A Word to Preachers

Though some might not call me an old man, I am surely no longer a young man. As such, I've learned some things. And one of the things that I have found true thus far in my Christian walk is the need in my soul for preaching. My innermost being needs it. My mind, soul and body needs to be preached to. My spiritual life is so very often fueled by the power of sermons. 

Conversations are pleasant. Reading is a treat. I'm grateful for the various channels of communication we have access to through television, radio, newspapers, email and the internet. But the one thing my soul desperately needs and cannot flourish without is preaching. A well-delivered sermon will pierce my heart in a way that no human book has ever done. Songs and music are pleasant. God bless the hymnists and accompanists that lift my spirit. But give me a man in the pulpit with a Bible in his hand, the Word of God on his lips, and a sermon flowing from his heart, and I shall be satisfied to set aside every other means ordained by God for the perfection of my soul. 

Oh I thank the Lord for the many means of grace He provides. Let no one mistake that I mean to discount the reading of the Word, public worship, the priority of prayer, the partaking of the sacraments, the usefulness of fasting, the blessedness of fellowship, the joy of singing and the many ways employed by the Spirit of God to shape us into the image of Christ. But I must acknowledge a special, God-ordained priority to preaching. 

Preaching has always been God's way. Noah, that ancient builder of the Ark, is not called a "craftsman" or "carpenter" but a "preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5)." The prophets of old did many miracles, but preaching "Thus says the Lord" was the greatest part of their holy work. Even David, the sweet Psalmist of Israel, says "I have preached righteousness in the great congregation (Psalm 40:9)." When John the Baptist came on the scene, he came preaching. "And he preached, 'There comes One mightier than I, after me (Mark 1:7)." The apostles were told to go into all the world "and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15)." Christ Himself declared the reason for His coming into the world and described it this way: "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent (Luke 4:43)."  This is no mere personal preference I am promoting. It is the Bible, not me, that says "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace (Romans 10:15, Is 52:7)."  

Because all this is true, I wish to speak a very brief word to those who have been called to be preachers. I hope that a word from the pew will not be mistaken as presumptuous, wearisome, or rude. I dare say that a good chef will care about the appetite of the diner, though that diner be untrained in the culinary arts. A sheep may not know everything about the work of a shepherd, but it knows when it is being sheared. Though I do not know all the depths of the struggles of the preacher's life, I know when a sermon has blessed my soul, and when it has not. 

With that in mind, I humbly make the following requests of all preachers today. 

First, I implore preachers to come with a text of Scripture. Let me know what portion of God's holy Word you are serving me today. Show me where it is, read it to my ears, define for me the borders of your message. No man can preach the whole Bible in a sermon. Pick a text. As the Promised Land was carefully carved out for the 12 tribes, with exact dimensions and limits, so you must show me the Scriptural territory you intend to divide to my soul today. Don't tell me you have a topic, if you do not have a text. I frankly do not care much about the message on your heart if it is not based on a passage in the Word. The creative titles you give to your sermon series would probably be better served by the book, chapter and verses you plan to expound. Preach THE Word. 

Second, I insist you speak to me with the authority that is appropriate of a herald of the King. If you hope to be listened to like a prince, do not stand before me as a court jester. Unto you has been granted the privilege and power to proclaim the Word of the Lord. You are an ambassador of Christ sent to me with news from my Master. Proclaim it! Away with your whispering of the truth, your casual chats, your comical show. Stand before me as a messenger of the Lord of hosts. The authority of His Word matters to my heart. Does it matter to you? I come ready to hear what my Savior says, what the Holy Spirit wrote, what the Father wants me to know. The eternal Trinity has stooped to speak to my soul through preaching, do not dare disrespect His dignity by your flippancy. You, preacher, have nothing to be proud of. But you have plenty of reason to be bold.  Handle your text with the reverence and respect due such holy words. Show me that you are prepared to submit to whatever your text says, because it is the very Word of God, and I will submit with you most gladly.

