Scriptural Truth in Preaching, Part 2

The point: Handle the Word of God in such a way that you reflect what you've confessed in your doctrine of Scripture.

A brother's experience of mental agony and headaches while preparing a paper on Job illustrates that painstaking exegetical work is mandated by Scripture's view of itself.

which brings us into so many of the disciplines to which you are subjected in this place, which at times are nothing short of productive, of mental agony and pain. One of the brethren last week told me in preparing his paper on Job, it was at some points nothing but one extended headache. Well, you see, those headaches, are mandated by the Scriptures' view of itself,

3:22 - 3:53 Read in full sermon

The point: Never let the initial impression of a text or passage be the raw materials of your sermons.

The common use of Galatians 3:24 to preach on the law preparing for the gospel, while a true doctrine, is shown to be an example of preaching based on initial impression rather than careful exegesis of the text itself.

For example, many a good sermon on the fact that God often uses the law in its condemning killing power to prepare a man for the gospel has been preached on Galatians 3.24. The law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, whereas careful exegesis would have taught men that's a wonderful truth, but that ain't the text from which to preach it. All right? So the initial

8:51 - 9:16 Read in full sermon

The point: Careful exegesis will keep you from fanciful allegorizing or spiritualizing of a text.

Martin shares a sermon idea he wishes he could preach, based on Jacob and Esau's voices and hands, to illustrate a 'clever and forced accommodation' of a text that he would not preach due to conscience.

The famous one that I wish I could preach, but I never will. I have an unfulfilled wish in this area. You remember when Jacob and Esau came before their father, that he said, thy voice is the voice of Jacob, but thy hands are the hands of Esau. Well, I've got a whiz-bang sermon I want to preach on the disparity between the covenant voice and the wild man's hands.

12:12 - 12:40 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Since the Bible is its own infallible interpreter, and that's our Reformation heritage, brethren. I hope you appreciate that. That's the pointed issue between us in Rome, that we don't need an outside court to tell us th…

Spurgeon's quote about John Bunyan, 'prick him anywhere and out flows Bibeline,' is used to illustrate the Puritan characteristic of being pervasively biblical in their writings.

As John Bunyan, as he said of John Bunyan, prick him anywhere and out flows Bibeline. That's what Spurgeon said of Bunyan. Well, that's true of the Puritans. Prick him anywhere.

15:04 - 15:14 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Since the Bible is its own infallible interpreter, and that's our Reformation heritage, brethren. I hope you appreciate that. That's the pointed issue between us in Rome, that we don't need an outside court to tell us th…

A lengthy quote from Thomas Brooks, listing ten biblical examples of 'little sins' leading to 'great punishments,' illustrates how Puritans used the Bible to explain and enforce its own message, demonstrating pervasive biblical substance.

I thought for some of you who perhaps have not had a taste of some of this for a while, I'd whet your appetite again. That's what I love when I read these, the old Puritans. Brooks, in volume 4, page 113. He's dealing, as I recall here, with the subject.

15:31 - 15:47 Read in full sermon

The point: Seek to be pervasively Biblical in the actual substance of your preaching, letting the Bible explain, enforce, and illustrate itself.

Martin mentions making up an illustration while running, acknowledging the place for such parables but emphasizing they should not predominate over biblical substance.

Now this will be in contrast to preaching marked by these four things. Predominantly anecdotal preaching, the telling of stories of our own making. Now you all know that I believe there is a place for making parables, illustrations. I'm going to conclude if I have time today with one that I made up while I was running yesterday.

19:05 - 19:32 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin quotes Dabney on the three stages preaching repeatedly passes through: faithfully presenting scriptural truth in scriptural garb (golden age), transitioning to molding…

A quote from Dabney describes the three historical stages of preaching (scriptural garb, human dialectics, contradicting truth) to illustrate the importance of maintaining biblical substance and avoiding human fads.

I read it, re-read it, and meditated upon it in reworking the lecture in preparation for this morning. It is exceedingly instructive to note that there are three stages through which preaching has repeatedly passed with the same results. Dabney, the church historian, he was no mean historian as well as a theologian and a homiletician and many other things. He says again and again there's been a three-fold cycle in preaching in the church, always with the same results.

20:36 - 21:08 Read in full sermon

The point: Aim for theological harmony in your preaching, ensuring that any single note sounded would not create dissonance with the whole chord of truth.

The analogy of sounding one note in a C major chord is used to explain theological harmony: even if only one note is sounded, it must be in such a way that it would not create dissonance if all other notes were sounded.

There is a beautiful but delicate and intricate relationship in all the facets of God's truth. It is therefore important that in the handling of any one part of it, that we do so in such a way as to harmonize with the whole. Now, we may be sounding only one note in the chord. Say it's the chord, the C chord.

25:20 - 25:43 Read in full sermon

The point: Aim for theological harmony in your preaching, ensuring that any single note sounded would not create dissonance with the whole chord of truth.

A quote from Martyn Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that a preacher must have a systematic theology as a background and control influence, ensuring each message is part of the total body of truth and not isolated.

preaching be theologically harmonious as opposed to theological dissonance. Lloyd Jones on page 66 of his Preaching and Preachers says this on this very point. If then I say that preaching must be theological, and yet it is not lecturing on theology, what is the relationship between preaching and theology? I would put it like this.

