REFORMED WITNESS
Volume XII, September 2004, Number 9
Practical Preaching
By Rev. Robert D. Decker
From the January 15, 1971, issue of The Standard BearerAlso in this issue: Chosen By Grace - by Herman Hoeksema
In our last article [in The Standard Bearer - Ed.] we examined preaching in the light of several passages from the Bible. We paid special attention to Romans 10:13-15, II Corinthians 5:18-20, and John 10:26-28. We also cited several passages from the Confessions: Lord's Days 25 question 65; 35 question 98; and 31 from the Heidelberg Catechism, Article 29 from the Belgic Confession, and Article 3 of Head I from the Canons of Dordrecht. Our conclusions were that the Bible teaches two things about preaching: 1.) Christ Himself speaks through preaching, that is: Christ functions through the office of the ministry of the Word of God. When a preacher has been duly called and ordained in office by the Church of Jesus, he stands before the congregation as the representative, the ambassador of Jesus Christ. When that preacher faithfully preaches the Word of God, he is bringing to the congregation the official Word of Jesus Christ, and the miracle of the sheep hearing the voice of Jesus the Good Shepherd takes place. 2.) The second truth unmistakably taught in the Bible is that because Christ speaks through the preaching, and because the sheep must hear His voice through that means, preaching is indispensable to salvation. Very simply put, no one can be saved apart from hearing Christ through the preaching of the Word. This latter is especially evident from the passage in Romans 10.
All of this has some terribly serious implications for both preachers and hearers of the Word. The preacher bears the grave responsibility of speaking Christ's Word. He may not speak his own word when he preaches. That means the contents of His preaching must be nothing else than the Holy Scriptures, for there is the infallibly inspired Word of God in Jesus Christ. This doesn't mean that all a preacher must do is quote the Bible. That is not preaching! But this does mean that the task of the preacher is to expound the Scriptures! He must explain the Bible in his sermons and apply what Christ says in the Scriptures to the needs of his congregation. That is preaching, that is practical preaching, and only that kind of preaching saves them that hear!
The Apostle Paul sums this up very beautifully in his Second Letter to Timothy, chapter two, verse fifteen: "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth." That text speaks volumes to God's preachers! Preachers must not be concerned about what the congregation thinks of them. They are not to be worried about whether or not the congregation approves of them. They must be concerned only with what God thinks. Paul tells Timothy that he must do his utmost, he must strive diligently to reveal himself approved of God! He must exert every effort to be a workman who does not need to be ashamed before God. And the only way Timothy or any preacher is going to be approved of God is by "rightly dividing the word of truth!" His task is to cut straight the Word of truth! According to the context of this verse this means Timothy must avoid waging empty, vain, useless word battles which only subvert the hearers, and he must have nothing to do with profane empty chatter. Rather, his task is to interpret the Word of truth aright. William Hendriksen captures the idea rather well in his New Testament Commentary on this passage (pp. 262), "The man who handles the word of the truth properly does not change, pervert, mutilate, or distort it, neither does he use it with a wrong purpose in mind. On the contrary, he prayerfully interprets Scripture with Scripture. He courageously, yet lovingly, applies its glorious meaning to concrete conditions and circumstances, doing this for the glory of God, the conversion of sinners, and the edification of believers."
Preaching therefore does not mean that the minister just presents beautiful, logical summations of some doctrines. But it means the preacher applies those doctrines of the Word to the concrete need of the church. He lets the Word shine on the path and life of the child of God. For example when he expounds the amazing doctrine of the love of God for us as revealed at the cross of Jesus Christ he never fails to tell the congregation that the practical implication is that we beloved of God must love one another with God's love!