Third, I demand you to be clear with me. Let me say it again: be clear! Preach the point of your text, and get to it as quickly as possible. Life is too short, eternity too long, and my soul too needy to waste 30 minutes on your jibber-jabber. Let me know what the Lord is saying. Convince me that you have understood the Scripture and are about to explain it to me. Leave your messy study notes in your office. Your sermon must be an arrow: straight and sharp. Get to it. If you bumble your way through the passage your hearer's hearts won't be blessed, but by a miracle. Don't just walk me through the text. Preach it. Have a point and make it. If your hearer does not walk away having better understood the Scripture as a result of your sermon then you have not preached, you have only talked. Preach the Word clearly. This is the hard work you have been called to. Do it. Study, pray, weep, and think hard to know the meaning of your passage. Make it plain to me. Help me to understand. Use illustrations or quotes appropriately to nail the meaning in my mind. Do not assume my brain and heart are ready in an instant to understand what took you hours and days to discover. Preaching sloppy sermons is easy. Preaching pointedly is hard. I beg you from the bottom of my soul: do that difficult work.

My dear preacher friend, you have been called to the most noble work in this world. The rest of us may do good work, important work, appointed work...but you alone are doing lasting work. Heaven and hell will forever display the results of your holy employment. Christ alone will have the glory. And every man must answer in eternity for their own response to your gospel. But you have been set aside as a special instrument to preach to immortal beings about the only thing that truly matters in life. May the weight of this responsibility drive you more and more to Christ who is more than able to hold you up. Preacher, you are a gift from Christ to His church. I am sorry if you are not told that often enough. I commend you to the Lord and desire only that you stir up that gift that is in you to the salvation of many souls. 

To God be the Glory. 

A Sabbath Day's Journey...

"Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey" Acts 1:12


"They" were the apostles, and they had just witnessed the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Mount of Olives. What should they do now? Jesus told them. He commanded them "not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father," that is, the Holy Spirit. Christ's body had left, but His word and authority remained. They obeyed their departed Savior's instruction. They returned from Mount Olivet to Jerusalem.

Then comes this strange little tidbit of information. Luke tells us that from Olivet to Jerusalem was  "a Sabbath day's journey." What does that mean, and why include it here?

What it means is impossible to know from the Bible alone, as this is the only place this phrase occurs in Scripture. But Jewish historians have confirmed from other sources that the distance is precisely 2,000 cubits, or just over half a mile.

At some point in Jewish history it appears to have become acceptable to travel this short distance on the Sabbath, but no further. Thus the distance is termed "a Sabbath day's journey." Maybe it was an attempt to further clarify the meaning of Exodus 16:29 where Moses commanded the wandering Israelites saying "let no man go out of his place on the seventh day." The context there was the gathering of manna. But maybe to accommodate the walk to the tabernacle for worship, a distance of 2,000 cubits would have to be permitted. Anything beyond that was apparently "work," and forbidden by the 4th commandment.

So maybe this "Sabbath day's journey" is a leftover expression from the OT era, important to a manna-gathering, tabernacle-visiting people but no one else.

But if so...why would Luke, and more importantly the Holy Spirit Himself, preserve this curious phrase for NT readers like ourselves if it was to become irrelevant to our modern situation?

Maybe because the phrase is not irrelevant at all. Maybe it is more important now and to our generation than ever before.

Think about it. The "Sabbath day's journey" was an attempt to limit the intrusion of busyness into a day designed for God's people to rest. We need this reminder too. The concept of a weekly day of rest was God's idea from creation. Jews practiced this on the seventh day. Today Christians celebrate this on Sunday. But the ordinance comes from creation, and found expression in the very moral law of God alongside other perpetual commands concerning things like idolatry, adultery and murder.

Are we not living in a culture that offers us 24/7 opportunities for a hurried, busy, constantly-going lifestyle? And has not the church bought into this mentality by virtually abandoning any notion of a "Lord's day" in our preaching and teaching to modern Christians? We have adopted the mindset that as long as you can make it to church (most of the time), the rest of the day is yours. Shop, play, work, exercise, entertain...whatever you want. The concept of a restful day to care mostly for the needs of our souls has vanished.

