
taught: "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…"
(Gal 1:8-9). Or consider: "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which
cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned;
and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but
their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the
simple" (Rom 16:17-18). The point is obvious, there is a place for warning
in true preaching.
3. It is not
hawking Christ.
We emphasised on the second voice of preaching in the previous section rather
than the first in order that we may give due attention this common fallacy
regarding preaching. True preaching must no doubt be persuasive. We read of how
Paul preached to those who visited him during his first Roman imprisonment:
"He expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning
Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till
evening" (Acts 28:23; cf. 2 Cor 5:11). Thus Calvin comments that
"Whenever the Gospel is preached, it is as if God himself came into the
midst of us, and solemnly and expressly besought us, that we may not wander in
darkness, as if we knew not where to go, and that those who refuse to obey may
be rendered inexcusable" (Harmony of Ev., 3.129). However, true
preaching must not present God as desiring the salvation of sinners as if the
salvation of sinner rests finally in the sinner. A preaching ministry that
neglects to call sinners to repentance and belief is in danger of degenerating
into falsity. But it is also false preaching to urge a mix congregation to
accept Christ as Saviour because He wishes to save all or that He is a free
gift that only needs to be received by a simple prayer or a raising of hand.
This, unfortunately is the error in many a pulpit today. Worst, among
Calvinists who preach in this manner, Calvin is frequently appealed to. But
Calvin, while careful to teach that the Gospel is to be preached
indiscriminately, at the same time denies that "grace is extended to all
indiscriminately" (ICR3.25.17). For him, the "preaching of the
Gospel streams forth from the wellspring of election" (ICR 3.24.1). "The reprobate are
hateful to God" (ICR 3.25.17),
and therefore even passages such as Ezk 33:11, gives no reason to preach to a
mixed congregation that God wills or desires all to be saved. "The
prophet’s instruction that the death of the sinner is not pleasing to
God," is designed, rather, "to assure believers that God is ready to
pardon them as soon as they are touched by repentance, but to make the wicked
feel that their transgression is doubled because they do not respond to God’s
great kindness and goodness" (ICR 3.24.15).
True preaching, therefore, must not degenerate into an emotional appeal,—much
like an attractive sales pitch,—to all and sundry to accept Christ without
delay. Christ, must rather, be presented as "a savour of life unto
life" for the repentant, and "a savour of death unto death" (2
Cor 2:15-16) to the unrepentant.
4. It is
discriminatory.
By this, we mean that true preaching ought to include the presentation of the
marks of true believers. This is again much neglected in many a pulpit today,
but is a major theme in the Scripture. Paul tells us to "Examine
yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your
own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" (2
Cor 13:5). The Lord Himself warns "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my
Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, … Cont. p. 5 Lord, have we not prophesied in thy
name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful
works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye
that work iniquity" (Matt 7:21-23). The Lord in other words, recognises
that within the gathered assembly, there is always the possibility that some
are spurious believers. Any preachers who fails to assist the congregation to
honestly examine themselves by the objective rule of Scripture is not only in
danger of failing in one aspect of their ministry, but in danger of having to
answer for the souls who perish in presumptuous self-deception.
5. It is
expository,
i.e. true preaching must be based on the Word of God, and seeks to
make the word of God understandable and applicable to the congregation. Thus,
the Levites during the reformation of Nehemiah "read in the book in the
law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused [the people] to
understand the reading" (Neh 8:8). Preaching must therefore make difficult
doctrine easily understood by the congregation. It must clarify rather than
stupefy. Messages that leave the congregation "high and dry" with
minute and irrelevant nuances of words in a text is simply not preaching. True
preaching must expound the word of God to and for God’s people so that lives
are transformed. In this regard, it must be emphasised that true preaching must
interpret and present the Word of God accurately. A sermon that make use of
particular texts in Scripture as spring boards to teach what is foreign to the
passage is simply not acceptable even if in general what is said in the sermon
is found elsewhere in the Bible. This is because the preacher would then be
giving a false sense of the text and therefore can hardly to be said to be
engaging in true preaching.
6. It is
fearless.
Since the preacher represents God, true preaching must not be restrained by
fear of men—whether those in the congregation, or those having the power to
discipline. Paul is emphatic when he says, "For do I now persuade men, or
God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the
servant of Christ" (Gal 1:10). A preacher who tones down the miseries of
hell for fear that an influential unbeliever in the congregation may be offended
must re-examine his motives for preach-ing. Similarly, one who, for fear of
offending fellow ministers, fail to preach according to his own doctrinal
conviction, is simply not preaching as a true servant of Christ.
7. It is
intimately tied to the preacher.
It is true that "the infirmity of the minister does not destroy the
faithfulness, power, and efficacy of God’s word" (Calvin, Genesis, 2.94). Yet, A.N.
Martin is surely right when he says "unless we would degrade preaching to
a mere elocutionary art, we must never forget that the soil out of which
powerful preaching grows is the preacher’s own life. This is what makes the art
of preaching different from all other arts of communication" (What’s
wrong with Preaching today?, 5). Paul, writing to the Thessalonian Church,
which he had the privilege of founding (Acts 17:1-4) reminded them: "Our
gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy
Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you
for your sake" (1 Thes 1:5). Clearly, the coming of the word "in
power, in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance" has much to do with the
Theassalonians’ apprehension Paul and his co-worker’s manner of life. This
manner of life is exhibited in 1 Thes 2:10: "Ye are witnesses, and God
also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that
believe." What is suggested to us here, is that the most eloquent or
doctrinally accurate message may be ineffective and, in a sense, false, when
delivered by a minister whose testimony is questionable. It is for this reason
that we frequently hear of members in a congregation "shutting-off"
when a particular minister preaches in the church. A minister can, indeed, shut
off the ears of his hearers by a bad testimony in his Christian life. This,
however, must be distinguished from the lack of eloquence in preaching. Those
who come under the ministry of preachers who are less gifted but are
nevertheless theologically accurate ought to take heed not to murmur and complain
but to pray that the Lord will enlarge their pastor with grace and ministerial
gifts to better carry out his duties.
