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| A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver |
"And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God...and my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power; that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God" (1 Cor 2:1,4-5)
How the gospel is preached is important. To be sure, it is the "the message preached" (NASB) that saves them that believe (1 Cor 1:21) but the preacher must make sure that the manner in which he speaks does not hinder the message he is speaking.
The apostle Paul declared that he preached the gospel "not with wisdom of words." He indicated that doing such a thing would make "the cross of Christ...of none effect." He also declared that he came "not with excellency of speech or of wisdom" and that his speech and preaching "was not with enticing words of man's wisdom." He indicated that doing these things would cause the faith of his hearers to stand "in the wisdom of men" rather than "in the power of God." He was careful about how he preached and preachers today must be careful as well.
Wisdom of Words. The flesh will desire to promote itself and all those who speak in behalf of the Lord must put to death any attempt it makes to say "here I am." Paul was fully capable of using wisdom of words, excellency of speech and enticing words of man's wisdom. He was an intelligent, educated man. He had to deliberately forsake such wisdom when he preached the gospel so as to not draw attention to himself or cause men to trust in him.
Preaching the gospel is not simply persuading men to join a group. It is not laying out some systematic theology to prove the salvation of Jesus beyond the shadow of a doubt. Preaching the gospel is not about just saying things in such a way to invoke an emotional response. Preaching the gospel is testifying or announcing the record that God has given of His Son. It is a proclamation of what God is doing and has done and will do through Jesus.
Adverse Effects. The use of worldly wisdom or man's wisdom will actually detract from the message and work of the Lord. God will not honor a person who preaches a message that seeks to glorify someone other than the Father or the Son. Many people have heard preaching that is "puffed up." It draws that attention to how smart the preacher is rather than how affective salvation is. It is common for such preachers to speak about historical context, original languages, psychological observations and statistics and the like. They declare things that the average church-goer is unaware of because they have gotten their information from a source other than the Scriptures. Such a practice does not clarify the things of God; it often convinces the hearer that they must study the books of men to understand the Bible. Their faith then rests in the wisdom of men rather than the power of God - which is the gospel itself (Rom 1:16).
Let everyman who speaks, speak as the oracle of God (1 Pet 4:11). Let him trust that the gospel is enough to save them that believe. Let him not be ashamed of it but boldly declare what God has said. Let him forsake the wisdom of men, when he preaches the gospel of Christ. Let him preach Jesus Christ.
Bro Pat, thank you for this word. It surely needs to be heard in today’s church. I find myself getting angry when preachers spend great amounts of time talking about things that detract from the reputation of Christ and rather highlight men’s accomplishments. So often we would do better to simply invoke the testimony that God has given about his Son, rather than trying, with our puerile anecdotes and simplistic illustrations, to make the message of salvation and the kingdom of God more “modern” and “relevant” (and usually more shallow as well).
ReplyDeleteI do have some clarificatory questions though.
Obviously the Bible, while certainly written FOR us, was not written TO us. The audience varies depending on the book or letter, but we 21st century Christ-followers were not the originally intended audience. To what degree should teaching/preaching reflect this fact?
You mentioned preachers who talk about “historical context,” but isn’t having the message that we’re reading framed in the original context often helpful? For example, passages from 1 Corinthians 11 are often used to bolster the idea that women are subservient to men or that they cannot approach God without a male authority figure in their lives. And this distorted interpretation is understandable without proper “historical context.” But when we look at Corinthian history, we realize that Paul is addressing specific cultural concerns in first century Corinth and that he is calling for propriety and order in a society where immorality and paganism had blurred gender distinctions. This is not an antifeminist passage at all! (After all, there is “there is neither male nor female” in Christ — Gal. 3:28).
