Primacy of Preaching in the Presentation of the Gospel

In this part of the sermon: Martin acknowledges the weariness of the conference attendees and expresses regret, then introduces the sermon's lengthy subject: 'the primacy of preaching in the presentation of…

Martin observes a yawning preacher and the general weariness of the conference attendees, using it to express empathy and consider future conference planning, demonstrating sensitivity to the physical frame.

If the essence of godliness is to be like God, then surely a sensitivity to our physical frame is not unspiritual, for the scripture tells us that our Heavenly Father knows our frame, he remembers that we are dust, and even as I have just looked from the face of a yawning preacher, I know that many of you men are weary, you had a full day yesterday and an even more full day today, some of you who came in today left early this morning to travel, and I think all of us, to use contemporary jargon, feel a bit punchy, and your elders here, or the elders here, are sorry. We are seriously contemplati...

0:15 - 1:36 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Because the only message ordained of God and made effectual by God for man's salvation from sin is the biblical gospel.

When discussing Paul's use of 'anathema' in Galatians, Martin describes Paul 'reaching into the grab bag as it were of his Greek vocabulary' to pull out the strongest word, illustrating the intensity of divine displeasure against gospel perversion.

gospel of christ but though we or and should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you let him be and then reaching into the grab bag as it were of his greek vocabulary he draws out the strongest word at his disposal to express divine displeasure the anathema the curse of god he says if anyone tampers with the content of that gospel preached to you let him stand remain under the divines and maldiction as if someone said now paul didn't you get carried away with a little excessive rhetorical heat he says no i didn't as we've said before so say i now again in the cons...

10:36 - 11:59 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: This section continues to build the biblical case for preaching's primacy, drawing from 1 Corinthians 1:18-21 (God's choice of 'foolishness of preaching'), 1 Peter 1:10-25…

Martin quotes an unnamed author who states, 'The church was conceived in a prayer meeting and came to birth in a sermon,' using this to emphasize the foundational role of preaching in the New Testament church's origin, contrasting it with modern methods.

a man who's recently written a book called shall we dance and the title is a little deceiving it should have a subtitle no we should not that's the conclusion he leads to but he takes up this whole question of whether or not we are free to maintain at least something of the substance of the content of the gospel but are at liberty to choose the method of communicating it in terms of the sociological and cultural factors of any given generation and responding to those who are saying that dance and mime and drama are not only legitimate but are necessary means of communicating the gospel to the ...

36:08 - 37:37 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: This section continues to build the biblical case for preaching's primacy, drawing from 1 Corinthians 1:18-21 (God's choice of 'foolishness of preaching'), 1 Peter 1:10-25…

Martin highlights the detailed record of the Ethiopian eunuch's conversion in Acts, arguing that even a devout man reading his Bible 'needs a preacher,' underscoring the necessity of verbal proclamation.

also said in to them anything not whims big 我 thank you i did in step back to the acts which under there's This third assertion that the primary means ordained of God for the communication of this gospel is its authoritative verbal proclamation by an author and messenger of Jesus Christ. And one of the most fascinating passages along that line to me is that God gives us that detailed record of the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch to let us know that even in most ordinary circumstances, I say it reverently, even a man devoutly reading his Bible needs a preacher. Now I have heard of people who...

39:05 - 40:15 Read in full sermon

The point: Never forget who you are. You are nothing less than an ambassador of Jesus Christ.

Martin recounts preaching at a Christian college where a young woman was preening her hair, ignoring him. He directly confronted her, demanding a hearing 'in the name and under the authority of my Lord,' illustrating the authority a preacher should wield.

Let me illustrate. I was preaching at a Christian college a few months ago, almost a year ago now.

44:00 - 44:08 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And when I speak his name, I demand a hearing for my king. Don't tell me what I have a right to expect. My master has preempted you.

Following the confrontation with the preening student, a young man questioned Martin's right to demand attention. Martin responded by asserting his commission from the Lord, reinforcing the preacher's divine authority.

And the sermon was over, and a kid, no older than 18 or 19, came up to me, and said, Mr. Martin, who in the world do you think you are?

45:12 - 45:22 Read in full sermon

The point: Give up all those stupid ambitions about being a great preacher. Give up all those carnal ambitions about being a clever and a unique preacher. And give yourself to the ambition to be an an accurate, passionate, loving, …

Martin quotes Fox (likely John Foxe) describing the weak and foolish of 1 Corinthians 1 as 'God's five-ranked army of descending humans, with which he'll conquer the world,' encouraging preachers to embrace weakness and humility.

And then go to your task believing. As Fox described that list in 1 Corinthians 1, the weak, the foolish, he called them God's five-ranked army of descending humans, with which he'll conquer the world. Hallelujah. You want to join that army?

48:04 - 48:24 Read in full sermon

The point: Cry to God for those who preach to you, that they may be holy men, and men full of the Spirit of grace and of power.

Martin quotes Luther: 'You don't need to stand by the cage of a lion and prove it's a lion to someone who's a skeptic. Just open the door and let the lion out.' This illustrates that people don't need to be convinced of preaching's primacy; they just need to be exposed to the powerful Word itself.

God can take people who've come to gnash and send them home to weep. Luther said, you don't need to stand by the cage of a lion and prove it's a lion to someone who's a skeptic. Just open the door and let the lion out. You don't need to convince these people, first of all, of the primacy of preaching and the saving purposes of God.

53:36 - 53:59 Read in full sermon

The point: Plead with God to raise up preachers. The last thing in the world this generation needs, wants, is the thing it most desperately needs.

Martin contrasts the 'cool communicators' of modern newscasting, who report tragedies without emotion, with the 'irritated, passionate, Holy Ghost preachers' that the generation desperately needs, highlighting the lack of passion in contemporary communication.

The last thing in the world it wants is what it most desperately needs. The irritated, passionate, Holy Ghost preachers of God's everlasting Gospel. As we had occasion to say in a worship service a few weeks ago, this generation's been conditioned to receive only cool communicators. You see, their image of communication is the prime time newscaster.

55:00 - 55:30 Read in full sermon

The point: Resist with every fiber of your being the slightest slightest deviation in the life of this church from the primacy of preaching as God's ordained means to communicate his gospel.

He recounts the story of a newscaster in Newark who lost his composure and wept uncontrollably while reporting the Hindenburg disaster, losing his job as a result. This illustrates society's aversion to passionate, emotional communication, especially concerning serious matters like sin and judgment.

No passion, no tears, no sob, no earnestness, nice, cool communication. Talk about the weather in the same tone that he talks about 3,000 dead. You perhaps have heard the record of that man who was newscasting right here in Newark after the first transatlantic trip of that German dirigible, the Hindenburg. And do you remember the story, some of you, how when it went to tie up at the tower, it burst into flames and in moments, bodies were dropping out of that burning wreckage and the poor commentator lost his cool and broke into tears and into uncontrollable sobbing while he was trying to comme...

55:51 - 57:15 Read in full sermon