Membership and Biblical Preaching, Part 2

Driving home: God has chosen to bring men to spiritual birth and to the subsequent converting work of his grace. By the instrumentality of his word...

Martin uses the analogy of his grandson's inability to discriminate between Cheerios and dog kibblets to explain the meaning of 'discriminating preaching' as the ability to differentiate between true and false spiritual realities.

and earnest preaching. And what we did last Lord's Day was to define the words used to describe that commitment. And we defined what we meant by biblical preaching, discriminating preaching. Remember my grandson not able to discriminate between little dog kibblets and Cheerios, so he ate the dog kibblets. He could not discriminate. And what we meant by applicatory preaching and what we meant by passionate and earnest preaching.

8:56 - 9:24 Read in full sermon

Driving home: I don't want to usurp the role of the Holy Spirit. Now what they mean is I don't have the courage nor the love of men's souls to put me with the jacket on them so that none can wriggle out.

He uses the analogy of a jacket to distinguish between discriminating and applicatory preaching: discriminating preaching identifies the parts (sleeve, body, lapel), while applicatory preaching puts the jacket on the hearer, forcing them to feel the truth.

Remember now discriminating preaching is preaching to go back to the illustration of the jacket that tells us there's a difference between the sleeve the body the lapel and the yoke of the jacket. That's discriminating preaching. It just doesn't say here's a jacket look at it and put it away. Discriminating preaching helps you to understand the parts.

31:31 - 31:50 Read in full sermon

Driving home: It is a simple fact that men are believed in direct proportion to their perceived belief in their own message and the urgency of its substance.

Martin uses a vivid, extended illustration of three different men announcing a fire in the building to demonstrate that the manner of delivery, reflecting perceived belief and urgency, is crucial for a message to be believed and acted upon.

if I didn't believe the Bible clearly teaches that passionate and earnest preaching is warranted by the scriptures and it has a deep relationship to the maintenance of a regenerate and converted church membership and I rest my case on two pillars it's rooted in a simple fact of general revelation that is what is open to all men whether they ever see a Bible or not and that which is validated by the uniform witness of special revelation that's this book alright what's the pillar of general revelation it is this hear me carefully now it is a simple fact that men are believed in direct proportion...

45:03 - 46:32 Read in full sermon

The point: Pray that you will love biblical, discriminating, applicatory, and earnest preaching.

Martin quotes James Angel James on the necessity of 'intense devotedness' (earnestness) in preaching, arguing that it is often lacking in the modern pulpit and is essential alongside godliness and academic training for effective ministry.

ever pours from the vials of his wrath upon a nation which he intends to scourge there is not one so fearful as giving them up to unholy ministers but now listen to him here's where his biblical mindset carries him a step further it will be a dark and evil day when personal godliness takes second to curing anything else in those who enter the ministry but still there is something else needed in addition to natural talent to academic training and even the most fervent evangelical piety and that is intense devotedness which is synonymous in his work with earnestness it appears to me that this is...

56:46 - 58:15 Read in full sermon