Preaching

Evangelising Me

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The human problem is far greater and deeper than we’ve ever imagined.  Not only are we all guilty before God, but we are also dead-hearted toward God and we don’t have His Spirit uniting us with Christ or with each other.  This was not God’s design.  He made us to live in the freedom of guiltless fellowship with Him, our hearts being stirred continuously by the Spirit so that our lives might be lived in the abandon of response to the love of God.

The problem is profound, but the gospel is truly a glorious solution to all of this. In Acts 13 we find Paul in Pisidian Antioch (modern-day Turkey).  He preaches a biblically saturated sermon in a Jewish synagogue, urging the listeners to trust in the risen Christ for forgiveness of sins and justification.  He warns them not to reject the message and the writer describes Paul and Barnabas urging the new believers to “continue in the grace of God.”

So the grace of God was the emphasis, referring to the forgiveness of sins and justification.  The focus is on the guilt being dealt with because of Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Simple trust in his work at Calvary makes it possible to be legally justified. A clear conscious.  A record wiped clean.  Satan may bring up memories and guilt, but we are free of that if we are recipients of God’s grace.

My sin, O the bliss, of this glorious thought,

My sin, not in part, but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul.

Our “criminal record” before God is such a serious issue, but it can be wiped clean by the grace of God.

So what about the rest of the problem?  Does this passage only point to the legal, but not the relational problem?

The passage goes on to describe Paul’s return the following week and concludes with a summary from verse 49.  The word of the Lord spread through the whole region, but as was typical, the reaction of the non-responsive religious folk drove Paul and Barnabas away.  But the story ends with this: “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”

This is the fruit of the grace of God at work.  It was not merely legal, as amazing as that is.  It was relational too.  These people who had been dead in their hearts are now filled with the Holy Spirit and their hearts are alive to God with overflowing joy.  There is the legal and the relational, the forgiveness and the friendship.  That is the grace of God – big enough to deal with the whole problem!

I know my tendency is to allow the gospel to reduce to a merely legal and forensic offer.  If I am witnessing to someone else or preaching, I do okay – that is, I know that it is more than that and try to communicate the richness of forgiveness and real union, true relationship with Christ.  But, personally?  I think I tend to let the gospel shrink as I live my own life.

That is, it is easy to allow my gaze to be drawn by lesser attractions, and it is easy to go quiet in my relationship with God and start walking through the day apparently alone, and it is easy to start to see myself as just a sinner saved, technically, legally, in my status, by God’s wonderful justification.  I don’t think this is what it means when it speaks of continuing in the grace of God.  I certainly don’t think this is what it means to be filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

The Gospel is amazingly good.  The world needs to hear it.  And as we live out our Christian lives, our hearts need to hear it too.

97 Luther Thoughts for Preachers – Part 9

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97LutherLuther’s 97 theses, for preachers. Give some thought to this one:

76. Every deed of the law without the grace of God appears good outwardly, but inwardly it is sin. This in opposition to the scholastics.

Was Jesus ever satisfied with external conformity? Or did Jesus go after the inner issues in the religious folks he spoke with? Strangely we can be tempted to settle for mere outward godliness in our churches. Why? Maybe because it is easier to pastor superficially? Thank God the Good Shepherd doesn’t pastor us this way.

77. The will is always averse to, and the hands inclined toward, the law of the Lord without the grace of God.

Amazingly, we are always going to be drawn by the lie of autonomy, of independence, even in respect to godliness. Instead of just speaking of others, let me ask us as preachers, do we ever lean toward good behavior in our own strength so that we can function with God at arms length?

78. The will which is inclined toward the law without the grace of God is so inclined by reason of its own advantage.

So are some people just more spiritually sensitive and “naturally” good? Not according to Luther. Unless God is at work, every one will be completely self-serving, however it may manifest itself.

79. Condemned are all those who do the works of the law.
80. Blessed are all those who do the works of the grace of God.

There are two types of people in the world, and in the church. It isn’t younger brothers and older brothers, at least not in the sense of the way we think of them. On the one side there are sons sat at the table in the embrace of their father. On the other there are older and younger brothers living in rebellion, hidden or overt, who want only the benefits of their father.

97 Luther Thoughts for Preachers – Part 8

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97LutherContinuing my preacher’s journey through Luther’s lesser known 97 theses:

68. Therefore it is impossible to fulfill the law in any way without the grace of God.

The gravitational pull of a post Genesis 3 world will always pull us toward a morality that is bereft of the presence of God. This is the tendency we have: to try to be like God, apart from God. Let’s never settle for obedient compliance over genuine relationship with God by His Spirit.

69. As a matter of fact, it is more accurate to say that the law is destroyed by nature without the grace of God.
70. A good law will of necessity be bad for the natural will.
71. Law and will are two implacable foes without the grace of God.

