THE THEOLOGY OF PREACHING (PT.5)

The Nature of the Gospel and its Importance

"The world does not need sermons; it needs a message. You can go to seminary and learn how to preach sermons, but you will have to go to God to get messages."  ~Oswald J. Smith

Some have noted that it is a complete miracle that the Gospel message can break through to any of us, given the noise and confusion created by the world in which we live. Christian communicators often feel bad about the fact that many they are trying to reach never quite understand what they are hearing and therefore never convert to the faith and receive salvation. As terrible a tragedy as this is, it is not necessarily their fault and they should never consider undermining or watering down the message in order for them to understand it better. Just be faithful to preach the gospel in the most relevant way possible, but without diminishing the message, trusting that the gospel itself, fueled by the power and conviction of the Holy Spirit, is sufficient in and of itself to convert those who are willing to receive it. 

This is the lesson we learn from what is commonly called the “Parable of the Sower”, taught so eloquently by Jesus Himself. However, this title is woefully inadequate! It should be called, “The Parable of the Soil”, because the soil is the crucial deciding factor of whether or not God’s word (represented by the seed and sown by the preacher), will be fruitful in the heart or soil of the listener; i.e. the condition of the heart. The preacher has little if any control over this condition in the act of sowing the seed, and therefore must be careful to throw good seed; unfiltered, unadulterated, undiminished, pure seed, and trust the Lord of the harvest for the results. Why, because as the parable indicates, many people have hard hearts and, "...when they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble. Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirty-fold, some sixty, and some a hundred. (Mar 4:14-20)"

Again, we must trust in the power and authority of the Word itself, knowing that God has ordained it, and it will not return void! Paul said, “…I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, …For in it the righteousness of God is revealed... (Rom 1:16)”, and we must learn to trust the gospel to be able to do just that; it doesn’t need our help to break through the cultural barriers standing against it! The gospel message itself is not on the level of being a part of the Trinity, and therefore it doesn’t have divine qualities and power on its own, but, “God's power is so joined to the gospel that it could be said to be a powerful word, and in fact, a means of grace. What we're saying is, as we hear the gospel preached God is administering grace to us. (Peterson)” 

Backed with the actions of the believers who profess it, the Gospel becomes an unstoppable force for God’s grace and forgiveness to flourish in this world. Paul again declares, “…our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance… (1 Thes 1:5)” We make a huge mistake when we confine the preaching of the gospel to merely an evangelical salvation message however, because we then lose the vital connection between the cross and Christian practice. Paul told the Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal 2:20)” He knew that the Christian needed to live a crucified life, “…one in which the reality of our union with Christ in his death is reflected in ordinary practice. This means that the gospel is for the believer as much as it is for the unbeliever. To marginalize the gospel by relegating it to the entry point of our faith and to ignore its application to the believer's daily experience is a mistake. (Kossler)”

Preaching to the unsaved in one way, and to believers in another, is usually how the church deals with this challenge but, “… Paul's epistles are proof enough that the saints need to hear the gospel even after they've believed. Paul's letters are also proof that the saints do not need to hear a different gospel after they have believed than the one that was preached to them prior to faith. The apostle was just as eager to preach the gospel to the saints at Rome as he was to proclaim it to those who had never heard Christ named. (Koessler)” There are many facets to the gospel message and it can be applied in many different ways in our sermons, but it is incumbent upon pastors to teach, equip, encourage, and minister to believers the whole counsel of God's Word, as well as appealing to non-believers with a salvation message. 

Koessler goes on to say that, “The difference between preaching the gospel to those who do not believe and to those who do is the difference between announcement and implication. Both involve obedience, but of a different sort.” Sadly, on the other extreme, so many churches have a constant focus placed on the saving of the soul through the preaching of, "gospel sermons" every Sunday, but rarely teach, equip, and encourage the saints, helping them mature into grounded believers with a deeper understanding of God's truth that will help them do the work of the ministry themselves. So there needs to be a balance and if the term "gospel sermon" allows for that balance and the preaching of the whole counsel of God's word, then yes, preach one every Sunday!

In conclusion, as I predicted at the outset of this five-part series, I haven’t been able to come to a conclusion on this complex subject. However, there is abundant evidence to confirm that God has truly ordained the office of the preacher, to be a vessel by which He speaks to His people. Through the inspiration of His Spirit, He illuminates His word that it may be understood through the mouth of the preacher. By the authority that He has granted to the preacher, His word is taken to the ends of the earth and has been sown into the hearts of billions of people. And through the unique relationship formed between the preacher and Himself, the divine attributes and promises of the Gospel of Jesus Christ are manifested to the world, via a human medium. Viewing it from this perspective, we can gain some small appreciation for the revelation that Paul realized when he said, “…to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith… (Rom 16:25-27)” 

Wow, Paul got it! Not only did he get it, he lived it, and he died it! He understood so completely the power and authority granted to him in the preaching of the gospel, that it consumed him. He willingly laid his life down as a living sacrifice in order to fulfill that calling, and sometimes I think that preachers today, myself included, don’t have any concept of what that means or even looks like. Preaching has become a very cushy profession for many of us, and far from being the seat of scorn, ridicule, and persecution it was for Paul; it has become an exalted position of prominence and even luxury in many cases. Paul kept the preaching ministry in a proper perspective, realizing what it meant to the world and how they viewed it saying, “…we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. (1 Cor 1:23-26)” 

Early on in my ministry, I was shocked to learn how far we’ve come from that mindset as preachers. I spent 20 years in the U.S. Navy, working and flying in the aviation field with pilots and navigators who graduated at the top of their class, from some of the finest schools in the country, the Naval Academy being one of them. These people are known for their pride and arrogance, and it was almost a badge of honor to maintain a certain level of condescension and egotism. Imagine how surprised I was the first time I went to a Pastor’s Conference, after retiring from the military and going into the ministry, only to discover that some preachers are far more arrogant than the pilots I flew with in the Navy! Obviously, the balance of which we have been speaking of in this paper has tilted way too far toward the importance of the preacher, as opposed to the parishioner and the power of the gospel itself, when this takes place in the life of a minister.

Let us say, as Paul did, “God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Gal 6:14)”

By Pastor Glen Mustian

Works Cited:

Koessler, John. Folly, Grace, and Power: The Mysterious Act of Preaching. Zondervan. Kindle.
NKJV New King James Version. Holy Bible. Thomas Nelson. Nashville, TN: 2000. Print.