We don't want to become legalists. The scribes and Pharisees apparently took this notion of a "Sabbath day's journey" and found ways to extend their travel by randomly assigning any spot, such as a tree, as their "new home" and could thus travel an additional 2,000 cubits further to get to wherever they wanted to go. This is hypocrisy, not piety. They entirely missed the spirit of the rule. What was designed as a practical way to encourage a peaceful, restful, God-centered day, they took as nothing but a burden, and looked for loopholes to get around it.

What is our "Sabbath day's journey?" What are the practical restrictions we have prayerfully placed in our lives to promote the Lord's Day as a day of resting in Christ, both physically and spiritually? Maybe not doing routine housework and yard work on Sunday is a good one. What about committing to both a morning and evening worship service, to protect the day from other intruding obligations? What about refraining, as much as possible, from activities which require other people to work for the sake of our entertainment or refreshment? What about asking the boss to have Sunday's off?

Again, I don't think we become legalists simply by seeking practical ways to promote piety and the keeping of the 4th commandment. Modern conveniences and technology such as cars allow us to travel greater distances without the day become excessively busy or exhausting. But they can also easily become a convenient way to avoid the rest which the Lord has wisely prescribed for our body and soul.

Our culture wants us to bear the yoke of perpetual activity. We feel the need to be constantly "moving and doing" or our lives are simply not worth living. The horror of inactivity is implied by advertisers and social media which tell us if we are not constantly doing something worth sharing...we are unimportant and insignificant as human beings. Oh how much better is the yoke of Christ, who said "my burden is easy" and in Him "you will find rest for your souls."

Shall We Indeed Accept Good from God...

"Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" Job 2:10

The hand of faith accepts what God gives, be it good or bad. The eye of faith looks mostly upon the Giver and not the gift. Our comfort is not in our lot but in our Lord.

Notice...

Note that Job not merely "experienced" adversity, but "accepted" it. To accept adversity is an act of faith. Many experience trials, but do not accept them. The Christian must give lodging to every affliction sent by the Lord as he would his closest friend who needs a room.

Note also that Job did not "enjoy" adversity, but "accepted" it. Job was no lover of pain. He did not pretend it pleased his flesh, but he nevertheless receives it willingly into his heart. Christ Himself felt the agonies of the cross, but accepted the thorns and nails. So every Christian must accept every affliction given by God, though the pain is deeply felt.

But how? How does one accept adversity in this way?

1) See God's hand in it For Job, this was all "from God." It was not fate, or chance, or luck. It was not man's doing ultimately. Every affliction of God's people is by His design. His hand has measured it out. His arm delivered it. His mind planned it. Every attribute of the Triune God was employed in the creation of this affliction: His sovereignty, omniscience, holiness, justice and love. Our trials live on earth, but they were born in heaven.

2) See God's heart in it. Every affliction is intended for our good. Every trial flows from His love. Behind a frowning Providence He hides a smiling face. When He gives weeping for a night, He plans joy for the morning. His tender affection accompanies even the toughest affliction.

Oh my soul. Look up. He who has given us His Son, will He not also give us all things? Can the Lord ever forget those for whom His Son gave His life and died? Accept this affliction from Him. Receive it. Make room for it. Even welcome it as He truly intends it for our good, and not for evil.

3 Types of Sermons

I have been reading again one of my oldest and dearest books on preaching entitled "Preaching & Preachers" by the London pastor, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981). The book is actually a series of lectures he gave to theological students of Westminster Seminary. Although I first bought this book when I thought I myself might be heading toward the ministry, I have found it to offer much valuable information, encouragement, and instruction to myself as a non-preacher as well.  I highly recommend it to anyone who listens to preaching. 

Lloyd-Jones, by the way, was a medical physician who left that profession to enter the ministry in 1927. He is known, affectionately to many, as just "the Doctor." 

What has struck me in this re-reading are his thoughts on what he calls 3 types of sermons. He suggests that a balanced ministry will include all 3 types, and that the preacher should organize his ministry in a way that all 3 types are being regularly preached. These 3 types of sermons are:

Type 1: Evangelistic

Type 2: Experimental (focus on issues, problems, life in general)

Type 3: Instructional, doctrine, theological

To put it in the words of the doctor himself:

"In other words, every Preacher should be, as it were, at least three types or kinds of Preacher. There is the preaching which is primarily evangelistic. This should take place at least once a week. There is the preaching which is instructional teaching but mainly experimental. That I generally did on Sunday morning. There is a more purely instructional type of preaching which I personally did on a week-night." (Preaching & Preachers, p. 63).

