Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church
Some current church gurus have quipped that preaching is outdated and now irrelevant. We’ve stepped into a new era where monologue doesn’t work anymore, they say. In fact, many may affirm that standing behind a large wooden pulpit, with a Bible open, wearing a tie and authoritatively telling people what the Bible says and how they must respond doesn’t seem to connect with our post-Christian culture anymore. So this timeless duty to preach the Word of God is now being replaced by anything, by something. But I must argue that the preaching of the Word of God is vitally necessary and it is critically important. We see the necessity of preaching in at least 5 ways.
We see the necessity of preaching because CHRIST COMMANDED IT.
Jesus Christ commanded His followers to go and ‘preach that the kingdom of God is at hand.’ The main mission of the disciples as they permeated Galilee was to go and preach. To stand and speak was their calling. Jesus called His people to proclaim the Word. The Word that Matthew uses (in 10:7) is the word “to herald” and it implies a messenger being sent from an authority with a message that he must deliver faithfully, accurately and without alteration to the desired audience. Jesus called His followers to preach the gospel. Peter was in the house of Cornelius and said that he had been ordered to preach to the people and to solemnly declare that Jesus is the judge of the living and the dead! O may we understand the sheer importance of preaching because Jesus demanded it! He calls His ministers to it. Paul said that he was called and sent not to baptize but to preach the gospel. May men of God rise and herald if for no other reason that Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God has called him to this weighty task.
We see the necessity of preaching because SCRIPTURE DEMANDS IT.
Preaching the Word of God must be central in a biblical church ministry because Scripture demands it. The Old Testament prophets frequently spoke the word of the Lord to the people (whether the audience wanted to hear it or not). The Apostle Paul in the New Testament demands that all God’s men preach the Word (2 Tim 4:2). Nothing should eclipse this in Christian ministry. Nothing should bump the preeminence of the proclamation of this Savior and His gospel. In church ministry, the Bible could not be clearer that men must “speak” things fitting for sound doctrine and must speak with all authority to God’s people as God’s mouthpieces. Elders must work hard at preaching and teaching. It is a tireless work and a necessary ministry to speak God’s words to God’s people. And preaching the Word is unquestionably necessary because the Bible demands it. If all else is lost, the preaching of God’s unchanging truth must never be pushed aside, exchanged or minimized.
We see the necessity of preaching because GOD SAVES & SANCTIFIES BY IT.
Men come to Christ through the preaching of the Word of God. This is the Word which Peter preached to believers (1 Peter 1:25). God saves people through the going forth of the Word of God. God does not save apart from the Word of God nor apart from the Truth of the gospel. It is the word of Christ that people must hear to be saved. Men must hear and understand the character of God, the sinfulness of sin, the fairness of hellfire, the substitutionary work of Christ, and the need to believe in Christ alone. It is the preaching of the Word of God that the Spirit of God uses to both save and sanctify. He converts and conforms saints more into the image of Christ through the going forth of divine truth. The Spirit works with and by the Word but not apart from the Word. Let men of God open their Bibles and speak forth God’s Word knowing that God will save whom He desires and that God will sanctify His people through this necessary means of grace — the heralding of the glorious gospel.
We see the necessity of preaching because GOD’S AUTHORITY REQUIRES IT.
God sits on high, far above the highest heavens, ruling over all the affairs of men (Psalm 103:19). No one can rebel against God and His sovereign authority. To read the Bible is to speak forth God’s words. To preach God’s Word is to say: “Thus says the LORD.” God’s authority does not demand a chat, nor does it welcome a ‘conversation’; or still, a roundtable panel. Rather, the authority of almighty God demands that a qualified, faithful and holy minister of the gospel would stand and speak forth God’s Word with all authority. This is precisely what Paul commands Titus to do. Speak these things (gospel truths) with ‘all authority’ (Titus 2:1, 15). No event in all the world carries as much authority in our lives as the sitting under the faithful, sound, expositional preaching of holy Scripture. For in the heralding of God’s Word, the sovereign Creator God addresses all who are there. And the authority of God requires an authoritative proclamation. A chat does not accomplish this, nor does a lecture, a sharing time, a discussion, or a sermonette. We must recover the powerful, biblical, faithful and reverential proclamation of the Word of the living God.
We see the necessity of preaching because SINNERS NEED IT.
Sinners need nothing more than the fervent, faithful and crystal-clear proclamation of God’s Word that lays bare their sinfulness and inevitable judgment as they stand condemned before a holy God. Sinners don’t need entertainment, sports, relationships, friendships, religion, or feel good pep-talks. Sinners must understand their dire condition before the all-seeing eyes of God who promises to punish all sinners (Rom 6:23). Men of God who stand as pastors must understand the eternal ramifications of having and holding God’s Word and the uncompromising need to preach it powerfully and passionately so that sinners may repent of their sin and turn to Jesus Christ by faith alone. We don’t need less preaching in our day. Rather, we need much more preaching! We don’t just need more churches; we need more of the right kind of churches. That is, we need churches who are tenaciously and unashamedly tethered to the passionate preaching of Jesus Christ and Him crucified as men of God stand and speak forth the full counsel of God’s Word. O preaching is necessary because without it, sinners will perish and be lost forever! O let men of God arise and preach in churches and outside of churches! Let godly men preach from the housetops and on street corners. Let men preach in public squares and in living rooms. O may sinners see the gravity of their sin in God’s eyes and flee for refuge to the Rock who is the only Refuge from the coming and inescapable deluge of divine wrath — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. Let us preach powerfully, frequently and urgently! It’s necessary!
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