I want to leave these theses rather than summarizing them. As a human being I am naturally in total opposition to God being God. Telling me to behave by his rules will only incite rebellion, or . . .

72. What the law wants, the will never wants, unless it pretends to want it out of fear or love.

Unless the person is fearfully self-protective, or loving self in some way. Thus the written code will gain a variety of responses, from younger brother rebellion to older brother self-righteousness, but nothing on this continuum is actually a good result. Seems hopeless?

73. The law, as taskmaster of the will, will not be overcome except by the “child, who has been born to us” [Isa. 9:6].

Our only hope is Christ himself. Apart from him we are deeply in trouble with a terrible foe. So as a preacher? I must, must, must preach Christ – the only hope. But if I reduce Christ and start to preach law in some way, the result will not be greater godliness.

74. The law makes sin abound because it irritates and repels the will [Rom. 7:13].
75. The grace of God, however, makes justice abound through Jesus Christ because it causes one to be pleased with the law.

Only the grace of God can create a new taste, a new inner relish…hang on, I am drifting into Jonathan Edwards now. God can do what the law never could, stirring the heart with a new appetite for good.

97 Luther Thoughts for Preachers – Part 7

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97LutherWe are moving into the sixties, at least in respect to Luther’s 97:

54-59   – Luther pursued the issue of the grace of God, not as a character quality, but as a spiritual presence.  Either we are self-determined individuals, or we function by the presence or absence of grace.  It is too easy, and natural, for us to preach the Bible in such a way as to make demands of listeners that pressure them to perform.  In preaching moralistically we deny the very core of the gospel itself.

(60-)62. And that therefore he who is outside the grace of God sins incessantly, even when he does not kill, commit adultery, or become angry.

Luther takes aim again at the desire to combine law and grace.  That is our human default so we need to think before dismissing him here.  Outside the grace of God we sin incessantly?  What about my upstanding neighbour?  While there are some non-Christians that have better morals than some who identify themselves with Christ, this is not the point.  Apart from me you can do nothing.  We have to watch our tendency to equate external morality with spirituality.

63. But it follows that he sins because he does not spiritually fulfill the law.

So someone may do the right thing, but not from the heart, not spiritually.  Preachers will always be tempted to preach toward the shortcut of behavioural compliance.  It is not a shortcut to anywhere good.

64. Spiritually that person does not kill, does not do evil, does not become enraged when he neither becomes angry nor lusts.

Luther is one of those people in church history who views the affections as the source of action.  If you chase others who thought the same, you end up with quite a hall of fame!

(65)-66 It is the righteousness of the hypocrite actually and outwardly not to kill, do evil, etc.

Choosing to not “do” a sin can be an expression of corrupt affections.  This is a warning to us preachers who might be tempted to settle for a compliant congregation who do not do wrong.  It is possible to fill a church with people who do the right thing, but do so from a hypocritical heart.  Is that the legacy we want?

67. It is by the grace of God that one does not lust or become enraged.

Hence we must preach Christ and him crucified, not moral codes and humans pressurized.

97 Luther Thoughts for Preachers – Part 6

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97LutherWe are now into the second half of this series of posts on Luther’s 97 Theses.  You will probably need to read the earlier posts to make sense of the series, but more than that, I’d suggest you read the theses themselves.

41(-42). Virtually the entire Ethics of Aristotle is the worst enemy of grace. This in opposition to the scholastics.

These snippets should make you want to read more of Luther.  I wonder how much we tend to blend common sense or philosophy with biblical revelation?

43. It is an error to say that no man can become a theologian without Aristotle. This in opposition to common opinion.

44. Indeed, no one can become a theologian unless he becomes one without Aristotle.

For some, this kind of provocation might make us go back and ponder our blending of natural reason with biblical revelation in respect to our preaching.  For others, it might make us want to take stock of our entire theological education and library!  Luther is certainly provocative.  In those days everyone studied Aristotle as a staple in their theological training.  These days most don’t take classes in Aristotle’s work, but has his influence shaped anything which we do study in formal theological training?

45-49 – Luther goes after an essentially idolatrous lauding of the human mind.  There is something strangely magnetic about taking pride in human intellect.  As preachers lets be careful not to treat intellectual pride as somehow more acceptable than other sins.

50. Briefly, the whole Aristotle is to theology as darkness is to light. This in opposition to the scholastics.

This kind of statement prompts me to ponder just how profound the Fall of Genesis 3 was for humanity.  Our best and brightest analyst of human life, from Luther’s perspective, was at the opposite extreme from light.  How easily does our perspective automatically assume it has light when it is really still in darkness.  As preachers, we need to pray for real clarity lest we promote darkness unawares.

51-53 – Luther knew his history and knew that some influences in the history of the church have been downright dangerous.  Some preachers live under the impression that anything old and known must be good and helpful.  Let’s pray for discernment.

