Lord willing, Dr. Mark Meyer will be joining me for our workshop, Unpacking Sacred Scripture. Mark is the long-time professor of Hebrew at LBC|Capital. We will be together in the D.C. location in Greenbelt, Maryland on Saturday, April 15, 2023 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. We will be holding the same workshop and times at the Lancaster campus on Saturday, April 29, 2023.
We’re looking forward to a great time together exploring some of the unique features of the Psalms. Look for more details from Lancaster Bible College.
Edwards displayed comprehensive knowledge of Scripture and reasoning abilities.
A couple of weeks ago I posted the observation that Jonathan Edwards’s preaching did not spend much time on word studies. Instead, he used numerous Scripture to buttress his explanations of his selected text. Then, he bombarded his main concepts with powerful, but simplistic reasoning.
Let me show you a quick example from, what is so far, my favorite sermon of Edwards, Christian Safety, on Proverbs 29:25 “But whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.”
God’s message is clear: “All those that thus trust in God are safe.” Edwards attacks the reality this way: “We shall show, first, what they are safe from; second, how they are safe.” (p. 456)
That outline is typical of Edwards. (An aside: if you’ve heard or read many of Tim Keller’s sermons, you might recognize some similarities in their approach.)
The first point contains four things: temporal evils, death, the devil, and hell. Edwards uses no proof-texts for these paragraphs. The first in the list, temporal evils, presents the toughest challenge for me. As I’ve mentioned before, what I love about this sermon is the way Edwards explains safety in a world of dangers: “worldly afflictions do often happen to them, but the evil of them don’t befall them. They may be exposed to difficulties, losses, and troubles, but he is not properly in danger of them.” (p. 456) I found this so helpful.
The second point contains three cross-references: 1 Peter 3:13; Isaiah 11:6-9; Mark 16:18. [Dispensationalists with a capital “D” will cringe reading Edwards’s statement: “That prophecy in Is. 11:6-9 is fulfilled upon all true Christians…”
Edwards’s third major point is, “Now follow the reasons of the doctrine.” (p. 459) This section is also loaded with proof-texts about how God protects us and Christ overcomes our enemies.
Anyway, every time I read Edwards’s sermons, he teaches me how to think better. I need that in order to keep functioning well as a pastor/theologian.
May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus as we work hard by His Spirit to preach and teach His Word (Ephesians 3:21).
For the past several years, because of my preaching and teaching duties, I have been enamored with theological interpretation (TI). My recent Ph.D. studies at LBC|Capital created even more time to investigate this as part of my dissertation.
Is it important? Yes, it is.
Because while TI might be more than showing how Scripture functions for the church, it can’t be less than that according to all my research to date. This means that TI forms a foundation for any attempts to apply Scripture.
So, if you asked me, “What kind of book on TI should I read first?” I would answer:
Scripture As Real Presence: Sacramental Exegesis in the Early Church by Hans Boersma.
The reason is because pre-modern interpreters–and Boersma–understand Christ to be the key to interpreting Scripture for the church.
If you’re interested in preaching or teaching from the Old Testament, you should note Boersma’s argument:
“that the church fathers were deeply invested in reading the Old Testament Scriptures as a sacrament, whose historical basis or surface level participates in the mystery of the New Testament reality of the Christ event.” (p. xiii)
Some of the primary material is tough to read through, but the book is so helpful for those of us who feed flocks on Sunday from the Old Testament. And, if you’ve studied preaching with me then you will appreciate another look at a hermeneutic that arrives at application “by moving from the Old Testament, via Christ, to the situation of today” (p. xiv).
Well, anyway. When you read, Scripture As Real Presence, you will encounter hermeneutical/homiletical concepts such as:
“sacramental hermeneutic” (pp. 12-13)
“christological/ecclesial allegorizing” (p. 91) [which is important because most of our exposure to the allegorical method is from a “what’s wrong with it” perspective.
“‘christo-ecclesiological’ form of exegesis (p. 148)
“the doctrine of totus Christus–the ‘whole Christ'” (p. 152)
All these concepts will help you think about the relationship between meaning and application, something that you and I engage in every week.
May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as you communicate the results of theological interpretation.
The standard Greek Lexicon is extremely helpful for the definition of key terms.
I currently have the privilege of teaching another Advanced Homiletics class to Masters level students at Lancaster Bible College | Capital Seminary & Graduate School.
During a recent residency I warned the class that an annual complaint of mine is that students at this level are rarely using the best sources for conversation partners (commentaries, etc.).
One of those quality sources is an old standard lexicon I call BAGD.
I wrote it out that way when I was in seminary in the ’80’s after the order of the last names of the four authors listed on the front cover of the book. Many called it, BDAG (pronouncing it “bee-dag”). As you can see from the image, only half as many authors are listed now.
