9 minute read
Featured Theme Dr. Mark Scott
Dr. Mark Scott serves as OCC’s director of preaching and professor of New Testament.
LETTING THE TEXT WIN
Mark Scott
Note from President Proctor: When Mark Scott was my preaching professor, he challenged us to be biblical preachers—to “let the text win” in our lives, our study, our sermons. Below is an edited version of his chapter in The Mind of Christ (College Press, 1987), and it summarizes well what he taught—and still teaches.
Preaching is an important service to God. When a congregation seeks a minister, often the first question is, “Can he preach?” Surveys show that preachers themselves list preaching in the top three priorities of their ministry. Congregation and preacher agree that biblical preaching is important.
When one preaches the Word of God, he is following Jesus’ example. Jesus was a preacher. Thomas Goodwin said, “God had only one Son, and he made him a preacher.” And what a preacher he was! He taught as one having authority, and not as the scribes (Matthew 7:29). The great crowd enjoyed listening to him (Mark 12:37), and the people were hanging upon his words (Luke 19:48). Even the temple police said, “Never did a man speak the way this man speaks” ( John 7:46).
Since preaching was central in the ministry of Jesus, so it should be in the church. While the church may not always want biblical preaching, the church always needs biblical preaching. John Stott is correct, “Preaching is indispensable to Christianity.” The message which saves is also the message which nurtures. As Paul Scherer said, “Nothing will replace biblical preaching unless it is better biblical preaching.” This article will overview the making of a biblical preacher, the nature of biblical preaching, and a method of preparing a biblical sermon. The Making of a Biblical Preacher
“God makes his appeal through us” (2 Cor 5:20). The idea that God uses fallen folk to tell others of his divine message is mindboggling to say the least. But it is his way. Therefore, the only way to keep God’s message filled with integrity is for the preacher to be a holy vessel (2 Tim 2:20-21). The preacher will not be perfect before or after he preaches, but he can and must grow into the likeness of Christ (Eph 4:23-24).
The accent in the New Testament is not on the preacher; it is on the message. It is his story that matters. New Testament preachers put themselves in the background and Jesus in the foreground.
However, God still uses persons as instruments of glad tidings. Phillips Brooks famously defined preaching as “truth through personality.” Bishop William A. Quayle has perhaps overstated the case, but he still needs to be Nothing will replace biblical preaching unless it is better biblical preaching. - Paul Scherer
heard: “Preaching is the art of making a sermon and delivering it? Why no, that is not preaching. Preaching is the art of making a preacher and delivering that.”
Since God wants to use people to reach people, what does one need in life to preach well?
First, the preacher must have a life laid bare to God. There must be no strings attached to his commitment to the lordship of Christ. There should be no hidden agenda nor false motives (1 Thess 2:1-12).
Second, the preacher must have a powerful prayer and devotional life. James S. Stewart said, “The first duty of a minister is to be a real man of prayer.” Maintaining this daily fellowship with God will help preachers be tough with the issues and tender with people.
Third, the preacher must have a deep desire to communicate God’s truth. Jeremiah said, “Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot endure it” ( Jer 20:9). Paul said, “Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Cor 9:16).
Fourth, the apt preacher will be knowledgeable of both the Word and the world. Knowledge of the world without knowing the Word may result in a human-centered message. But knowledge of the Word without knowing the world may result in irrelevance.
Fifth, preachers will try to maintain good health. This should not surprise the preacher as his body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19-20).
Sixth, the preacher must have an intense love for people. The preacher’s objective is to change people with the power of the gospel, and this requires love. John Killinger says, “It is not enough, if one wishes to preach, to be in love with preaching. It is not even enough to be in love with God. We must love people.”
Seventh, the preacher must trust the Bible as the written Word of God. Does the preacher really believe in his message? The preacher’s view of Scripture will be evident in the handling of the text. That will affect both the tone and the confidence of the message.
1. A life laid bare to God 2. A powerful prayer and devotional life
3. A deep desire to communicate God’s truth
4. Knowledge of both the Word and the world 5. Good health
6. An intense love for people 7. Trust that the Bible is the written Word of God The Nature of Biblical Preaching
Both pew and pulpit agree that biblical preaching is important. However, not all agree with what biblical preaching is. What distinguishes preaching as being biblical?
Consider what biblical preaching is not. It is not reading or explaining Bible verses per se. At least there seems to be no clear biblical model for this. A running commentary does not ensure biblical preaching (especially when the verses are divorced from their literal, historical, or grammatical contexts), and biblical preaching is not limited to one style of presentation.