Part 7, coming up . . .

97 Luther Thoughts for Preachers – Part 5

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97LutherLast time we surveyed 18 of the 97 theses, but now we need to slow down a bit . . . Luther deserves more than summary and survey here:

37. Nature, moreover, inwardly and necessarily glories and takes pride in every work which is apparently and outwardly good.

Until we see this, we will always be on the brink of moralizing in our preaching.  Surely it is better for people to live good lives rather than bad lives?  It is good for those around, but for the individual?  Their flesh will dictate a self-glorification through pride in anything good . . . thus rendering that good, bad.

So what?  We need to stop preaching as if people are close to God’s glorious standard, but one blotch makes for less than perfection, one miss makes for less than 100% . . . in reality nobody is at 99/100.  Even the best of us, apart from Christ, are absolutely bad.  0/100.  Every apparently good work is corrupted by misplaced glory.

38. There is no moral virtue without either pride or sorrow, that is, without sin.

0/100.  Something about our hearts is key here.  It is easier to preach for external performance, but we would do well to ponder where he was leading with this statement.  Pride?  Self-love.  Sorrow?  Self-love.  Self-love?  Sin.

39. We are not masters of our actions, from beginning to end, but servants. This in opposition to the philosophers.

Speaking of the heart, who is in control?  The supposedly self-moved responsible individual is in Luther’s sights.  He highlights his opponents as being the philosophers, but here he is going after common sense, or could we say, serpent-sense?

The weight of this statement is immense.  Every human lives the lie that we are free, independent and self-moved.  Apparently I am the master of my destiny, but Luther thinks not.  At the heart of the human problem is the human heart.  If we preach simply to apply imperatives to performance, then we may not only be falling short of preaching texts in context, we may actually be preaching biblical truth in a serpent-like way.  Serious stuff.

40. We do not become righteous by doing righteous deeds but, having been made righteous, we do righteous deeds. This in opposition to the philosophers.

Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics teaches the common sense logic that we become good by practice.  Common sense cannot be assumed correct in a fallen world!  The Bible teaches the opposite.  God makes us righteous and then the fruit flows from that transformation.  It has always been hard to change a tree by adjusting the fruit.  Preachers often try.

97 Luther Thoughts for Preachers – Part 4

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97LutherWorking my way through the 97 Theses of Luther, let’s grab eighteen more:

19-22. . . . No act is done according to nature that is not an act of concupiscence against God.  Every act of concupiscence against God is evil and a fornication of the spirit.

What about people who do good things?  Luther undermines it all.  Every act is self-loving act against God.  If we ponder this, it should really make us think twice before preaching for behavioural change without true heart change.

23-25 – Luther critiques the notion that hope overcomes self-love.  Instead of seeing value in our own merit, he points to suffering as the seedbed of hope since suffering destroys a sense of merit and worthiness.  As preachers we have to ponder the perennial problem of the fleshly tendency to err toward earning something spiritually.

26-28 – We don’t make the first move toward God, He makes the first move toward us.  And if we suggest that our move toward God is something we can do by nature, followed by His gracious response, then we are back to the Pelagian error again.  Sometimes we preachers preach as if it is down to our persuasive efforts that people will be stirred to move toward God.

29-30 – God’s election is the first move toward a grace-based relationship between God and man.  We don’t prepare ourselves by becoming more holy.  In fact, perhaps our rebellion against grace is the preparation from our side (since we bring nothing to the table).  So as preachers, let’s not subtly fall into the idea that influencing our listeners toward holy living is somehow a step toward their salvation.

31-36 – From our side we can’t do anything to remove obstacles to grace, and actually, there is nothing about us that would want to even if we could.  Luther had a clear sense of our totally lost state, but many of us fall into the common idea of our times (indeed, all times), that humans have a basically good will.

I hope pondering Luther’s 97 is provoking your thinking as it is mine.  Whether he is right or not, let’s be sure to chase into the Bible and see what it has to say on these issues!

97 Luther Thoughts for Preachers – Part 3

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97LutherIf you want to see Luther’s lesser known list of theses, click here.  Let’s keep pondering their value for us as preachers:

Theses 13-15 – Luther goes on to underline the propensity to evil found in natural condition humanity.  He even questions whether genuine love is possible, certainly with respect to God.  So the will is free only in the sense that it will conform to erroneous and incorrect teaching.  Within that realm, the will appears free because the dictator within lives in that darkness.  How often do preachers pile on the pressure when the listeners are incapable of responding with better morality – they may shift their actions, but will continue to be in that earthly realm that is totally other than God’s goodness.

16. One ought rather to conclude: since erring man is able to love the creature it is impossible for him to love God.

While we may not be familiar with the juxtaposition Luther gives here, it shouldn’t be unfamiliar to us.  Think of Jesus’ words, that it is not possible to serve two masters, you will either love one and hate the other, or serve the one and despise the other.  Perhaps we need to ponder the mutual exclusivity of affection when we preach to people (since our tendency is to be “both/and” in our thinking).

