Why preaching and what must a healthy preacher be?
We have the firm conviction that God has ordained the preaching of his Word as the primary means by which he communicates to his people. Preaching also ought to be the primary means used in evangelism and discipleship. We believe this is at the heart of the Great Commission and must be the focus of every local church.
Faithful preaching of God’s Word equips the saints, the whole body of believers, for the work of God (Eph 4:12). God by His spirit has blessed every member of the body with various gifts in order to serve the whole, and preaching is a means by which these gifts are shaped and fashioned, sharpened, and fanned into flame for their greater effectiveness. The more people sit under the faithful proclamation of God’s Word, the more effective and selfless they become in their service.
When we take the trouble to listen carefully to our Master’s instructions through faithful preaching, we have a better chance to please him in our obedience. The root of disobedience lies in the poor listening of instructions, a distortion of it or a disregard for instructions altogether and falling for the good sounding lie.
We see this very clearly in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve believed the distorted lies of the devil and disregarded God’s instructions. This makes faithful preaching all the more urgent, and important.
The call to be a preacher is a call to be the very spokesperson of God. This must be received with fear, trembling, and reverence. If misrepresenting your country is bad enough as an ambassador, then misrepresenting the King of Kings and his kingdom is the worst of treason! Preachers need to pay careful attention to their lives and doctrine as Paul admonishes in 1 Timothy 4:16.
Paying Attention to One’s Life
People in public offices often respond to moral accusations with the common line “my private life is none of your business.” Whether it is extramarital affairs, domestic violence, lavish living, or how they mistreat others, the posture is the same. But while this may be true of the world, we see in the Bible that God never separates our public lives from our private lives.
In fact, if anything, what matters most to God are the things we do or say in private when no one is looking or listening (1 Sam 16:7). And because leaders are held to a higher standard (James 3:1), God cares deeply about how pastors and elders conduct themselves in every area of life and how they live out their faith before both believers and non-believers (1 Peter 2:12).
As such, the church leadership qualities we see in 1 Timothy 3 have very little to do with the gifting of the man, but his character. His relationships with his wife (if he’s married), his children, and the society he inhabits are of absolute importance. His love for the Lord must continually quench any desire for worldliness, especially worldly gain motivated by the love of money.
Every preacher must never neglect personal holiness that leads to godly conduct and true service. He must set an example in speech (1 Tim 4:12) and learn to control his urges (1 Thes 4:4). His life among his flock and his message from the pulpit must match what he exhibits in the absence of watching eyes.
Paying Attention to Doctrine
Doctrine here has everything to do with what the preacher proclaims. It is what the preacher believes from the Scriptures to be true and pleasing to God before he passes it on. Doctrine is the teaching of the preacher. Let me also add that doctrine is also what the gathered church understands to be true as custodians of the truth from generation to generation through biblical revelation. Doctrine therefore must be orthodox. Every preacher needs to fight the temptation to try to be original. There’s simply no such a thing. Preachers preach the old story with relevance and with fresh application to their congregation. The preacher must never come up with their own message. Watching doctrine, therefore, calls for preaching the unadulterated Word of God or the gospel as handed down to us from the apostles. God has ordained preaching as a means of calling, gathering and growing His flock (Acts 20:32). We therefore take preaching seriously, carefully listening to the Scriptures through diligent study like the Bereans in Acts 17:11. We can not afford to leave it until Saturday night to then hastily try to prepare for the next day’s sermon! Congregations need a soul meal and should expect well-prepared pastors to ascend their pulpits every Sunday.
Congregants must learn to discern biblical truth and receive it with glad and rejoicing hearts. They also need to discern poisonous false teaching from jokers and entertainers masquerading as pastors. Congregants should keep a close watch on their pastor’s life, holding him accountable to the same biblical truths he delivers through his preaching, while watching themselves in case they presume “they are standing” (1 Cor 10:12).
Soli Deo Gloria!
Schwarz Martin Manano