What, then, is biblical preaching? What are its characteristics? First, it is biblically informed. It deals with the content of Scripture. Seth Wilson, on more than one occasion, expressed his dismay at the lack of Bible information conveyed in most sermons. The preacher should provide potatoes and not just gravy. Ezra read from the book, translated, and gave the sense so that the people could understand (Neh 8:8). Jesus spoke the Word to them (Mark 2:2). Paul said to Timothy, “Preach the Word” (2 Tim 4:2). From context that must include the exposition of the written Word of God (2 Tim 3:15-16). Second, biblical preaching is hermeneutically sound. It considers the type of biblical literature, form, flow, and intention of the text. It takes into account words, grammar, context, historical background, and parallel passages. Preaching is biblical when the text governs the content of the sermon and when the aim of the sermon is the same as that of the text. Warren Wiersbe reminds us that many a clever outline has been ruined by good exegesis.
Third, biblical preaching is doctrinally centered. Not every text speaks directly to Christ, but every text should be studied in the light of Christ. The biblical preacher does not want to force or bend texts. However, the biblical preacher should preach Christ and him crucified (1 Cor 2:2). Wayne Shaw says, “If Christ isn’t in it, it isn’t a Christian sermon.”
Fourth, biblical preaching is humanly relevant. Real Bible preaching connects heaven and earth. The German preacher, Helmut Thielicke, said, “German preaching is in the heavens and never makes it to earth, but American preaching is on earth and never quite makes it to heaven.” Real biblical preaching connects the ancient biblical world with the contemporary scene. It brings conviction (Acts 2:37) and produces behavioral change (1 Thess 2:13). It touches the head, heart, hands, will, affections, and desires. Biblical preaching meets the needs of wounded people.
What are the characteristics biblical preaching?
1. It is biblically informed.
2. It is hermeneutically sound.
3. It is doctrinally centered.
4. It is humanly relevant.
A Method of Preparing a Biblical Sermon
If we are serious about being true to the meaning of Scripture, then we will give ourselves to a method that respects the text and gains the author’s intended meaning.
First, pray. Since the preacher is the one who will do the preaching, the preacher must get ready to preach through prayer (Mark 1:35-38). This is a good time to confess sins, claim promises, and glorify God.
Second, select text(s). All preaching is selective. The text and calendar should be put together since God is the author of both. Third, read and reread the text. Charles Spurgeon never preached from a text that he had not read fifty times. When reading, capture the flow and form of the text. Read sufficient material before and after the text so that you can establish the true context. Open up the pores of your skin and let the text in. Fourth, analyze the text. If you are able, translate the text. Conduct word studies with the concordances and other tools. Ask the six great questions (who, what, when, where, why, and how) for background and insight. Note parallel passages. Fifth, get help from others. Research geographical and historical details, the author, date, occasion, and exegetical issues in good commentaries and Bible reference books.
Sixth, decide how the passage fits into the Bible framework. If steps four and five are a detailed look at the text, then this step seeks to see the text in the “big picture” of God’s plan for humanity revealed in the whole Bible.
Seventh, say your sermon in a sentence. Call it the proposition, the dominant thought, the theme, or the thesis, but find a major emphasis to give the sermon unity. John H. Jowett said, “I find the getting of that sentence is the hardest, the most exacting, and the most fruitful labor in my study.”
Eighth, decide on the application to the modern world. Write down some sermon objectives to accomplish with the congregation as a result of the message. Ninth, arrange the material in a logical and memorable way. It is a wonderful thing if the preacher can remember the sermon. It is joy unspeakable if the congregation can. Pay the price of good organization.
Tenth, collect the supporting materials (good illustrations, apt quotations, etc.) and add them at appropriate spots. From the time of Aristotle, it has been admitted that the success of a speech often depends on the gathering of the right materials.
Eleventh, knock it into preaching form. Something should be written out in recapturable form whether or not it is taken to the pulpit. Some write more for the files and take less to the pulpit as they progress in their preaching. Twelfth, review the message and pray over it. Ask God to make it more than an “essay stood on two legs.”
The church needs biblical preaching. Indeed, its life depends on it. May the church want it, welcome it, and demand it from its preachers. It is a terrible thing when the hungry come to worship and there is no bread. Preachers, hear the old Puritan statement, “Thou art a preacher of the Word, mind thy business.”
Preparing a Biblical Sermon
1. Pray. 2. Select text(s).
3. Read and reread the text. 4. Analyze the text.
5. Get help from others.
6. Decide how the passage fits into the Bible framework. 7. Say your sermon in a sentence.
8. Decide on the application to the modern world. 9. Arrange the material in a logical and memorable way.
10. Collect the supporting materials (good illustrations, apt quotations, etc.) and add them at appropriate spots. 11. Knock it into preaching form.
12. Review the message and pray over it.
