Two things contributed to this post about preaching the Gospel to ourselves.
First, after taking a 4-plus year writing rest due to research for a Ph.D. degree, I am back to putting some finishing touches on a writing project that is several years in the making. The working title is,
Preacher as Soul-Watcher: Why You and Your Parishioners Need Your Sermons.
One key Scripture that presents a theology of preaching in the local church is 1 Timothy 4:16 which instructs us:
Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. (emphasis added)
Second, a couple of times within the past two weeks I have quoted Jerry Bridges who taught that we should preach the gospel to ourselves every day. I recently learned that Bridges was quoting former professor, Dr. Jack Miller.
Bridges had a profound influence on pastor Milton Vincent who wrote a little paperback, A Gospel Primer for Christians: Learning to See the Glories of God’s Love.
Milton writes:
“Over the course of time, preaching the gospel to myself every day has made more of a difference in my life than any other discipline I have ever practiced.” (p. 6, where he also cites Bridges’ book, The Discipline of Grace, as the source of the concept)
That’s saying something.
In part 1 of the book, Vincent lists 31 reasons why we should preach the Gospel to ourselves every day. Thirty-one!
How about #9 for a sample:
9. Resting in Christ’s Righteousness
“On my worsts days of sin and failure, the gospel encourages me with God’s unrelenting grace toward me. On my best days of victory and usefulness, the gospel keeps me relating to God solely on the basis of Jesus’ righteousness and not mine.” (p. 20)
I’m thinking we can relate to both, can’t we?
One way we can keep a close watch on ourselves is to preach the Gospel to ourselves every day. I have no doubt that that spiritual discipline will help ensure that our Lord receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).
Randal
I enjoyed reading this blog. This verse has always been one of my favorite verses in the Bible, “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Tim. 4:16, NIV). This blog challenges me to be and to live the message that I preach. If we cannot preach to ourselves, we have no message for others. It is easy to hear a preacher say, “you, you, you.” But never “we.” As Milton says, “Over the course of time, preaching the gospel to myself every day has made more of a difference in my life than any other discipline I have ever practiced. Preaching to ourselves will make our preaching more effective. As Dr. Pelton says, “One way we can keep a close watch on ourselves every day is to preach the gospel to ourselves.” The Bible says, “For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel” (Ezra 7:10, ESV). All preachers should apply this verse in their ministry.
One of the most difficult parts of being a pastor for over thirty years is making sure by the grace of God I’m spiritually ready to preach each Sunday. God is so faithful!
The topic of preaching to myself has crossed my mind many times, but it normally comes to mind when I am preaching a sermon in church. I have even verbalized that I am preaching to myself or I might say, “this message is for me also.” This blog topic has touched my heart because moving forward I will intentionally preach a sermon to myself because it is an excellent way to watch my soul and to give glory to Jesus Christ.
While preaching to yourself, do you preach a full sermon verbally or do you preach a specific thought to you for you? I would image that you have done it both ways, and maybe you have also preached silently to yourself. Do you find any practice or technique more beneficial than others?
I have also benefited from praying an ancient prayer of
Thomas Aquinas before I begin any study segment. You might also find or create a special prayer for help.
This blog topic caught my attention! Although I have preached to myself, I admit that it usually occurs while I am preaching to a congregation. In fact, I have either said, “I’m not only preaching to you today, but also preaching to myself,” or I have said, “this message is for me also.” I have never thought of preaching to myself daily as a means of watching over my own soul. I want watch over my soul and honor the Lord Jesus Christ.
Do you preach an entire sermon to yourself daily, if so do you preach it audibly or do you preach silently to yourself? Do you find either method more fruitful? Thank you for helping view mt preaching in a different light.
This concept of preaching the Gospel to myself every day is not the same as preaching a whole sermon. What is helpful to my own soul is that I remind myself of God’s great love for me and the forgiveness He has granted. It fuels my worship and service.