But, what is more important is how useful this tool is for foundational exegetical work. Here’s an example…
This past Sunday I was preaching Colossians 1:9-11 which contains the concept of God’s will. Listen to the precision of BAGD’s definition:
“What [God] wishes to bring about by the activity of others, to whom [He] assigns a task.”
I think many of us could have gotten the part of God’s will reflecting what He wants to do. But notice how BAGD includes the thought of what He wants to do through an assigned task. It was a simple step for me to recite this definition and then ask all of us if we are aware of the task God has assigned to us. Then, one step further, of course, to accomplishing that task.
You might be one of my readers who regularly uses such lexicons like this. You know how valuable it is. If you are not in the habit of using it, consider it. The Logos version is helpful because of how everything is linked to biblical texts. The search-ability is priceless.
And you will be rewarded with precise definitions that will add clarity to your preaching. That, in turn, will help ensure that God receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).
There’s nothing better than studying preaching together!
I am extremely fortunate for another opportunity to meet a class of preaching students at LBC|Capital. We are just completing week #2 and are headed into residency week. It will be great to see everyone face-to-face.
Gearing up for the course and evaluating the work being turned in provides a chance for me to review some of the more important aspects of preaching. So, at the beginning of this new Advanced Homiletics class I am reminded that…
it’s extremely helpful to think about intention as a part of your exegesis. That way you don’t separate your exegesis from your application and application doesn’t have to come last in the process.
the amount of verses you select for preaching can either help or hinder your ability to identify the theology of a preaching portion. Cutting the text too short or too long can create problems.
your method of sermon preparation should include a way for you to distinguish between big and little ideas in your text. And, then, of course, you need to be able to show how all sized ideas interrelate to make meaning.
finding the meaning of a passage begins, not by searching for what the meaning is, but how the meaning is made (how the structure of the particular genre of your preaching portion communicates).
when Christ-centered preaching is done well, your listeners will never leave church as good moralists.
That’s probably enough for now, but I do love thinking about some of the key elements to developing a sermon that represents God well.
And may our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus as a result of the way in which you read and communicate the sacred Scriptures (Ephesians 3:21),
Randal
P.S. If you’re free this coming Friday or Saturday, whether for the day, half-day, or even an hour or so, find PAS 513 Advanced Homiletics in LBC|Capital’s Lancaster campus (2nd floor of the academic building).
The Implication of “Scripture’s exactness” on our preaching
If you’ve read some of my material through the years, you know that most of my reading centers on hermeneutics, exegesis, and theological studies. The reason is because I put a premium on those topics in the context of my preaching and teaching homiletics. The reason is because I value their contribution over most, purely homiletical writings. The reason is because of my conviction that precision is more important than presentation.
[Caveat: however, I work hard at both precision and presentation and realize that poor preaching can eclipse the exegetical/theological precision used in the sermon development stage.]
Last week I began reading, Biblical Reasoning: Christological and Trinitarian Rules for Exegesis, by R. B. Jamieson and Tyler R. Wittman.
Chapter 3 contains an interesting discussion of “Scripture’s Exactness” (p. 50). The section begins:
“Early Christian interpreters often spoke of Scripture’s ‘exactness’…to underscore divine teaching’s intentionality, reliability, and attention to detail” (p. 50).
The authors explore two implications of this concept.
First, God chooses His words very carefully. This is especially important when considering how many different authors, styles, and genres are in Scripture. God chooses those words very carefully (you will, no doubt, read this through the grid of your own view of inspiration).
Second, and I will quote them here, “what is taught carries a degree of precision that we must grasp” (p. 51).
Therefore, during sermon development it is important that I pay close attention to the words God uses to reveal Himself and His plan for His people. I cannot be a lazy reader, but a close reader of Scripture. That will serve my faith-family well as I prepare to read with them each Sunday.
The second implication for preaching is that, by God’s grace and the Spirit’s enablement, my precise understanding of Scripture must match Scripture’s precision. That almost always requires me and you to paraphrase and restate what God is saying precisely. That means you and I must choose our words and illustrations very carefully to be as precise as we can be. An example is our use of the word, trinity, or nature, words which may not be found in Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek.
Anyway, I hope you get a taste of how a doctrine such as Scripture’s exactness affects our preaching. May our contemplation of God’s inspired revelation and its implication result in God receiving glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).
Feeling the heavy weight of the command, “Be perfect…,” seems like anything but Good News!
If you have had or will have the privilege to preach through Matthew’s version of Jesus’s famous, Sermon on the Mount, brace yourself for having to explain His strongest instruction. It’s the last verse of chapter 5:
“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Wow! No pressure there, right?!
Years ago I stumbled upon a commentary on Peter’s epistle–his name is Kelly, I think. I will never forget reading his take on New Testament commands. He referred to them as something like the Gospel in imperative form.
I am sure other authors have said similar things. And seemingly everybody quotes Augustine on similar matters. But this really has stuck with me through the years. And it is such a helpful preaching angle for our congregants.
