Why we do what we do
Preaching
Introduction
When we talk about preaching, we are generally referring to Sunday sermons, and in the most part this will be our focus here, though not exclusively. Gathering together on Sundays to listen to a preacher has been the norm throughout the history of Harvest Church and of the Church as a whole.
However, in recent years, many churches have moved away from the classic sermon format, and it is coming under increasing attack.
P T Forsyth said: “The Church rises or falls by her preaching.”
And Greg Haslam, the current leader of Westminster Chapel, expressed his belief that, “Preaching is a matter of life or death.”
Is it really that important or relevant in this day and age? And if so, why?
Preaching Defined
The two words most used for preaching' in the Bible are:
Kerusso – 'to herald or proclaim'
Euangelizo – 'to give a message of good news'
Both words are used to describe the preaching of the Gospel. However, this does not fully describe the average Sunday sermon – we are not always preaching the Gospel to the lost, but we open the Scriptures and teach the Word to those who know and love the Lord. And the Bible calls this 'teaching'.
In Acts 18, Paul came to Corinth, “preaching” to non-believers (v5) and “teaching” those who believed (v11)
There is much made of the difference between teaching and preaching on a stylistic basis, but actually all Christian preaching involves a degree of teaching, just as all Christian teaching involves a degree of preaching the Gospel.
“When you preach, you teach; when you teach, you preach.”
Ron Boyd-Macmillan, 'Explosive Preaching'
Preaching, then, is the public proclamation of the Gospel and the teaching of sound Biblical doctrine.
Preaching In The New Testament Church
While there are some elements of the New Testament Church it would be good not to copy, there is much that we can learn from it as we look at why we do what we do. This is certainly true of preaching.
The New Testament opens with John the Baptist, “preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying,
‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near’.” (Matthew 3:1-2)
Then after John was arrested it says,
“From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near’.” (Matthew 4:17)
Vast portions of the Gospels contain Jesus' words, preaching the Good News and teaching doctrine, whether in synagogues or the temple, on hillsides and plains, in villages, in town and in cities.
Then, at the end of Matthew's Gospel, Jesus commissioned His disciples with these well-known words:
“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
Did you spot the preaching? “Go and make disciples of all nations” (which involves preaching the Gospel to the whole world) and “teaching them”. Our commission, as Jesus’ disciples, from the mouth of Jesus himself, is to preach the Gospel and teach doctrine.
The New Testament church took this call seriously – here are accounts from the first 12 chapters of Acts:
· In Acts 2, thousands give their lives to the Lord and in verse 42 we read that these new believers, “Devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.”
· In Acts 3, following the healing of the crippled beggar, Peter again preaches to a crowd in the temple court.
· Acts 4 opens with Peter and John getting arrested for preaching. On their release, they gathered with the other believers and, “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly” (v 31)
· In Acts 5, the apostles are back in prison, but an angel releases them and tells them to get preaching again, which they do. This results in another arrest and a flogging to make them stop, and yet the chapter ends saying, “Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.”
· In Acts 6, the apostles appoint deacons so they have more time to devote to the ministry of the word of God.
· In Acts 7, Stephen preaches for 52 verse and is stoned to death for it.
· In Acts 8, the believers are scattered around the countryside due to persecution, and the result? “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.” (v 4)
· In Acts 9, Saul is converted and “at once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.” (v 20)
· In Acts 10, following some visions, Peter preaches to Gentile non-believers and so the first Gentiles are added to the church.
· In Acts 11, the preaching to non-Jews continues. Meanwhile, Barnabas and Saul are busy teaching vast numbers of believers in Antioch.
· There’s more persecution and execution in Acts 12, but we read that “the word of God continued to increase and spread.”
In almost every chapter of the book of Acts, there is preaching and the church is spreading and growing as a result.
Shortly before his death in Rome, Paul wrote these words to Timothy:
“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing
and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word.” (2 Timothy 4:1-2)?
He goes on to give two specific times when it is right to do this: “In season and out of season.” (v 2) Preaching the Word is for any time and anywhere. It’s not just something that happens for forty minutes on a Sunday – every day is preaching day! ?
The Purpose Of Preaching
Is preaching still as important today as it was in Biblical times? To answer this we need to consider the purpose of preaching to see if this is still relevant today. Here are just a few points to consider:
1. Through preaching the Gospel is made known to those who are unsaved. In Romans 1:16, Paul describes the Gospel as, “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”
2. Through preaching, believers are taught sound doctrine, which Paul describes in that same letter to Timothy as being “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
3. Through preaching, people are changed. If we do not preach truth which affects peoples hearts then we aren’t really preaching. It should come with conviction, with power and authority, as God speaks specifically to each of us through the message that is being delivered.
4. Through preaching, God is revealed. Scripture is all about God, and so it is all of worth from beginning to end. The Bible must always be preached, and it must be preached in its entirety.
The call to preach is a serious one. Jesus has commanded us to do it; the apostles have demonstrated the power of it; Paul has stressed the importance of it; and when it comes right down to it, we are the ones who hold this great Word of Truth and to whom it has been entrusted.
We hold in our hands the very words of God and He calls us to study and meditate on them, He calls us to preach and teach them, and He calls us to be those who correctly handle the word of truth.
If you have any questions about our understanding of preaching or our practice of preaching then please contact us.
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