That is practical preaching -- faithful exposition of the Word of God in the light of the Word of God as it applies to all of life. There is no substitute for that! Drama, films, group discussions, chalk-talks or psalm singing cannot take the place of the preaching. It is exactly the lack of good, practical preaching that is causing all the trouble in the church world today. Young people are disillusioned with the Church. It has no meaning or significance for them. The church is lifeless, out of touch, full of formalism that leaves the cold. WHY? The answer is: THE CHURCH HAS LONG AGO STOPPED PREACHING! Yes, there are still 'sermons' delivered. Often they are delivered very capably. It is said they are very practical, too, because they speak out on the issues of the day: ghettos, poverty, war, race relations, politics, and the rest! The trouble is they are only the opinions of a man and they are NOT the living and abiding Word, which is preached unto you by the gospel (I Peter 1:23-25)! No wonder the youth are disturbed. No wonder church membership is declining! Protestant Reformed young people, pray fervently that God will spare our churches from that! Pray for your pastors that God will give them courage, faithfulness, love for the people of God, and above all the desire to be approved of God as workmen who don't need to be ashamed because they rightly divide the word of truth! Therein lies the blessing of God upon our churches and upon you the youth of the church! The fruit of that preaching will be that the church flourishes and grows in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Church will be strong and steadfast, the people of God will not fall from their steadfast position, and the glory will be to God (cf. II Peter 3:17, 18). That preaching will be the power to bring the youth of God's church to the consciousness of their faith so that they confess it before Him and His Church. Under the power of that preaching the church will be alive and full of the love of God. Its members will be as strangers in the world consecrated to the cause of Jesus Christ, the living witnesses God intends them to be. That is the sure fruit, because through that preaching Jesus will powerfully call His weary and heavy-laden sheep to Himself, and they will come to Him and receive rest. Or to put it in terms of Romans 10, through that preaching the children of God will hear Christ, believe in Him, and call upon His name and be saved!
There is a final implication that deserves our attention. Because Christ speaks through the preaching, the preaching has authority. When your pastor faithfully expounds the infallible Scriptures he is not saying things which you may take or leave at your own discretion or whim. He is confronting you with the living Christ, Who demands your whole being and life! And you have no choice but to listen and obey. We may not take the attitude that what the preacher says is his idea or his opinion. It is the Word of Christ. Let us not neglect the Word of Christ! Let us not stay away from the preaching. Let us avail ourselves of it at both services and at the weekday services and in the catechism room. Let us not sleep in the presence of Christ. When Christ is speaking let us not be tuning Him out by thinking of our things. When we come into the church of God for worship, let us remember that our feet are standing on holy ground! And let us NEVER leave the church that faithfully preaches the living Word of Jesus Christ. That is THE ONLY IMPORTANT thing in life. With the desire to sit at the feet of Jesus and to walk in His steps as His disciples, we will make very sure that our boyfriends and girlfriends desire the same. With that desire we will forsake all for the sake of Christ. It is THAT crucial.
To sum the matter... practical preaching is preaching that interprets the Word of God and applies it to the lives of God's people. Demand nothing less of your pastors. Demand that they bring you the Word of Christ, and never forget to pray for them!
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. - Ephesians 1:4
Even though it might be well-nigh impossible to bring out some new truths in respect to so old a subject as that of salvation by grace, one might at least wipe the dust of oblivion from some very old and fundamental aspects of this doctrine and give new emphasis to some truths, which in our day are either denied or forgotten.
One of these truths is the Biblical doctrine of sovereign election unto salvation. This is surely not a popular doctrine. Especially in our day it does not meet with universal favor, even among those who profess to believe that a sinner is saved by grace only. That sovereign grace must needs be particular grace, and that particular grace presupposes free and sovereign election, is a truth which by many is looked upon as belonging in the ecclesiastical or dogmatical antique shop. Much more popular are they in our day who openly and boldly deny the doctrine of God's sovereign predestination and who preach salvation as a possibility, a chance for all (God on His part seriously seeks the salvation of all men, and He offers it to all; man has the power by an act of his own free will either to accept or to reject the proffered salvation). There can be no doubt that, if the truth were to be determined by popular vote, the doctrine of sovereign election would be rejected by an overwhelming majority.