Now, Lloyd-Jones himself would emphasize that these distinctions "should not be pressed in too absolute a sense." In other words, good preaching will probably have at least something of all 3 types in every sermon. 

That being said, I think Lloyd-Jones is right. Most sermons I have heard could probably, overall, be put into one of those three categories. 

And here is the problem - it is possible (and I think fairly common) for preachers and churches today to get into a habit of only preaching just ONE type of sermon week after week. 

THE TYPE 2 CHURCH:

For example, I believe that vast majority of preaching that goes on in our Protestant churches today is the type 2 sermon above. It is a type of experimental preaching. The focus is generally on problem-solving and dealing with issues Christian's face. Look through the sermon list of many church websites and what you find are sermons about marriage, divorce, suffering, grief, parenting, living strong, being a better Christian, life in the church...

For the most part, these are all type-two sermons. They focus on the Christian and how he or she experiences life both inside and outside the church. And the sermon gives instruction on how to live that life. 

Absent are sermons entitled something like "Christ's Divinity - Defined and defended" or "modern heresies" or "The Trinity" or "Justification by Faith Alone" or "God's eternal decrees" or "limited atonement explained" or "the second coming" or "implications of the virgin birth" or "God's holiness explained." Doctrine is absent. 

Absent are also the more truly evangelistic sermons - in the truest sense of the word. I'm not talking about the "give Jesus a try" kind of talks. This is not Biblical evangelism. True evangelistic preaching exposes the real danger mankind is in due to sin, the consequences of sin, the remedy for sin and the only way to obtain that remedy - which is by faith in Christ.

THE TYPE 3 CHURCH:

On the other hand, there are other circles in which the type-two sermon almost never happens. For this church it is all about type-three: Doctrine. The preaching relies heavily on systematic theology, the confessions and foundational instruction. Maybe the Reformed circles are more prone to falling into this trap than any other. This is just an observation from a layman. So I admit my perspective may be skewed. 

However, if there is any truth to the fact that "type-three" churches exist, then the result could be Christians who are well instructed in the foundational doctrines of the Bible but very ill-equipped to live out that faith in their lives. The preacher may say things like "this is very important" but in reality the people in the pew have no idea why it should be so important to them. It makes no difference in their everyday life when they have to go home to a bitter spouse, rebellious children, chronic pain, an ungodly workplace, loneliness, personal addictions or any number of other real problems. 

THE TYPE 1 CHURCH:

Finally, I suppose that there are also type-one churches out there. They preach the gospel to sinners every week. Maybe this includes an altar call (no comment on that practice at the moment). I think this type of church probably existed more in the past than it does today. Maybe I'm wrong. But my own little and limited perspective on our evangelical situation is that true Gospel-preaching is a rare exception, a special-occasion-only event, and not the week to week menu in most churches.

APPLICATION:

So what? A couple closing thoughts come to mind.

1) Preaching a balance of these 3 different types of sermons is, it seems to me, especially unlikely today because most churches rarely have "preaching" more than once a week. This, we have to admit, is a failure of the modern church. I'm guessing I could get a lot of "preacher" friends upset at me for such a comment. But frankly, I think preaching once a week (or less than that for some places) is at least a very strange (historically speaking) way to do ministry. Lloyd-Jones said "I contest very strongly and urge that there should always be one evangelistic service in connection with each church every week. I would make this an absolute rule without any hesitation whatsoever." (Preaching & Preachers, p. 151).  But with only one sermon per week...this is impossible if you wish to maintain a balanced ministry.

2) Hearing a balance of these 3 types of sermons is unlikely today because we "hearers" are now accustomed to only listening to 1 sermon a week (at best). Maybe this habit could be changed if hearers got used to knowing that an evening or week-night sermon was going to be of a different "type" and therefore understood it to be part of a "balanced spiritual diet." I don't know. But it is worth thinking about at least. Here is what the Doctor says in this book "We must convince them [church goers] of the importance of being present at every service of the church. Every service! Why? If they are not present at every service they may well find one day that they were not present when something really remarkable took place." (Preaching & Preachers, p. 153).  