17. Man is by nature unable to want God to be God. Indeed, he himself wants to be God, and does not want God to be God.

I hope you didn’t leave before this one!  This is vitally important.  Humans do not want God to be God, but we consistently vote for another candidate – ourselves.  The influence of the Lie in Genesis 3 is so pervasive we can easily miss it, like the water the goldfish is swimming in.  So as preachers, are we trying to encourage morality and goodness without addressing the real issue?  I can convince people to help older folk across the road, but superficial morality in no way addresses the core “me for president of the universe” political inclination of the human heart (and we all know presidential candidates like to be seen to do good!)

18. To love God above all things by nature is a fictitious term, a chimera, as it were. This is contrary to common teaching.

So the great commandment is impossible for a fallen humanity.  People will not love God, so what do we do?  Do we command it?  Or do we prayerfully present the self-revelation of God’s heart in His Word, pointing to the Word incarnate, and invite people to look to Him?  More on this to come . . .

97 Luther Thoughts for Preachers – Part 2

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97LutherContinuing my pondering of Luther’s less famous 97 Theses and what difference they might make to our preaching:

5. It is false to state that man’s inclination is free to choose between either of two opposites. Indeed, the inclination is not free, but captive. This is said in opposition to common opinion.

Everyone assumes they are self-moved and free to choose in any situation.  Luther argues that this is not the case.  The will is not free, but captive.  So as a preacher, I need to ponder deeply what the state of the human will actually is.  If it is free then that will result in one approach to ministry.  If it is not free, then that will result in another approach.  As humans, we make choices all the time.  We can call that liberty of choice.  But those choices are not made by a free will, but by a will held captive.

6. It is false to state that the will can by nature conform to correct precept. This is said in opposition to Scotus and Gabriel.

Luther reinforces the point by denying that human wills will obey clear and compelling application by their own nature.  So when we preach, are we indulging in an exercise to convince people to move themselves to what is right?  Luther says no.

Theses 7-9 – The will may be neutral in itself, but it is captive to a non-neutral dictator.  God’s grace is needed so that the will can do anything other than always choose evil.  When we preach, we aren’t speaking to neutral folk, but to a captive set of wills.  Lest you assume some sort of heavenly puppeteering here, let me tip you off that Luther is not saying the will is captive to God’s direct control.

Theses 10-12 – Just because we proclaim that something is good does not mean that people will strive in that direction.  It would be good to ask Luther what he thinks of moralistic preaching, for instance.  Is our role as preachers to call everyone to live in a godly way?  Seems slightly misdirected if no natural will is able or free to strive toward what we declare to be good.

97 Luther Thoughts for Preachers

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97LutherMartin Luther is famous for his 95 theses against Indulgences, which he nailed to the door in Wittenberg on the 31st of October 1517.  His less well-known 97 Theses were posted a few weeks earlier.  Later, when the eyes of the church world were on him, he looked back beyond the 95 Theses and went back to the issues raised in the 97 Theses to make his defense.

Every time I look at the 97, I am struck by how on target Luther was about some very foundational issues.  So I have pondered blogging through them for the sake of preachers today.  I won’t go at a rate of one per post, but rather will summarise where the content feels too distant and requires too much explanation (you can see the full list here), then state specific theses and converse with them from the perspective of preaching today.

The 97 Theses Against Scholastic Theology.  Luther pulls no punches in his critique of the prevailing theological training of his day.  Get foundational theological questions wrong and everything else will follow.  As a preacher I am struck by that reality today.  Good Bible interpretation, explanation and application built on flawed assumptions will make for potentially unhelpful or even harmful preaching.

Theses 1-3 – Luther launches by affirming the widely respected Augustine as over against Pelagius, the heretic, who denied the full impact of original sin and asserted that humans have the ability to be righteous by the exercise of their free will.  How humans operate is a critical issue for preachers and one we must ponder deeply.

4. It is therefore true that man, being a bad tree, can only will and do evil [Cf. Matt. 7:17–18].

As preachers we have to grasp the depth of the human sin problem before we can hope to offer any sort of solution.  Do we really get how pervasive sin is and how fruitless the human life is “by nature?”  I tend to think of the story of the Lost Sons to illustrate this . . . both sons were lost, but their sin manifested with different fruit.  One bore the red apple of riotous living.  The other bore the green apple of self-righteous living.  Both were 100% wrong in their response to a loving Father.  Too often we see sin on the standard sliding scales and therefore evaluate who is more of a sinner versus who is less of a sinner.

But if we preach only a shallow view of sin, we will be affirming a lot of “older brothers” who need to see the bad news of their situation too.