The fourth and final part of this series is about God’s grace. I have posted it on the Cor Deo site, and you can go there by clicking here.
Gospel Dimensions 3
In the last two days I have made some suggestions as to how a limited view of God and humanity will tend to undermine our preaching. What about our view of sin?
1. When we see the problem as partial rather than total. How often have we heard, or said, that if God’s pass mark is 50, then even a 49 is still falling short of the glory of God? Therefore even the most “perfect” performer of self-righteousness can be caught out because they must have at least stolen a biscuit when they were small or a paperclip from work in recent years. Perhaps we say imagine a perfect white sheet of paper, then put a dot of ink on it . . . no longer perfect. Heaven is perfect, etc. This is all true, but dangerously untrue at the same time. Hypothetically a person could be a 49/50 performer, but in reality, nobody is. To put it another way, we are all zero out of 50 because self-righteousness is not the goal. Sin is not about independent performance according to a standard. The standard reveals our independent performance and abject failure. The independence is a huge part of the issue, so our paper is not mostly white, it is completely covered in blotched ink. And that ink comes in two colours:
2. When we see the problem as naughtiness. Naughtiness is like blue ink. It is the colour of the younger son’s track record as he crawls back wearing swine deodorant from the far country. But naughtiness is not the extent of sin. It is one manifestation, but it is not the whole deal. The Bible does not say we have all been naughty and fallen short of the performance levels of God. Independent self-righteousness is red ink. You may prefer red, but it still covers the white of the page when splashed liberally onto it. Our righteousness is like filthy rags before a God who longs for hearts to not be far from Him. Some human sheets are mostly blue. Some are mostly red. None have any white showing. I am trying different ways to say the same thing: our sin is far worse than we realise!
3. When we see the problem as a hindrance rather than death. Broken will? Clouded uninformed mind? Slightly marred record? Sin goes deeper than all of this. The heart of the human sin problem is the human heart. That is where we are dead toward God, dead in our self-love, dead because life is found in relationship with God. And we cannot fix our own hearts. Fully dead in sin, and fully unable to do a thing about it.
If we present sin as petty naughtiness, then we will preach the good news that a petty God is willing to put up with our paperclip theft. Hardly the gospel. And if we preach a shallow or superficial portrait of sin, then we can very easily offer a gospel of heavenly benefits to people whose hearts remain far from Him. Is this not an anti-gospel?
Gospel Dimensions 2
Yesterday we pondered how small thinking about God will negatively shape our preaching. What about our dimension estimates of humanity? Again, this can really make a difference to our preaching.
1. When we see humanity as too elevated. I suspect everything I will write in this post about humanity will really be leaning toward tomorrow’s post about sin. I’m convinced that we simply don’t grasp how profound our problems actually are. We swim in the brine of a post-Genesis 3 world and we are saturated to the core of our being, but don’t realize it. Consequently our view of humanity can easily get too elevated, while losing sight of how special we are. The issue is God’s image. What does it mean to be made in God’s image? When we corrupt the image language of Genesis 1 with notions of autonomy, authority and rule apart from relationality, then we end up with a mis-measured humanity. The wonder of humanity is that we are made in the image of a relational God and we are made for relationship with Him. Too much of our gospel-vision lacks a real grasp of how deep that design goes. Instead we fall for a mis-measured human vision of autonomy, rule and authority. Suddenly the image of God is about god-like qualities of abstract thinking and self-definition and self-determination and dominion over others and rule over creation . . . and our thinking about Genesis 1 (image) sounds and smells like Genesis 3 (hiss).
2. When we see humanity too individually. This is another way of saying essentially the same thing. I suspect many of us are better at spotting individuality in our reading of the New Testament than we are at spotting it in our reading of humanity. That is to say, I suspect many of us know that the “you” of the epistles is usually “you all” rather than “you and you and you and you.” It makes a difference. Especially for us English speakers who don’t distinguish you singular from you plural. We are saved into a corporate entity called the church, not given separate and distinct individual memberships for our own benefit. So we hopefully see that on a horizontal level, but I suspect we still fall into seeing humans as stand-alone creatures. It is the world that measures life and success by the items listed on a curriculum vitae or resume. Our identity does not consist in our collection of capacities (education, experience, skills, references), but rather in the fabric of relationships with which we are enriched. If we don’t grasp the difference, we will preach a gospel that tends toward personal benefits and relational disconnection.
3. When we see humanity as inherently good, but hindered. I am out of words, but this can lead into tomorrow. How bad is our problem? Do we have a broken will that needs enabling? Do we have a clouded mind that needs clearing? Or is the problem much deeper and more devastating?