However, this is no reflection on the doctrine of election. The truth has never been popular; and a majority vote surely cannot be trusted to determine what is the truth concerning God, Christ, or man and his salvation. For this we must always turn to the Word of God itself. If we accept unconditionally the teachings of Holy Scripture, there can be no doubt in our minds that God has sovereignly chosen such as shall be saved. Our Savior, reviewing the fruits of His labors in Galilee, utters this remarkable thanksgiving to the Father: "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him" (Matthew 11:25-27). To the Jews in Capernaum who rejected Him, the Lord proclaimed triumphantly: "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me." and again: "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him" (John 6:37, 44). When the Jews in Jerusalem believed not on Him, the Savior explained that this was because they were not of His sheep. 'His sheep hear His voice, and He knows them, and they follow Him; and He gives unto them eternal life; and no one shall ever pluck them out of His hand.' These sheep are those whom the Father gave Him, for thus the Lord explains: "My Father which gave them me is greater than all, and no man can pluck them out of my Father's hand" (John 10:26-29). In Romans 8:28 we are assured that all things work together for good to them that love God, and why? Because they that love God are the called according to God's eternal purpose; and what is this eternal purpose? This: "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified" (Romans 8:29, 30). To Rebecca it was said: "The elder shall serve the younger," before the children were born, and had done neither good nor evil, "that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth... As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" (Romans 9:11-13); "For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy" (Romans 9:15,16). The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ "hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world" (Ephesians 1:3, 4). He has "predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will" (Ephesians 1:5). In Christ "we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will" (Ephesians 1:11). Much more might be quoted, but this should suffice to prove that the doctrine of election unto salvation is quite Scriptural.
It is of course quite impossible to explain this doctrine in all its implications in these pages. Let me briefly state that the Scriptural doctrine of election means that God has from all eternity sovereignly determined who shall be saved in Christ Jesus, ordained all the ways and means unto their salvation, and that too in distinction from others whom He purposed not to save. We will have to mark especially three elements of this truth: it is a personal election, it is sovereign election, and it is organic election.
In the first place, it is personal election. By this is meant that it is an election of persons whose names God has written from all eternity in the book of life. We emphasize this over against the view of those who try to explain the Scriptural teaching concerning election as if it only meant that God chose a nation, the nation of Israel, and that too not unto eternal salvation, but unto some temporal, national privileges; or of those who explain that God chose really certain conditions, such as faith in Christ, and, therefore; may be said to have elected believers unto eternal life. Jacob and Esau appear very much as persons in Romans 9:13, and we read that when Paul preached the gospel to the Gentiles in Antioch in Pisidia "as many as were ordained to eternal life believed" (Acts 13:48).
Secondly, we must emphasize that election is absolutely sovereign. By this we mean that God is the Lord also of salvation, and that the ground and motive of His choosing some unto salvation must not be sought in man, but in God alone. Election is of grace, not of works. It is necessary to mark this with special emphasis over against those who seek the ground of their election in the elect themselves. Granted, they say, that Scripture teaches personal predestination, so that God from all eternity ordained who should be saved, this cannot possibly imply that in His election God had no regard for the character and works of the elect. He chose the best. They say that the ultimate ground of election and reprobation cannot be the mere sovereign pleasure of the Most High. That would be arbitrary. It would present God as a willful tyrant. Hence, predestination rests on God's foreknowledge. It is based on foreseen good works. God foresaw and foreknew from all eternity who would be willing to believe and to accept Christ and who would reject Him, and election means that He ordained the former unto eternal life and glory. Election, then, is not sovereign. It is contingent upon the will of man. It is not of grace, but of works. For the Bible teaches that whosoever will may take of the water of life freely. But this is not according to the Word of God. To be sure, we have no objection to the gospel that whosoever will may come and take of the water of life freely. And we may add that all who come will surely be received: for their very will to come is already the fruit of grace and the outflow of eternal election. For faith or the will to believe is not the ground of God's election; but, on the contrary, man's will to come to Christ is the fruit of God's predestinating grace. "For it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy" (Romans 9:16). It is not said of the Gentiles in Antioch that as many of them as believed or were willing to believe were ordained to life; but on the contrary as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. We are not chosen because we were better than others, for like them we are children of wrath by nature. There is absolutely nothing to boast of. Election is sovereign. It rests in God alone. It is of grace. God is the Lord!