3) I think we need reminding that Christians need to hear evangelistic preaching too. Every true believer loves to hear the gospel faithfully preached. It is the message that saved us. And a preacher makes a grave mistake in thinking ALL his congregation is saved, so he doesn't need to preach the gospel like that anymore. Not to mention the fact that our churches are probably filled with "professing" Christians who are not actually believers at all. To put it in Lloyd-Jones words "There is something essentially wrong with a man who calls himself a Christian and who can listen  to a truly evangelistic sermon without coming under conviction again, without feeling something of his own unworthiness, and rejoicing when he hears the Gospel remedy being presented." (Preaching & Preachers, p. 150).

4) Finally, for any preacher who is either offended or discouraged by this post, I highly recommend picking up Preaching & Preachers and reading it (again). You have been called to the highest and most important work that goes on in this world. Businessmen build companies that will one day be sold or collapse. Doctors and medical professionals (like myself) help treat illnesses, but everyone is ultimately going to die anyway. Every job is, in some sense, just killing time. But preaching is an eternity-focused endeavor. The grass withers and the flower fades, but God's Word endures forever. 

In the words of the Doctor "To me the work of preaching is the highest and greatest and most glorious calling to which anyone can ever be called." 

R.C. Sproul Goes Home at the Age of 78

"And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them." Revelation 14:13.

Dr. R.C. Sproul (2/13/39 - 12/14/17) passed away today at the age of 78 from complications related to COPD.

When I became a Christian in 1989 the first theologian I began reading was Dr. R.C. Sproul. Actually, it is more appropriate to say that I began "listening" to R.C. Sproul. His teaching ministry was available on tape cassettes. I ordered just about every teaching series he produced and listened to them while I drove back and forth to college for 5 years. I also bought his books and fell in love with his style of teaching and his way of understanding the Bible.

It is no exaggeration to say that his ministry has impacted me more than any other theologian, past or present. While I love the Puritans and still have so much to learn from the likes of Calvin, Warfield, Hodge, Dabney, Edwards, Turretin, and many others...R.C. taught me the Reformed faith. 

But he did more than teach me the Reformed faith. In a sense, he taught me how to think. He had a rigorous mind. He was never afraid of the hard questions about God, life, truth, evil, death, eternity, Christ, faith and so much more. And he never settled for the easy answer. He taught me how to make distinctions. How to be careful with our definitions. He believed that words were meaningful, and when listening to him you always had the feeling you were listening to a man who took life and truth seriously.

He also taught me how to teach. I make no apologies for the fact that I have tried to imitate his style of teaching over the years. He was effective. He was interesting. He understood his subject deeply but made sure his teaching was accessible to the average Christian in the pew. He could take very deep subjects and simplify them...without making them simplistic. He approached every subject he taught on with a deep sense of awe, humility, and grace. 

I had the great privilege of meeting R.C. in person once. I will always remember what I said to him. With gratitude welling up in my heart I said to R.C. at a conference "R.C., thank you for teaching me the Reformed faith.  Would you mind if my wife took my picture with you?"

He smiled widely. He said, "of course not." He welcomed me around to the other side of the table where he was sitting and he put his arm around my shoulder as if he had known me for years. This was the first and only time I saw R.C. in person. But I will never forget that day the rest of my life.

Dr. Sproul will be missed. His legacy, in the form of Ligonier Ministries, will remember his contribution to the promotion of the Christian gospel for many years to come. He was a man who loved Christ, served Christ and has now gone home to be with Christ. But more than Ligonier ministries, his life's work will echo in the lives of the tens of thousands of Christians like myself who were helped along our way to heaven by this precious servant of the Lord.

R.C. - you will be greatly missed. My heart goes out for your family and close friends. But, like Able, "he, being dead, still speaks." His teaching ministry echoes on. His works will follow him. He has entered his rest from his labors. And may the Lord be pleased to raise up more voices like his for this and future generations.