I am enjoying reading Martyn Lloyd-Jones’s two volumes on the Sermon of the Mount. His understanding of this was also helpful. He calls Jesus’s command in Matthew 5:48 the best compliment Jesus could give His followers.
Isn’t that a great way to put it?
Can you see the Gospel in such a command?
So, when preaching any command, I am always thinking about how the command portrays some aspect of the nature of our salvation or transformation-in-Christ. And in the case of being perfect?
Along with telling our listeners how impossible it is–and depending on our theology, there is a sense that it is impossible on earth–tell them the great news that Jesus came to create followers who can obey His strongest instruction. If you can strike that wonderful balance or paradox, you will do justice both to our sinful selves and Christ’s marvelous power to save.
And you might notice that this prevents our parishioners from leaving church as good moralists, trying harder in their own efforts to be perfect Christians.
And while you explain how that is possible, our Lord will receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).
Randal
P.S. Do you have your preaching portion for Sunday? Does that preaching portion contain any imperatives? Can you see the Gospel in that imperative form?
Theological Depth Is Often Found Through Implication.
I have the privilege recently to be preaching through the early chapters of the Gospel of Matthew. In verses 13-16, Jesus teaches His listeners that they are salt and light.
Explicitly this teaches us about ourselves and how Christ has transformed us into new creations with new spiritual properties.
Implicitly this teaches us about our world.
One sermon segment then can focus attention on what our being salt and light implies concerning the condition of the world in which we live. The logic goes like this:
if we function as salt and light in the world this must imply something about what the world is made of.
The world must need salt and the world must need light. The world needs salt because the world’s substance is subject to decay, let’s say. The world needs light because it is in darkness (I found that one easier).
My point is that as you prepare for this coming Sunday, you can add some theological depth to your sermon by observing implications. God may be stating some things explicitly and you are able to draw conclusions even though God didn’t state that conclusion explicitly.
As is always the case when providing extra-textual data, the way to remain theologically sound is to be sure your implications can be substantiated in the broader context of Scripture. The case above, the implication might not be in Matthew 5:13-16, but it could be in other places in Matthew or in other places in the Canon of Scripture. This gives implication the same authority as the information in our preaching portions.
As you study this week look for strong implication and may our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).
The statement means much more than is being said! Introducing Illocutionary Intent-Informed Meaning (II-M) and Why it Matters
This past Monday I was privileged to present some of my more important Ph.D. dissertation findings to the Alcuin Society of Lancaster Bible College | Capital Seminary & Graduate School. Many thanks to faculty and guests who were extremely gracious.
Here are a few things that are pertinent to preachers:
Learn to think about application early in the sermon development process. The old school approach was to wait on application because if entertained too early, the process had the potential to skew exegesis.
In order to think about application earlier, the search for application must be a part of the search for exegetical/theological meaning.
In order for that to happen your exegetical method must include the search for what I call, Illocutionary Intent. This involves looking for clues as to what the biblical author wants to do to the readers.
If you like, try to create a meaning summary, II-M, for Luke 15. In other words, your one-sentence meaning summary must include an element of what the author intends to do to the reader. Or, to put it another way, make sure your meaning summary includes the intended application or response of the church to Luke 15.
Try it and see how you do.
Also, if, like me, you’re already looking at a Text for this coming Sunday, see if you can detect the illocutionary intent of the author. This will give you a sneak peak at your primary sermon application and worship response of your congregants.
And may our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21),
Randal
P.S. I trust you enjoyed a wonderful Easter celebration!
Attempting to Add Additional Depth to our Exegetical Practices for Sermon Development
I am hoping that providing these examples of asking and answering questions as part of exegesis will help you dig deeper as you prepare to preach and teach the Scriptures.
I encountered another example as a result of preparing to preach today from Matthew 3:1-12, the John the Baptist narrative.
One of the key exegetical/theological aspects of the preaching portion is in v. 2, John’s sermon:
“Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
If you’ve preached or taught this before then you’ve defined “repent” and also announced the logical connection created by the connector, “for.” It is because the kingdom of heaven has come near that everyone is called to repentance. You have also defined the kingdom of heaven.
Now, I have been promoting the need to dig a bit deeper by asking and answering additional “why” questions. The analysis above, while important, is not sufficient. In this case I want to ask,
“Why does the arrival of the kingdom of heaven warrant repentance?”
Could you answer that question? Do you see why that question is important for the sermon/lesson? Imagine critical sermon minutes devoted to things like an explanation of the kind of King Jesus is or the kind of kingdom He is creating or the kind of citizen that can occupy this kingdom.
An attempt at an answer is something like: “Only repentance from sin, a true turn from sin and turning to God, creates the kind of citizen that can inhabit the kind of Kingdom God is creating for His new world.”
I am hoping you can see how God can receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) with that kind of exegetical and theological depth.