And what about the “original languages”? In my experience, sometimes the interpretation of the original Hebrew or Greek languages is extremely helpful in understanding the meaning and application of what God was trying to convey to us. For example, I once heard a sermon in which the pastor talked about the meaning of the Greek word "epithymeÅ," which Jesus used when talking about lust in Matthew 5. He explained how our idea of “lust” is usually any kind of sexual desire that finds someone sexually or physically attractive, and that these desires are terrible and mean that you’re going to hell. But, he went on to explain, the Greek word "epithymeÅ" actually means something more and Jesus was actually talking about making sex into an idol, like greed. Making it into something that is used selfishly, something that is addicting, something that is filled with fantasies, something that we look to to give us only what God can give us. I never would have appreciated the depth of what Jesus was talking about without this interpretation of the “original language”! (We should remember after all, that the Bible wasn’t written in English!)
These are just two examples, but neither of these things would have been clear from simply reading the scriptures themselves. Instead, it took external resources to make them clear... and therefore accurately understandable and applicable!
Also, it seems to me that when people (especially preachers) read the Bible without any historical/contextual framing, they tend to come to dozens of different (and often conflicting) conclusions about what Jesus was saying. Don’t tools such as “historical context” and “original languages” help us discredit some of the rubbish that’s being promulgated out there?
I guess this is an issue that I struggle with a lot. Is there a place for this “worldly wisdom” in modern-day preaching? I feel like it can add greatly to “the message and work of the Lord.” But at the same time, it’s often taken too far, and it becomes simply “puffed up” preaching. Where is the line?
Anyway, this has been an issue that has long plagued me as well. The problem is, I don’t know if how much of it is actually right or wrong!
Generally speaking, and concerning your first question regarding how preaching and teaching should reflect the fact that we were not the original audience of the Scriptures, we can simply say this: "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Tim 3:16-17). I know that you know this but we must consider the great implications of this declaration. It is through the Scriptures that one is made "wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim 3:15). And knowing that the word of God is "quick" (Heb 4:12) or "living" (NASB) we can be confident that it is able to bear fruit in us as well, though we may be afar off from the times and places of its writing.
ReplyDeleteRemember, and this is key when it comes to this discussion, that the things of the Spirit of God are "spiritually discerned" (1 Cor 2:14). The gospel is a spiritual message and works in the hearers in a spiritual capacity. It is able to enlighten, save, bear fruit unto eternal life, convict, persuade, reprove, rebuke and exhort. The word of God is not understood through intellectual means, which is why it is possible that naturally intelligent men can be ever learning but never coming to the knowledge of the truth. Consider many of the Pharisees and teachers of the law...they knew the Scriptures and searched them diligently but couldn't see that Jesus was the Christ. How is this possible? They were IN the historical context and SPOKE the language yet this did not help them.
When it comes to the historical context and languages I am simply saying that we are dependent upon the efforts of men to understand the word of God. We are dependent upon what men say was common "in that day" and we are dependent upon how the Greeks or Hebrews used a particular word rather than how God used the word. I am simply not willing to put much stock in those systems of theology. I would have to question those thoughts from Mt 5 on lust and simply say, "Did Jesus really mean that?" Are we to understand the depth of what Jesus meant by men using linguistic reasoning? It seems to me that Jesus was talking about thinking adulterous thoughts in the same why He spoke about thinking murderous thoughts. Murder comes from hatred just as adultery comes from lust (strong desire for what is not yours).
My main concern is with what our preaching draws men's attention to. Worldly wisdom will have hearers seeking out historical books and language experts so that they can understand the word of God. God speaks and the hearers go to other hearers to ask them what He meant. Or our preaching can draw men's attention to the One who spoke asking Him to reveal or make known the truth to them.
The best practice in my opinion is to allow the Scriptures to interpret the Scriptures.
I saw leave out worldly wisdom and declare what God has said. The word of God is the "sword of the Spirit". When you declare it you have given the Spirit something to work with - the Spirit doesn't work with man's wisdom. In the New Covenant Deity is the primary teacher and expositor of the Scriptures. The Father is teaching, the Son is teaching and the Spirit is teaching. With this in mind the apostle could speak as the Holy Spirit gave Him utterance and then say, "consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things" (2 Tim 2:7).
ReplyDeleteThank you and amen.
ReplyDeleteIn the vein of drawing men's attention to God for Divine clarity, King David said, "O my God, I trust in You... Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day... Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way. The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies." Looking for guidance and teaching elsewhere is not only futile, it's perilous.