Expository Evangelism

In this part of the sermon: Martin begins by acknowledging the challenge of an afternoon session and then recommends several books on evangelism, the role of women in the church, and gospel presentation…

Martin uses the analogy of blood flow to the stomach for digestion to explain why attendees might feel dull in an afternoon session, urging them to resist the temptation to lose focus.

I appreciate that last part of our brother's request and his prayer. As I found by experience that this early afternoon session in pastor's conferences is one in which we need desperately to gird up the loins of our minds and to give ourselves to hearing because all the blood is down there in this direction, working on the stomach to digest what's there, what's left up here, and we can very easily get dull, and so I hope we will consciously resist that temptation. Now, before we turn to our study, I want to say a couple of things about a few paperbacks. First of all, I'm sure that, or I should...

0:03 - 1:22 Read in full sermon

The point: Consciously, constantly, and with God's blessing, evangelize in your weekly labor in the word and doctrine, proclaiming the good news and pressing men to immediate repentance and faith.

Martin humorously notes that Paul's digression into the gospel in 1 Corinthians 1, losing his train of thought on divisions, provides apostolic precedent for preachers who get carried away by the glory of the gospel.

Paul is on one of those sanctified excursions. He starts out in verse 10 of chapter 1 to deal with the problem of divisions. In the course of his polemic as to the folly of division, he says the word gospel. And when he said the word gospel, he lost his train of thought. Took off.

20:23 - 20:41 Read in full sermon

The point: Pray that God will instill in you the privilege of influencing pliable, tender minds for the gospel, beseeching children in Christ's stead to be reconciled to God.

Martin recounts his daughter Heidi's first lie and his younger daughter Beth's question, 'Daddy, is Heidi going to hell?', illustrating how children can grasp the inseparable link between sin and judgment, and the importance of parental and pastoral teaching on conversion.

Back about a year ago Heidi had been caught in her first lie. She was about seven at the time. And I forgot precisely what she lied about. But we dealt with her very faithfully right there. We came out in our family worship. And Heidi got all upset and went up to her room crying. And Beth who was only five at the time, five and a half she looked up very very troubled and she says, Daddy is Heidi going to hell?

30:39 - 31:04 Read in full sermon

The point: As official watchmen, warn men in God's name and freely invite them to the offers of gospel provisions, even if it takes only a few minutes to append to a sermon.

Martin critiques D.L. Moody's anecdote about the Chicago fire leading him to always give an altar call, arguing against the Arminian activist view that salvation depends on 'getting them saved this once'.

And it makes fresh again the glory and the wonder of being his. Well, give that to your people, you see. Well, there's a third category that are the objects of this expository evangelism, and it's the visitors whom God brings amongst our congregations. And they break down into two categories. The uninvited, untaught visitor drawn by various providential factors. Now, we do not share the Arminian activist view that unless, quote, we get him saved this once, he may go out and be lost forever. Oh, all the harm that that illustration Moody used is done. When he said, you remember, he was preaching...

39:11 - 39:57 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not be content with merely displaying Christ in your sermons, but press Him and urge Him upon the consciences of men.

Martin quotes Spurgeon's analogy of offering an apple to a sinner: some merely display it, some offer it but withdraw it, but Spurgeon insists on pressing it to the sinner's lips and saying, 'take and eat,' illustrating the need to not just display Christ but to urge Him upon consciences.

He said, thy percalvinist brethren in his day were like the little boy who has a big shiny apple and he takes it out of his pocket and he says to his buddy, hey friend, doesn't that look nice? He looks at it and says, yeah. He says, that's all you'll have of it and sticks it back in his pocket.

53:23 - 53:38 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains that expository evangelism is done by consistently preaching Christ as the central and comprehensive theme of Scripture, finding the path from every text to the…

Martin praises John Owen's exposition of Psalm 130, particularly verse 4, as a beautiful example of free gospel preaching where Owen gently guides a guilt-smitten sinner to Christ, demonstrating true expository evangelism.

And Owen is reasoning with a sinner who's smitten with a sense of guilt but can't believe there's forgiveness. It is some of the most free gospel preaching I've read anywhere. It's as though he crawls inside the heart of a convicted sinner and he takes all of the objections why there should be mercy for him and sweetly and gently he pushes that one aside, this one aside, that one aside, this one aside. You just sense he's taking the sinner by the hand.

56:11 - 56:36 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains that expository evangelism is done by consistently preaching Christ as the central and comprehensive theme of Scripture, finding the path from every text to the…

Martin highlights Hugh Martin's masterful thesis on Matthew (biography + presence) as an example of profound expository evangelism, showing how he connects Christ's historical life with his abiding presence to meet the sinner's needs.

If you don't have any familiarity with Hugh Martin, you ought to get familiar with Hugh Martin, the great Scots diviner. Not Scots, but Scottish or Scots, S-C-O-T-S diviner. Two of his books that have recently been reprinted are Shadow of Calvary and the Abiding Presence. Masterful treatises.

57:00 - 57:22 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains that expository evangelism is done by consistently preaching Christ as the central and comprehensive theme of Scripture, finding the path from every text to the…

Martin describes Hugh Martin's ability to plumb the depths of Gethsemane's mystery and then pivot to the sinner's conscience, asking, 'Oh sinner what will happen to you if you go to the judgment with your sins upon you?', illustrating how to find a path from the text to wound and then set Christ before the sinner.

