Preaching with Power, Redux
My recent article, “Are We Preaching with Power?,” kicked up some responses at Sharper Iron. The discussion was positive (a rarity on the internet), and it prompts this expansion of the theme.
To review, the passage that prompts this thinking is Acts 24, where Felix becomes frightened when Paul preaches on righteousness, self-control, and the judgement to come. (Acts 24.25) This isn’t the only story we have in the New Testament where people clearly come under conviction after preaching. I mentioned the rich young ruler previously. I can think of others who responded in faith: Nicodemus, the woman at the well, the crowd at Pentecost.
How is it that preachers follow the examples of Jesus, Peter, and Paul in the pulpit (or in private) and see the Holy Spirit bring conviction on hearing hearts?
First, I should probably identify what I don’t mean by Holy Spirit conviction. When you have a confrontational preacher, who bullies people into making “decisions,” or “coming forward,” you likely are seeing psychological manipulation happening — not Holy Spirit conviction. The preacher doesn’t even have to be all that confrontational or a “Georgia-wind-sucker” (as one of my friends calls them — apologies to Georgia!) or some kind of pulpit showman to be a manipulator. By preaching with power, I don’t mean employing a forceful, abrasive, bullying, or manipulative personality.
On the other hand, it is hard to see where a purely instructional style brings about much in the way of Holy Spirit conviction. I want to be careful here. Obviously God can and does use the dry, quiet, studious preacher to effect spiritual change. Thank the Lord for that. But that might be despite the preacher and his style. I’ve read and heard sermons on very technical Biblical subjects (explaining the furniture in the Tabernacle, say) where I come away with “facts and figures,” but no real sense of what I should do about it. It is hard to see where such a ministry (if that is the bulk of the ministry) will bring about much, if any, change in people’s lives. A sermon, to my way of thinking, ought to call for change and growth. It isn’t just a lecture.
So, when Aaron said in the SI discussion, “the power is in the truth not the delivery,” I say, “Amen!” I’m not talking about style, primarily. To the extent that style is involved, I think one difference between a sermon and a lecture is at least a sense of urgency in the sermon. The preacher should be urging us somehow.
T Howard, also in the SI discussion, said, “is the work of the Holy Spirit, not the preacher. We are the messenger, not the agent of conviction or salvation.” I agree with this also. I’m not the Holy Spirit, I don’t play him on TV, and I shouldn’t try to play him in the pulpit, either. But I do need to speak his words. I need to echo his calls. If I don’t, I’m not His messenger. There are things the Lord wants us to do in response to his word. My job as a preacher is to say what the Lord says in his word and say it in such a way as to help the hearer (as best I can) to understand and respond. Why did the Lord send out preachers at all? So that people could hear the word and respond in faith. If we never issue the call of the word of God, how can people respond?
In the SI discussion, T Howard also said:
There is definitely a tension I feel when I’m preaching a passage that can be applied in numerous ways, some of which are very direct to known sins within the congregation. Instead of feeling lovingly rebuked, people feel personally targeted.
That is true. Preachers need to be wary, because the way they handle topics like these can disqualify them from church office. Paul said, “no striker … not a brawler” in 1 Tim 3.3 (kjv) The nas has “not … pugnacious … peaceable.” If you target someone from the pulpit, what does that make you? Disqualified because you are a striker and a brawler.
I mentioned urgency above and “issuing the call.” These aren’t just my opinions. We have Bible for it also. To Titus, Paul said:
Titus 1:12 One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. 13 This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;
And to Timothy:
2Ti 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
Clearly, in handling the word of God, we need to handle it in a way that leads to conviction. We shouldn’t shy away from this because we’ve seen examples of men who’ve abused their office. We need to learn how to accomplish our office (reprove, rebuke, exhort) in such a way that God gets the glory and we get out of the way, neither manipulating or hindering the power of the word of God. Those are active voice verbs: You reprove, you rebuke, you exhort… That is the preacher’s job.
An additional note that I would add here is that I am thinking quite broadly about preaching here. I do mean a pulpit ministry, of course, but that’s not all. When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, it was one-on-one. When Paul spoke to Felix and Drusilla, it was one-on-two, unless there were other attendants in the room. Sometimes we may need to preach to one person a very direct and personal word from the Bible concerning some area of their life. Such things are better handled personally than in public (unless it is a public discipline meeting).
Finally, back to my original theme, I want to say that what I mean is that there are particular topics that the Lord himself said the Holy Spirit would bring conviction: sin, righteousness, and judgement. (Jn 16.8) When we speak on these topics, the Holy Spirit will work. We don’t have to yell and scream, we just point to the word. We don’t need some tear-jerker “killer” illustration at the end, or some other manipulative tool. We just need to say what God says and call men to repentance.
Too often in the modern church, the preaching is vaguely reassuring, telling nice stories, and encouraging people to have happy, balanced lives. No one calls anyone to repent of their worldliness, to live separate from sin, to cling to Jesus outside the camp. We can find many examples of this kind of preaching on the internet. We have many people who get a sense of religion from some of these teachers, but no repentance.
When God says he will convict people, especially of certain topics, I submit that those topics should be a regular spot for our preaching themes. Fortunately, if you preach verse by verse through the Bible, especially, say, the NT epistles, you will hit on just a few passages that call men and women out of their world to Christ and out of their worldliness to sanctification. Don’t shy away from those themes. Preach with power.
Don Johnson is the pastor of Grace Baptist Church of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.
Final Note: I should also say that I think both my discussion partners on SI would agree with most of what I’ve said here. This isn’t an argument, it’s just an expansion on the theme, prompted by a refreshing discussion.
Late 19th century evangelist Sam Jones used to tell the story of an evangelist who was preaching in Maine where the primary business was logging. He learned that stealing logs from company timber piles was a very common sin in the community. He preached from Exodus 20, “thou shalt not steal,” but with little effect. The next time he preached he announced, “My text today reads, ‘Thou shalt not steal – logs.'”
Thank you for this careful and clear reflection of God’s Truth regarding the Spirit’s power and our role in preaching and teaching.