What do you do when you are asked to preach a title with a text?  My simple answer is to honour the title, but preach the text.

Isn’t that the obvious answer?  No, I think there is an alternative that is very common and may be legitimate – preach the title by using the text.  And then there is the option of preaching the title and ignoring, or even abusing, the text.  The challenge is where the line is drawn between these two options.  So why would title take precedence over the text?

Sometimes the title is highly relevant, or highly theological, or highly specific.  What if the title is “What is the Gospel?” and the text is John 3:16.  Or maybe “Are there many ways to God?” and the text is Acts 4:12.  Or “Guilt and holistic health” with Romans 8:1.

The temptation then is to try to give the definitive lecture on biblical soteriology, or the exclusivism of Christ, or whatever.  You’ve gone from preaching the Bible to preaching theology with the Bible as a key exhibit.  I won’t say this is totally wrong.  We have probably all benefitted from some “definitive lectures” from great speakers.  But personally, I find there is something lacking in this approach.  I would rather preach the text.

Personally I find it satisfying when I feel like I’ve done a good job of engaging the text and presenting it in such a way that it has “lived” in the imaginations of the listeners. A well crafted lecture on exclusivism is all well and good, but a text genuinely experienced text is much rarer.  As long as it addresses the requested subject by way of application, of course.