Who would ever have thought of coming to the book of Matthew like that? I wouldn't but it's a beautiful thesis exegetically framed and then he flushes it out and I've got into that digression just to say this. Hugh Martin is a great example of expository evangelism. He's plumbing the depths of the mystery of Gethsemane to times when you read that book Shadow of Calvary you hold your breath and the next thing you know he's driving home to the conscience of the sinner.

59:01 - 59:26 Read in full sermon

The point: Preach the word as beneath God's eye and under the shadow of the throne of judgment, ensuring that your preaching is never non-evangelistic.

Martin shares his own experience preaching ten sermons on Romans 8:34, illustrating how he found evangelistic avenues within a text primarily for believers by contrasting the believer's confidence with the condemnation of those outside Christ.

I preached ten sermons on this text. I started out Easter Sunday I said well I'll throw a sop to the traditionalists and I'll preach an Easter sermon.

60:20 - 60:26 Read in full sermon

The point: Preach the word as beneath God's eye and under the shadow of the throne of judgment, ensuring that your preaching is never non-evangelistic.

He uses his sermon on Ephesians 1:15-16 to show how a phrase like 'faith in the Lord Jesus' can be a springboard to press upon the unsaved the question of whether Jesus is their Lord and Savior.

and then saw their relationship to the question of condemnation one by one Christ died Christ rose well you see the tremendous emphasis is comfort and consolation to the believer how do you preach to the conscience of the sinner? Well you just drop back any point in your exposition to Romans 8 in verse 1 there is therefore now no condemnation to them who are aware in Christ Jesus and then you say look this is children's bread this is bread for children and some of you sit here this morning as dogs those who have never been born of the spirit and you try to suck sweetness from these tremendous ...

61:23 - 62:52 Read in full sermon

The point: Remedy ignorance on how to do expository evangelism by reading sermons from Whitefield, Spurgeon, Edwards, McShane, and the Puritans, particularly John Owen.

Martin recounts a Scotswoman's description of McShane's preaching: 'he preached as if he was a dying to have you converted,' illustrating the passionate, exemplary preaching that teaches young men how to evangelize.

as with a hot iron and who reflect that burning heart by burning lips and by burning impassioned entreaties with the souls of men and brethren I believe if Paul could say day and night with tears if we've been anywhere long at all we ought to be able to say to the people my tears shall be a witness against you in the day of judgment if you go to hell unconverted third problem with the head is just a matter of ignorance as to how it is to be done how do you be how do you become basically an expositor of the word and still do the work of an evangelist and the problem here is that many things in ...

68:47 - 70:16 Read in full sermon

The point: Cultivate a deep feeling for the weight of eternal issues in which you constantly traffic, allowing it to fuel your impassioned pleading with men.

He uses the analogy of a mother pleading for her child in a burning building to justify 'histrionic' or 'theatrical' preaching, arguing that genuine concern for eternal issues naturally leads to impassioned entreaty.

and teaching sermons an overreaction against Arminianism ignorance as to how it should be done assuming too much but now brothers the real problem in failing to do this expository evangelism are the problems of the heart let me give you three the first one is failure to feel the weight of the eternal issues in which we constantly traffic failure to feel the weight of the eternal issues in which we constantly traffic Paul felt that eternity hinged on every sermon hence he could say knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we persuade men I know you'll be accused of being histrionic too theatric...

73:14 - 74:44 Read in full sermon

The point: Cultivate a deep feeling for the weight of eternal issues in which you constantly traffic, allowing it to fuel your impassioned pleading with men.

Martin compares preachers who fail to feel the weight of eternal issues to embalmers who become desensitized to death, warning against becoming so accustomed to spiritual realities that they lose their impact.

my brother go out of yourself in preaching Paul said whether we be sober or whether we be zealous beside ourselves he had the accusation this idea that you can with calculated aplomb handle the word of God my brother when the truth of God gets hold of you or you don't handle it it handles you and you don't know what it's going to do with you it may make a fool out of you Paul says yes it did with me whether we be beside ourselves or sober it's for your sake it's you my brothers how did the text to the conscience of the sinner do I believe that that young girl sitting there in front of me that ...

74:44 - 76:12 Read in full sermon

The point: Strive to be found without the blood of men on your hands on the day of judgment.

He expounds on 2 Corinthians 2:13-17, presenting preaching as a 'sweet savor of Christ unto God,' a fragrance that ascends to God and pleases Him, regardless of the hearers' response, providing triumph and peace to the preacher.

2 13 thanks be unto God who always leads us in triumph in Christ and maketh manifest through us the savor of his knowledge in every place now to whom are we a savor of the knowledge of Christ verse 15 for we are a sweet savor of Christ unto God in them that are saved and in them that are perishing to the one a savor from death unto death and the other a savor from life unto life and who is sufficient for these things for we are not of the many corrupting the word of God but as of sincerity but as of God in the sight of God speak we in Christ do you see the figure present it's a beautiful figur...

80:36 - 82:05 Read in full sermon