The Preacher Has Got To Know His Text

I know we are in the middle of a three part series on what it is to be a "Godly Wife," yet I want to take a detour and meander to a topic that I have been doing much reading on, namely, expository preaching. Let me post today on what it is to be a passionate preacher who understands his text and then tomorrow I will return to the third part of a "Godly Wife."

The story of old is like this, George Whitefield's powerful preaching was stirring the hearts of the people of Britain. When he was preaching in Edinburgh, many in the town awakened at 5:00am to gather and hear the evangelist. A man on his way to the tabernacle met David Hume, the notorious Scottish philosopher and skeptic. Surprised to see Hume on the way to hear Whitefield, the man said, "I thought you did not believe in the gospel." Hume replied, I don't, but he does."

The point: When a preacher deeply believes his message, his strong convictions can have a powerful effect on those who hear him. There is no substitute for the preacher being thoroughly absorbed with proclaiming biblical truth (Lawson, Famine in the Land,122).

Montoya takes this one step further and notes that preaching is hart work. MacArthur notes that we must stay in our seats until the work is done!

The preacher must preach passionately. Furthermore, the preacher must be so thoroughly researched on his given text that he could answer (almost) any question in relation to it. The preacher must understand exactly what the authorial intent was (that is, what the writer intended to say to the original audience).

The preacher is an exegete. He must know the Word. He must live it. He must breathe it. He must digest it. He must be changed by it. He must speak of it. He must preach that which he knows.

This is the job description that we as passionate preachers must live up to.