Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Scepticism

199 Pages·2016·1.08 MB·English

by  Timothy Keller

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VIKING
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All Bible references are from the New International Version (NIV), unless otherwise noted.
ISBN: 978-0-69819509-7
Version_1
To the members of West Hopewell Presbyterian Church (1975–1984) who called
me “Preacher” even as I was stumbling to learn how to be one
CONTENTS
Also by the Author
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Introduction: Three Levels of the Ministry of the Word
Prologue: What Is Good Preaching?
PART ONE
SERVING THE WORD
ONE
Preaching the Word
TWO
Preaching the Gospel Every Time
THREE
Preaching Christ from All of Scripture
PART TWO
REACHING THE PEOPLE
FOUR
Preaching Christ to the Culture
FIVE
Preaching and the (Late) Modern Mind
SIX
Preaching Christ to the Heart
PART THREE
IN DEMONSTRATION OF THE SPIRIT AND OF POWER
SEVEN
Preaching and the Spirit
Acknowledgments
Appendix: Writing an Expository Message
Notes
About the Imprint
INTRODUCTION: THREE LEVELS OF THE
MINISTRY OF THE WORD
A
ustralian theologian Peter Adam argues that what we call preaching, the
formal public address to the gathered congregation on a Sunday, is only
one form of what the Bible describes as the “ministry of the Word” (Acts 6:2,
6:4).1
On the day of Pentecost Peter cited the words of the prophet Joel, who said
that God would pour out his Spirit on all his people, and as a result “your sons
and daughters will prophesy” (Acts 2:17). Gerhard Friedrich, in the Theological
Dictionary of the New Testament, says that there are at least thirty-three Greek
words in the New Testament usually translated as “preaching” or “proclaiming.”
Adam observes that these words describe activities that could not all be public
speaking.2 For example, Acts 8:4 says that all the Christians except the apostles
went from place to place “proclaiming the Messiah.” This cannot mean that
every believer was standing up and preaching sermons to audiences. Priscilla
and Aquila, for example, explained the Word of Christ to Apollos in their home
(Acts 18:26).
We can discern at least three levels of “Word ministry” in the Bible. Paul
calls all believers to “let the message of Christ dwell among you richly” and to
“teach and admonish one another with all wisdom” (Colossians 3:16). Every
Christian should be able to give both teaching (didaskalia, the ordinary word for
instruction) and admonition (noutheo—a common word for strong, life-changing
counsel) that convey to others the teachings of the Bible. This must be done
carefully, though informally, in conversations that are usually one on one. That
is the most fundamental form of the ministry of the Word. Let’s call it level 1.
At the more formal end of the spectrum are sermons: the public preaching
and exposition of the Bible to assembled gatherings, which we could call level 3.
The book of Acts gives us many examples, mainly drawn from the ministry of
Peter and Paul, though also including an address by Stephen that probably
summarizes his path-breaking teaching. Acts gives us so many of these public
addresses that we could almost say that, from the point of view of Luke (the
author), the development of the early Christian church and the development of
its preaching were one and the same.
There is, however, a “level 2” form of the ministry of the Word between
informal, every-Christian conversation and formal sermons. In an overlooked
passage the apostle Peter describes the spiritual gift of “speaking”:
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve
others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very
words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the
strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised
through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 4:10–11).
When Peter speaks of spiritual gifts he uses two very general terms.3 The first
is the word for speaking: lalein. In the rest of the New Testament this word can
denote simple daily speech between anyone (Matthew 12:36; Ephesians 4:25;
James 1:19). It can also refer to a preaching ministry, as with Jesus (Matthew
12:46 and 13:10) or Paul (2 Corinthians 12:19). What is Peter talking about
here?
When we map this passage over Paul’s gift lists in Romans 12, Ephesians 4,
and 1 Corinthians 12 and 14, we see that there is a whole category of Word-
ministry gifts that function in ways beside public preaching to the assembled
Sunday congregation. It includes personal exhortation or counseling,
evangelism, and teaching individuals and groups. Biblical scholar Peter Davids
concludes that when Peter writes of the spiritual gift of “speaking” he is “not
referring to casual talk among Christians, nor . . . referring only to the actions of
[pastors] or other church officials” but rather to Christians with “one of these
verbal gifts” of counseling, instructing, teaching, or evangelizing. In this
category of ministry, Christian men and women aren’t preaching per se; they
prepare and present lessons and talks; they lead discussions in which they are
presenting the Word of Christ.4
Even though Peter is not only talking to public speakers he warns those who
present the Word to others in any form to take their task seriously. He adds that
when Christians teach the Bible their speech should be “as . . . the very words of
God” (1 Peter 4:11). Davids notes that the little word “‘as’ allows a slight
distancing between their speaking and God’s words.” No Christian should ever
claim that his or her teaching is to be treated with the same authority as biblical
revelation; nevertheless, Peter makes the powerful, eye-opening claim that
Christians who are presenting biblical teaching are not to be simply expressing
their own opinion but giving others “the very words of God.” Just as in public
preaching, Christians are to convey the truth as they understand it to be revealed
in the Scriptures.5 And if they explain the meaning of the Bible faithfully,
listeners will be able to hear God speaking to them in the exposition. They are
listening not merely to an artifact of human ingenuity but, as it were, to the very
words of God.
Every Christian needs to understand the message of the Bible well enough to
explain and apply it to other Christians and to his neighbors in informal and
personal settings (level 1). But there are many ways to do the ministry of the
Word at level 2 that take more preparation and presentation skills yet do not
consist of delivering sermons (level 3). Level 2 today may include writing,
blogging, teaching classes and small groups, mentoring, moderating open
discussion forums on issues of faith, and so on.
This book aims to be a resource for all those who communicate their
Christian faith in any way, particularly at levels 2 and 3.
The Irreplaceability of Preaching
It is dangerous, then, to fall into the unbiblical belief that the ministry of the
Word is simply preaching sermons. As Adam says, that will “make preaching
carry a load which it cannot bear; that is, the burden of doing all the Bible
expects of every form of ministry of the Word.”6 No church should expect that
all the life transformation that comes from the Word of God (John 17:17; cf.
Colossians 3:16–17 and Ephesians 5:18–20) comes strictly through preaching. I
shouldn’t expect to be shaped into Christlikeness even by listening to the best
sermons. I also need other Christians around me who are “handl[ing] the word of
truth” (2 Timothy 2:15) by encouraging me, instructing me, and counseling me. I
also need the books of Christian authors whose writings build me up. Nor is it
right to expect that those outside the church who need to hear and understand the
gospel will be reached only through preaching. I myself found faith not through
listening to preaching and speaking but through books. (Is anyone surprised by