Gospel Dimensions
When our view of the gospel is too small, then our preaching will always fall short. Here are some gospel dimensions to pursue:
1. How good is your God?
2. How needy are your listeners?
3. How bad is our sin?
4. How transformative is God’s grace?
When our view of God is too small, our view of humanity is too elevated, our view of our sin is too shallow and our view of God’s grace as too weak, then our preaching of the Bible will always be inadequate. Let me take the first one and suggest a couple of ways our view of God can fall short of the biblical teaching:
1. When we see God as a split personality held in internal dynamic tension. You know how this one goes, God is loving, but he is also something else. It is sort of an endorsement of love, but balanced with holiness, or power, or something. Where does the Bible promote a 50:50 balance in God? I would suggest that we need to read our Bibles more and start to see how God’s “balancing” attributes actually only make sense in the context of who He is. God is not holy in an isolated separation. God is set apart in the perfection of His intra-trinitarian perfect love. This is not to say that God is somehow pro-sin, of course He isn’t. Our minds go there because we have not grasped how relational reality actually is. When justice and love become conflicted perspectives, then we will always hold back slightly on our belief in and presentation of the good news that God so loved that He gave . . .
2. When we see God as a powerful benefactor/butler who needs convincing to act. This is another common perspective. It is about taking a shallow awareness of God’s goodness and combining it with a self-centred perspective on reality. Unless the sin issue is engaged and addressed, then God’s goodness can become corrupted by our preaching into a celestial vending machine for which we need the magic technique. Put the money in the slot, request A7, then smack it on the side and give it a bump. Voila – blessings. This view of God is a corruption of His self-giving goodness . . . it was never intended so that we can be better served in our self-absorption!
3. When we see God as essentially selfish. This is also a common perspective. When our view of God’s glory is not framed in the relational wonder of the self-giving Trinity, then God can become inherently selfish. An inherently selfish God may demand glory from us, but no matter how we dress it up and mix in the fanfare, this will always fall short of the radically different God who gives Himself to us in His Word. We don’t want a sanctified version of all the other gods, we need to know God as He really is.
The Why Behind The Instruction
The Bible contains plenty of instruction. There are the instructional sections of epistles. Jesus gave more than a few. There are the instructions implicit in the wisdom literature. Then there are obvious implications with built-in instructions when we look at narratives.
So our job is to explain and apply, and the apply part is relatively easy when we are dealing with instruction, right? Yes and no. Certainly it is helpful when the text pushes us toward something that will be helpful and relevant to communicate to listeners. And for the most part, people appreciate being told what is expected of them. But there is an issue to watch out for . . .
How do we avoid moralizing? That is, how do we avoid simply turning the Bible into instructions for good clean living? You may think there is nothing wrong with that, but I beg to differ. The problem of sin is far more profound than mere ignorance or lack of instruction. The sin problem facing humanity is far more profound than we tend to recognize, and consequently a lot of sermons don’t even scratch the surface of the issue. In fact, some actually exacerbate the issue!
How can a sermon make the sin problem worse? Surely good preaching helps people live less sinful lives? Good preaching does, but not by moralizing. Simply pressuring people to clean up their act and perform more like good clean Christians is not gospel work. It is what Tim Keller refers to as turning younger brothers into older brothers. Cleaner, supposedly better and certainly more religious, but no more Christian than a fence post. Behaviour modification is not the intention of the Bible. Independent pride promotion is the antithesis of Biblical intent.
So am I going against Scripture to argue against moralizing, especially when there is so much instruction there? I don’t think so. The Scripture assumes things to which we have grown blind. Knowing God brings life change, there are instructions relevant for those who are in communion with Him, but the process is never one of behaviour modification first, internal realities second. And growth as a Christian is not a different set of rules, it continues to be by faith from first to last. So what does this mean?
In a nutshell, it means that we can’t simply be the older brother patrol out to instruct people toward a pseudo-godliness. When you preach an instructive section, be sure to put it in its full gospel context. Specifically, seek to answer the “why?” question. Why does that command make sense in light of the Bible’s teaching about God and sin and life? How you answer the why question will reveal your theology. That you ask the why question will reveal your awareness that instruction alone is never enough.
Quick Answers to Preaching Questions
Here are a few brief video clips that may be of interest . . .
What are the freedoms and limitations that we have in preaching?
Mixing the Matters
You matter. Preaching matters. Your preaching matters. But don’t mix these up.