In the third place election is also organic. When we insist, on the basis of Scripture, that election is personal, we do not mean that God arbitrarily determined to save a number of persons, and just as arbitrarily let the rest go to perdition. There is no arbitrariness with God. All His works in time and eternity are perfect, and characterized by highest wisdom. Election is according to His eternal purpose, and that purpose is the highest revelation of the glory of God through Jesus Christ, the incarnated Son of God, the firstborn of every creature, Who died and rose again, and Who is exalted at the right hand of God; and out of Jesus Christ, that glory of God must be manifested through the millions upon millions of glorified elect, who will know Him and declare His glorious praises through all the new creation, the new heavens and the new earth in which righteousness shall dwell. To that grand purpose election is subservient. By that purpose it is dominated. Hence, God did not choose an arbitrary number of people; He chose a church, the body of Christ, a holy temple in the Lord. Now a temple is not a mere pile of bricks and other building material, the larger the better: it is a beautiful whole, representing an idea, in which each part must occupy its own place in order to serve the beauty of the whole, so that the number as well as the position of each part is determined by the whole. The same is true of the church. It is one grand whole, representing one idea, the glory of God in Christ, conceived by the perfect artificer; and the position but also the number of all the members of that whole is determined in the eternal wisdom and purpose of Him Who worketh all things according to the counsel of His own will. Presently, when all the elect shall have been gathered, and the church of all ages shall have been perfected and glorified, it shall stand at the head of the new creation, in which all things shall be united in Christ, and God shall be all in all! That is election!
This doctrine of election is of fundamental importance and of great practical significance.
Quite properly, it has been called the cor ecclesiae, the heart of the church. The whole system of the doctrine of salvation by grace is built on this foundation, it stands or falls with this truth. If you deny or distort this basic truth, you may perhaps inconsistently continue to speak of salvation by grace for a time, but ultimately you will surely lose all the great doctrines of salvation. Deny it, and you cannot maintain the truth of total depravity: for if to some extent you present salvation as contingent upon the will and choice of the sinner, you must ascribe to him some remnant of goodness in virtue by which he is able to make the right determination and choice. Refuse to accept the doctrine of sovereign election, and you must ultimately deny the truth of vicarious atonement. For if Christ's death is substitutional, those for whom He died are certainly justified and reconciled to God. But it is evident that all men are not saved. Hence, you must choose between two alternatives: Christ represented the elect, or in His death He did not really pay for the sins of those for whom He died. Election and vicarious atonement are inseparably connected. The same is true of the relation of election and all the blessings of salvation which are bestowed on us in Christ Jesus our Lord, of calling and faith, of justification and sanctification, of hope and love, of preservation and perseverance. Either these are all blessings of grace, and then they flow from sovereign election; or they depend upon the will and work of man, and then they are not of grace. The doctrine of election is of central importance for the whole system of the truth of salvation.
But this truth is also of immense practical significance. It is the indispensable condition for all true religion. For all true religion is God-centered. This is true only of that religion that has its ultimate source in God's sovereign election. For it alone confesses that God is all and that man is absolutely nothing. There remains nothing for man to boast. All his own goodness, good will, works, religion, piety are cast into the dust as having no value before God. For we are saved according as we are chosen, and we are chosen, not because we distinguished ourselves from others, not because of any goodness or willingness on our part, but solely because it pleased God to distinguish us, and only by grace. God is all! We bring nothing to Him, He gives all to us. We have nothing to boast. Let Him that glorieth glory in the Lord!
Besides, this doctrine affords us unspeakable consolation and is the source of all true comfort and assurance. It cannot be said thate that this doctrine offers no comfort to poor sinners: for nothing could be farther from the truth. True, this doctrine has no consolation for the impenitent wicked. But we ask: is there any form of presentation of the gospel that could possibly comfort the wicked and ungodly? There is no peace, saith my God, for the wicked! But is there a more comforting gospel than that of God's gracious election for the penitent, the seeking soul, the hungry and thirsty, the weary and heavy laden? They may be assured that they will be received and be saved, for their penitence, seeking, hunger and thirst, are the fruit of electing grace. Moreover, when we look about us in the world full of confusion and madness, of corruption and apostasy, is there any assurance anywhere, except in the truth of God's sovereign election, that His work shall not fail, that His church shall surely be gathered, and His kingdom shall be established and manifested in glory?
Salvation is of the Lord: it shall surely be accomplished even unto the end! Let all the powers of darkness rave and rage and rise up against the living God and His Anointed, we know that their ravings and fury can only be subservient and conducive to the realization of God's sovereign purpose of salvation. The gates of all hell cannot overwhelm the church! Nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!
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