R. Albert Mohler Jr.'s Blog, page 396

Don’t Just Stand There—Say Something: The Sin of Silence in a Time of Trouble [VIDEO]

Yesterday, I stood at the pulpit of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary to deliver my 21st Annual Fall Convocation Address. For me, it was a moment of great magnitude as I began a third decade as president. Here is the video of the message. Within the message, I explain the origin and urgency of the title. It is indeed a sin to remain silent in a time of trouble.

 

The Briefing 08-21-13

1) NJ gender therapy ban far more sweeping than first appeared

Christie signs ban on gay conversion therapy, Philadelphia Inquirer (Andrew Seidman)

N.J. Gov. Christie signs ban on gay conversion therapy USA Today (Martha T. Moore)

2) In 11 states, those on minimum wage make more than teachers

Work or Welfare: What Pays More?, The Wall Street Journal (Brenda Cronin)

3) Oklahoma judge blocks law that would have limited access to morning-after pill

Oklahoma Judge Blocks Law Limiting Morning-After Birth Control, New York Times (John Schwartz)

The Sheer Weightlessness of So Many Sermons—Why Expository Preaching Matters

If preaching is central to Christian worship, what kind of preaching are we talking about? The sheer weightlessness of much contemporary preaching is a severe indictment of our superficial Christianity. When the pulpit ministry lacks substance, the church is severed from the word of God, and its health and faithfulness are immediately diminished.

Many evangelicals are seduced by the proponents of topical and narrative preaching. The declarative force of Scripture is blunted by a demand for story, and the textual shape of the Bible is supplanted by topical considerations. In many pulpits, the Bible, if referenced at all, becomes merely a source for pithy aphorisms or convenient narratives.

The therapeutic concerns of the culture too often set the agenda for evangelical preaching. Issues of the self predominate, and the congregation expects to hear simple answers to complex problems. Furthermore, postmodernism claims intellectual primacy in the culture, and even if they do not surrender entirely to doctrinal relativism, the average congregant expects to make his or her own final decisions about all important issues of life, from worldview to lifestyle.

Authentic Christian preaching carries a note of authority and a demand for decisions not found elsewhere in society. The solid truth of Christianity stands in stark contrast to the flimsy pretensions of postmodernity. Unfortunately, the appetite for serious preaching has virtually disappeared among many Christians who are content to have their fascinations with themselves encouraged from the pulpit.

One of the first steps to a recovery of authentic Christian preaching is to define exactly what we mean when we discuss authentic preaching as “exposition.” Many preachers claim to be expositors. But in many cases, this means merely that the preacher has a biblical text in mind, no matter how tenuous its relationship to the sermon.

I offer the following definition of expository preaching as a framework for consideration:

Expository preaching is that mode of Christian preaching that takes as its central purpose the presentation and application of the text of the Bible. All other issues and concerns are subordinated to the central task of presenting the biblical text. As the word of God, the text of Scripture has the right to establish both the substance and the structure of the sermon. Genuine exposition takes place when the preacher sets forth the meaning and message of the biblical text and makes clear how the word of God establishes the identity and worldview of the church as the people of God.

Expository preaching begins with the preacher’s determination to present and explain the text of the Bible to his congregation. This simple starting point is a major issue of division in contemporary homiletics, for many preachers assume that they must begin with a human problem or question and then work backward to the biblical text. On the contrary, expository preaching begins with the text and works from the text to apply its truth to the lives of believers. If this determination and this commitment are not clear at the outset, something other than expository preaching will result.

The preacher always comes to the text and to the preaching event with many concerns and priorities in mind, many of which are undeniably legitimate and important in their own right. Nevertheless, if genuine exposition of the word of God is to take place, those other concerns must be subordinate to the central and irreducible task of explaining and presenting the biblical text.

Expository preaching is inescapably bound to the serious work of exegesis. If the preacher is to explain the text, he must first study the text. He must devote the hours of study and research necessary to understand the text. Along with his time, the pastor must invest the largest portion of his energy and intellectual engagement to this task of “accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15 NASB). There are no shortcuts to genuine exposition. The expositor is not an explorer who returns to tell tales of the journey. He is a guide who leads the people into the text and teaches the arts of Bible study and interpretation, demonstrating these essential disciplines in his preaching.

The expository preacher, moreover, yields to both the content and the shape of the biblical text as the inerrant and infallible word of God, divinely designed and directed. God has spoken through the inspired human authors of Scripture, and each different genre of biblical literature demands that the preacher give careful attention to the text, allowing it to shape the message. Far too many preachers come to the text with a sermonic shape in mind and a limited set of tools in hand. To be sure, the shape of the sermon may differ from preacher to preacher and should differ from text to text. But genuine exposition demands that the text establish the shape as well as the substance of the sermon.

The preacher rises in the pulpit to accomplish one central purpose: to set forth the message and meaning of the biblical text. This requires historical investigation, literary discernment, and the faithful employment of the analogia fidei to interpret the Scriptures by Scripture. It also requires the expositor to reject the modern conceit that what the text meant is not necessarily what it means. If the Bible is truly the enduring and eternal word of God, it means what it meant as it is newly applied in every generation.

Once the meaning of the text is set forth, the preacher moves to application. Application of biblical truth is a necessary task of expository preaching. But application must follow the diligent and disciplined task of explaining the text itself. T. H. L. Parker describes preaching like this: “Expository preaching consists in the explanation and application of a passage of Scripture. Without explanation it is not expository; without application it is not preaching.”

Application is absolutely necessary, but it is also fraught with danger. The chief danger may well be the temptation to believe that the preacher can or should manipulate the human heart. The preacher is responsible for setting forth the eternal word of Scripture. Only the Holy Spirit can apply that word to human hearts or even open eyes and ears to understand and receive the meaning of the text.

Every sermon presents the hearer with a forced decision. We will either obey or disobey the word of God. The sovereign authority of God operates through the preaching of his word to demand obedience from his people and to delight them in it. Preaching is the essential instrumentality through which God shapes his people as the Holy Spirit accompanies the word. As the Reformers remind us, it is through preaching that Christ is present among his people.

Next: Three Characteristics of Genuine Expository Preaching.

Last: Expository Preaching: The Antidote to Anemic Worship.

I am always glad to hear from readers. Write me at mail@albertmohler.com. Follow regular updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AlbertMohler.

Don’t Just Stand There – Say Something: The Sin of Silence in a Time of Trouble

Dont Just Stand There – Say Something: The Sin of Silence in a Time of Trouble

The Briefing 08-20-13

Gov Christie bans sexual orientation therapy: "If born that way, hard to say its a sin."; Worldview Reveal: Blaming increased cost of adult consumption on raising kids; PCUSA votes down "repentance of sin and diligent use of means of grace" for ministers

Expository Preaching—The Antidote to Anemic Worship

Evangelical Christians have been especially attentive to worship in recent years, sparking a renaissance of thought and conversation on what worship really is and how it should be done. Even if this renewed interest has unfortunately resulted in what some have called the “worship wars” in some churches, it seems that what A. W. Tozer [...]

The Briefing 08-19-13

American foreign policy: speak loudly and carry a very little at all; "Biggest wave of violence against Christians in Egypt's modern history"; Universal child care and "living" wages: Trying to heal the broken family economically

Genesis 3:1-7

The Briefing 08-16-13

Obama says surprisingly little about crisis in Egypt; Prescription of powerful anti-psychotic drugs for children has tripled; 1 in 10 Americans prescribed anti-depressants, including 1 in 4 women in 40s and 50s; Use of ADHD drugs increases by 50% in England; Research shows coffee may kill you...unless you're already dead