In this series, I’m summarizing some of the things effective preachers do to hit both outsiders (unbelievers) and insiders (saints who entered the building with ears to hear) with an insider-directed message (cf. 1 Corinthians 14:24-25 for an example). These are ways in which men like Jonathan Edwards, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and Tim Keller (of Redeemer Presb’ in NYC) reach both audiences.

So far we’ve noted the following effective rhetorical devices:

1. Categorizing your listeners according to their spiritual condition
2. Searching the hearts with probing questions
3. Motivating listeners through both love for God and fear of God

Today’s tip is attacking the sin behind the sins.

In Murray’s introduction to Lloyd-Jones’, Old Testament Evangelistic Sermons, he writes, “Sin must never be preached as though it were primarily a matter of actions. Sinfulness is a graver problem than sins” (p. xxiv).

It’s easy to preach against sin-as-a-matter-of-action because that is what the preaching portion is often doing. In order to reach both kinds of listeners, effective preacher/theologians attack the sin behind the sins. That means talking about one’s unbelief and alienation from God.

So, for instance, think about the common, “Five ways to manage your anger”-type sermon. It’s important to delve into a discussion of what’s in the human heart that’s causing the anger. Then, if you feel the need to offer the five ways, you’re not only addressing the sin, but the sin behind the sin. As you’ve probably heard before, we don’t only want to address the symptoms, but the cause too. In the following example, the first Q & A deals with the symptom; the second with the cause:

Why are you angry? Because I didn’t get my way.

Why are you angry? Because getting my way is what makes me happy. Now we’re onto something that can be addressed by the Gospel. As you develop your sermon for this weekend and, if your preaching portion pinpoints a particular sin to be avoided, ask yourself is you are attacking only that sin or the sin behind the sin.

Preach well for the sake of God’s reputation in the Church and in the world.

Randal