You matter – you are a person for whom Christ died, a person who has been bought with a price and baptised into the body of Christ to participate in the fellowship and life of God himself. Just like the people you preach to, your worth and value are to be found in Christ.
Preaching matters – what God has done in Christ for your listeners and you is truly worth sharing boldly and openly. Preaching matters because God is an incarnationally-minded communicator and as a result, we have something to say. Preaching the word of God has always been a key part of God’s mission in this world, for there is a revelation and a proclamation at the core of that mission.
Your preaching matters – you may not be so-and-so famous preacher who draws huge crowds, but you are more than just the person scheduled to preach this next time. The people gathered have a divine appointment with the word of the gospel, so you will want to give your very best for their sake, and for His. The famous preacher is not scheduled to be there, by God’s providence, you are.
Don’t mix these up – one of the ways we can get into trouble as preachers is to start to confuse these truths. Since preaching matters, I matter because of my preaching? Careful! The moment we confuse our identity in Christ with our role in ministry, we are set for trouble. I recently heard of a visiting preacher who marred his reputation by his reaction to a circumstance that thwarted his opportunity to preach. It is good to take your preaching seriously, but never think you are indispensable. It is good to serve God in preaching, but never let your identity be determined by it. Your preaching matters, but God can, and does, work apart from your ministry.
Non-Cafeteria Theology
This week I posted on the Cor Deo site with a post focused on the doctrine of sin, and how our view of sin is connected with the rest of our theology. Picking and choosing simply isn’t a coherent option. To go to the post, click here.
Paul Tripp on Law and Grace
I am really enjoying Dangerous Calling by Paul Tripp. Here’s a paragraph that jumped out at me last night as I read a few pages:
When I hear a sermon that is essentially law-driven, that is, asking the law to do what only the grace of Jesus Christ can accomplish, I am immediately concerned about the preacher. I immediately wonder about his view of himself, because if he had any self-consciousness about his own weakness and sin, he would find little hope and comfort for himself and his hearers in that kind of sermon. You see this dynamic in the Pharisees. Because they thought of themselves as righteous, perfect law givers, they had no problem laying unbearable law burdens on others. Their misuse of the law had its roots not only in bad theology but also in ugly human pride. They saw law keeping as possible, because they thought they were keeping it. And they thought that others should get up and keep it as well as they did. They were the religious leaders of their day, but they were arrogant, insensitive, uncompassionate, and judgmental. They were not part of what God was doing at the moment; no, they were in the way of it.
If you want more, get the book. This paragraph is on page 153.
The Fourth Ingredient
What goes into good preaching? Many point to a mix of three ingredients that are needed:
Biblically Faithful – The message needs to be the message of the text faithfully interpreted and communicated.
Organizationally & Vocally Clear – The listeners need to be able to hear and follow the train of thought.
Contemporarily Relevant – The listeners need to sense that the message is relevant to their life and circumstance.
If preaching could tick these three boxes on a consistent basis, then the church would be healthier by far. But all three can be present and the message can still be painfully dull. Biblical, but dull. Clear, but dull. Relevant, but dull.
So when I evaluate preaching, I always include a fourth necessary ingredient: Interpersonally Engaging. Good preaching needs to be biblical, clear, relevant and engaging.
What goes into engaging?
Engaging content – the content of a message needs to go further than just being biblical and relevant. It engages by being intriguing, or attractive, or gripping, or vivid. The narratives of the biblical text or sermonic illustration need to form images on the screens in listeners’ hearts. The poetry of the text needs to shape images and stirs emotion in the listeners’ hearts. The content needs to captivate listeners so that they can’t help but want to listen.
Engaging delivery – the delivery of a message needs to go further than just being clear. I’ve heard clear preaching that sent me quickly to sleep. Engaging delivery engages through energy – energy appropriate to the situation and personality of the preacher, but energy nonetheless. Energy is not just about hype and volume. It is about facial expression, gesture, movement, vocal variety, eye contact. The delivery, whether big and demonstrative or measured and deliberate, needs to engage the listener in some way.
Motivation to Engage – the key, though, is neither content nor delivery. The key seems to be at the level of the preacher’s motivation. If the preacher is prayerfully prepared to the point that they share God’s heart for the listeners and the situation, then they will want to connect. If they want to connect, then both the content and delivery will tend towards what it should be in order to engage the hearts of those listening. The real issue here is not technique, but motivation for relationship. If the preacher is connected to God and wants to connect with the listener, there is a good chance that they will. And if they do, then there is much greater chance of the preaching being life changing.
Biblical Preaching 