26:04 - 26:28 Read in full sermon

The point: Avoid imbalanced preaching, as distortions of truth will be revealed in the quality of religious life among your people.

The analogy of an unbalanced tire shaking a car at speed illustrates how theological imbalance in preaching, while fine at slow pace, will manifest itself in the quality of religious life among people as the ministry progresses.

has been undercut by that man's ministry. So we must beware of self-destructive preaching and unless our preaching is theologically harmonious, what we build up on one Lord's day, we will tear down the following. Likewise, it will keep us from imbalanced preaching. You've seen when you've watched your tires being balanced that if a tire is out of round or if the tire is out of balanced while stationary, everything's fine or while going very slow. But when that thing goes

28:54 - 29:26 Read in full sermon

The point: Avoid imbalanced preaching, as distortions of truth will be revealed in the quality of religious life among your people.

A quote from Spurgeon on the 'all-round ministry' warns against making a caricature of truth by omitting or exaggerating doctrines, emphasizing that beauty consists in balance and harmony, like a beautiful face.

And if there's a distortion of truth, then that distortion is going to be revealed in the quality of religious life among your people. Now Spurgeon felt the weight of this. Listen to what he said in the all-round ministry. And remember, these were sermons preached to his graduates when they would come back for their annual convocation. Page 320

30:01 - 30:21 Read in full sermon

The point: Never handle any one part of truth so as to disrupt the beauty and symmetry of the whole.

Dr. Packer's famous statement, 'A half-truth paraded as a whole truth becomes a whole untruth,' illustrates the danger of trafficking in half-truths due to a lack of systematic theology.

our preaching then must be theologically harmonious as opposed to self-destructive imbalanced or trafficking in half-truths. You remember Dr. Packers? He may not have been the one who originally stated it, but he's made it famous. A half-truth

33:08 - 33:26 Read in full sermon

The point: Ensure that all preaching, even when explaining and illustrating, leads to an ultimate assault upon the conscience, affections, and will, summoning people to have dealings with God.

A quote from Dabney distinguishes eloquence from fine arts like music, stating that the immediate end of eloquence (and thus a sermon) is to produce some practical volition or action of the will in the hearer, not just gratification of taste.

biblically, it cannot help but be preached practically. If it is preached biblically, it cannot help but be preached practically, for it was given for those practical ends. And here again, Dabney the philosopher comes forth here. He said eloquence is often named, page 30 of Dabney on preaching, music I'm sorry, eloquence is often named as one of the fine arts, but I've already forewarned you there's an essential distinction made by the ends of the two.

38:55 - 39:29 Read in full sermon

The point: Ensure your sermons are pervasively evangelical in their overall climate and flavor, letting the realities of God's central saving acts in Christ flavor all preaching.

A quote from Gardner Spring's 'Power in the Pulpit' asserts that the pulpit is powerless without the cross of Christ magnified, emphasizing Christ as the theme, scope, life, and soul of preaching to attract men to Him.

warning every man teaching every man that we may present every man perfect in Christ, Ephesians 3, 8, to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. Well, let me give you just a choice quote from Gardner Spring and then I'm going to conclude with a bibliography of some excellent works that open up and sections of works that open up this concept of having this climate and flavor of the evangel in all of our preaching. On page 92 of Gardner Spring's Power in the Pulpit, he writes addressing this very subject, the pulpit is powerless where the cross of Christ is not

44:21 - 45:04 Read in full sermon

The point: Avoid legalistic or moralistic preaching by always teaching biblical duties with reference to their substance as expressing the will of Christ, and deriving motives and power for obedience from Christ.

A quote from Murphy on pastoral theology provides a balanced expression of pervasive evangelical preaching, stating that Christ should be the 'great burden of every sermon,' giving tone, direction, and impulse, even if not explicitly mentioned.

and his thoughts on preaching, page 207, 208, some helpful thoughts. I hope to read them, but time is gone and I cannot. But the best statement I know of this whole concept of having a ministry that is pervasively evangelical, I found when I came across this wonderful work by Murphy on pastoral theology, on page 168 to 170, he has the most balanced expression of this that I have found in any uninspired literature. Speaking of this fact, quoting from Luke 24, that Christ is the great theme of Scripture, he said, whatever text or theme then is taken by the preacher, it ought to look to Christ.

46:13 - 46:58 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin contrasts pervasively evangelical preaching with legalistic/moralistic, bland didactic, and mere sentimental preaching. He argues that duties must be taught in reference to…

A quote from Gardner Spring's 'The Attraction of the Cross' states that 'Every truth in the Bible brings us at last to the cross. And the cross carries us back to every truth in the Bible,' illustrating the cross as the hinge for understanding all truth.

And thank God for the reprinting of Gardener Spring's The Attraction of the Cross. And I would urge you to read and reread this book periodically throughout your ministry. He has a classic statement. Every truth in the Bible brings us at last to the cross. And the cross

52:52 - 53:11 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin concludes with a touching anecdote about 'Father Miller,' an old man who, after donating to the church, admonished the young minister to 'Preach Christ.' This story…

An extended anecdote about an old, pious church pensioner named Father Miller, who, after donating to the minister's church building fund, earnestly admonished him to 'Preach Christ,' serving as a powerful concluding illustration for the sermon's final correlative.

conclude with an illustration, a story. And I do that with a little story. But this was so moving this past year. Someone was kind enough after I spoke so highly of

54:32 - 54:43 Read in full sermon