(Thus far in this rubric, The Binding Power of the Word, it has been noted that authority in the Church of Christ is the right from Christ to speak the Word of God, and several areas of authority found in the Church were noted.  The first area examined was that of the preaching, which has two aspects: the right of the preacher to speak the Word of God, and the authority of the Word spoken.  The preacher, we learned, has been called by Christ to be His official spokesman – a herald and ambassador of the King, and therein lies his authority to speak the Word of God.  Now we turn to the authority of the word spoken.)

            Must we listen to (and obey) the preaching?  What really IS preaching?  Why should it have any authority over us?  The answer simply put is this: It is the Word of God.  That being stated, however, some explanation is required.  We understand the Bible to be the Word of God.  It has authority over us exactly because it is the infallible, inspired Word – word for word, GOD’S Word.  At the same time we say that the preaching is the Word of God to us, but we can feel a certain difference between the two.  Is preaching infallible?  No.  Is preaching inspired, that is, does the preacher receive the sermon as Moses received the Law, from the hands of angels, or as he received the words, “In the beginning God created…”?  Do preachers receive their sermon themes and divisions from God, and the body of the sermon by special revelation so that we can say that they speak as they are moved by the Holy Spirit, as Peter says was true of the inspired prophets (I Peter 1:21)?  Again the answer is, No.

Yet preaching is the Word of God because the content of preaching is the Word of God – taken from the Bible.  That is the connection between the preaching and the Bible, and is at the same time the source of preaching’s authority.  Again, what is preaching?  Preaching is an authoritative proclamation of the gospel in submission to the Bible by a called and ordained preacher.  Preaching is not a mere reading of the Scriptures, even of a passage which contains a part of a sermon of Jesus or the apostles.  Preaching is an explanation of the Bible.  A sermon explains the truths of a particular passage in the light of the whole Bible.  Such Biblical preaching draws its ideas, its definitions, its application, many of its illustrations, and even its form from the Bible.

Understood in that light, the mechanics of sermon making is not some deep mystery.  After translating the text in order to get a sharp understanding and a firm grasp of the words of the text, the minister sits with his Bible and his concordance and develops the concepts in the text (as for example, holiness, sin, predestination or forgiveness) from the other places such words are used in Scripture.  Next he shows how the concepts are related in this particular text, and looks for the proper application.  Finally, he seeks to write the sermon in logical form to help God’s people take hold of the Word.  In all this, the sermon must show how this text reveals the wonder of salvation in Christ, His cross and resurrection.

At the same time, understand that the work of making a sermon is intensely spiritual!  It is not the same as explaining a passage from Shakespeare’s plays or some other work of man.  The main reason for this is that the Bible is God’s work; the Holy Spirit is the Author of the Scriptures.  The minister approaches the Scriptures with reverence and awe.  He knows the Scriptures to be infallible, as well as perfectly consistent in all passages from Genesis to Psalms to Romans to Revelation.  Thus in interpreting the Scriptures, the faithful minister (called an exegete in this work) does not impose man’s ideas on the text, either his own or others.  Rather he seeks the meaning of the Holy Spirit in the text.  He does this by interpreting the text in light of the rest of Scripture (note the use of the concordance above).  He does this through continual prayer for the Spirit, seeking His wisdom and His guidance in order correctly to explain this particular text.  Remember, the minister has been called by Christ and endowed with His Spirit to equip him for the task.

The end of such spiritual work and struggle is the birth of a sermon, which sermon is preached!  Here the Spirit uses the “earthen vessel” – a weak and sinful man – to describe the glorious truths of our Savior God and the kingdom of heaven.  And the Spirit is at work in the preaching!  Through His work the delivery becomes the lively preaching of the Word.  Spiritual truths and relationships become sharper in the mind and speech of the preacher.  Sometimes a particular point which did not occur to the preacher in the study becomes obvious in the pulpit.  The Word of God, as studied, developed, and delivered by this particular preacher, is set forth and applied in a particular congregation at a specific time, and the Holy Spirit applies that Word to the hearts of believers.  Preaching is the Word of God to us.

The above explanation of how a sermon is made and preached certainly may be criticized as being oversimplified.  But the purpose is to demonstrate that the content of preaching is (must be!) the Bible.  The content is not the philosophy, the opinions, nor the reasoning of men, no matter how brilliant and godly the men might be.  The content is the Bible.  Nothing may ever be said in preaching that the Bible would not support.

That being the case, it is easy to see the great authority the preaching has over us – it is the authority of God’s Word, and thus of God Himself!

But all should recognize that preaching has God’s authority only when its content is from the Bible.  When a preacher strays from the Bible to opinions, such preaching carries no more authority than your personal opinion.  (It may be wiser, but not more authoritative.)  If he should delve into areas outside the scope of the gospel – into politics, ecology, or the economy, for example – he has lost the right to say, “Thus saith the Lord.”

This is what makes the minister tremble as he mounts the pulpit.  He must speak as an ambassador of Christ.  He must speak nothing of his own word; he must speak the Word of Christ.  This is what drives him earnestly to seek the Spirit’s meaning as he interprets the text.  The preacher fears not the judgment of the people; he will be judged of the Lord!

As the believer sits under such preaching, he listens with reverence and awe to the Word of Christ.  He recognizes the voice of the Good Shepherd.  He detects the ring of authority in the preaching – not a powerful oration, but faithfulness to the Bible.  He searches the Scriptures, to be sure, to know the certainty of the Word he hears.  But he receives it as the very Word of God to him.  When it condemns a particular walk and exposes his own sins, the believer, by God’s grace, humbles himself before God’s Word.  When the preaching defines the blessings of salvation in the cross, he rejoices in them, personally.  When it expounds the joys of salvation and eternal life, the believer tastes the glories of heaven.  He listens, he believes, he obeys.  It is the Word of God to him.

But what if you have disagreements with the preaching?  This we will discuss next time, the Lord willing.