Category Archives: sanctification

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How Does Your Text for This Sunday Function for the Church?

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You and I Practice Theological Interpretation Every Week!

A couple of weeks ago I finished reading, A Manifesto for Theological Interpretation, edited by Bartholomew and Thomas. It’s important for our preaching because of the way in which they define TI (or TIS, theological interpretation of scripture):

“…we define broadly as interpretation of the Bible for the church…” (p. ix.)

The question is, what do they mean “for the church”?

I usually expand the definition a little bit by saying that TI/TIS is interpreting Scripture so it functions for the church.

But, then, what do I mean by “function”?

Think of the function of Scripture in terms of what God intends for Scripture to do to His readers. You might recognize that this meaning of TI closely resembles what we’ve always known as the application of Scripture. Christopher Wright wrote describes this as applying life to the Bible (I think he wrote this in his book, The Mission of God).

On page 17 they define TI as:

“…theological interpretation reads Scripture to hear God’s address, so that the church might be transformed into the image of Christ of the sake of the world.”

With those definitions in mind, our pressing question is, how does the text signal its intention?

I’ve been preaching through Matthew’s gospel since returning from my sabbatical so here’s an example from this morning’s study time. My preaching portion is Matthew 15:1-9. The religious leaders question Jesus about His disciples breaking “the tradition of the elders” (they don’t wash their hands!). Jesus replies by challenging them about their habit of breaking God’s commandments by the way they keep their traditions (they don’t care for their parents because they give the money to God).

In vv. 7-9 Jesus insults them (calling them “hypocrites”) and announces to them that Isaiah prophesied about them.

So, it’s fairly clear to me after my Monday morning study session that this text is designed to make sure all professing Christians do not follow the example of the religious leaders. They function as a “go and do otherwise” example.

If you have your text for this coming Sunday, can you identify early on how it functions for the church?

May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as we practice theological interpretation each week.

Randal

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How to Tell the Difference Between Sheep and Goats: It Mattered a Great Deal to Edwards

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Can you tell the difference between sheep and goats? Does it matter on Sundays?

I trust you experienced a rewarding Easter celebration with your faith-family. I know Michele and I did.

You may recall earlier posts containing excerpts from Marsden’s, An Infinite Fountain of Light: Jonathan Edwards for the Twenty-First Century. It’s amazing how current Edwards’s approach is even though his 18th century context and style of ministry is so different from ours.

One lasting effect of Edwards’s thinking and writing is his well-known, “A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections.” I first read it as part of my required reading in the mid- to late 80’s when I studied the church in America at Dallas Theological Seminary.

Marsden writes, “Edwards spent almost his whole life wrestling with the question of how to tell the difference between authentic Christian experience and its imitations: self-delusion and hypocrisy” (p. 104). He describes Edwards’s understanding of “affections” as,

“the sort of love for a person that brings joy unspeakable. True affections for Edwards include the joy and delight–at the heart of his theology–of experiencing the beauty of perfect love” (p. 106).

Okay, let me stop and say that my ministry for over 30 years has been in the context of two, Bible Church kind of churches. I half-jokingly say to our folks, “We’re a Bible Church which means we don’t feel anything.” It’s true; we don’t feel much and rarely do we let it show on our faces on a given Sunday morning. So, this makes it difficult to know if my listeners are experiencing authentic Christianity.

Edwards asked how we know the sheep from the goats.

He begins with indicators that don’t prove anything:

“high emotional experiences, preoccupation with religious things, readiness to quote Scripture, great self-confidence in one’s own spirituality, and other traits that can be found among hypocrites as well as among some genuine Christians” (p. 107).

As you can see, counterfeit Christianity exists. But Scriptures often provide ample opportunity for us to challenge the kind of faith our listeners have. One way is to continually ask if their faith-journey includes a dose of “joy and delight” and the “beauty of [God’s] perfect love.”

May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as we address both sheep and goats each Sunday.

Randal

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How Jonathan Edwards Helps Me With Applying Scripture

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Helping our Listeners Know What Influences Their Life Choices

Most mornings I continue to read Jonathan Edwards’s sermons as part of my devotional life. Along the journey through his preaching–currently in the Yale volume covering 1730-1733–I read for homiletical insights with the goal of being a more effective exegete/theologian/preacher.

Almost every sermon helps me learn how to apply Scripture. Edwards was meticulous in his application.

In his sermon, The Duty of Self-Examination, from Haggai 1:5 (“Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways.”), Edwards tells his listeners:

“We ought to consider which has the greatest influence upon us: our carnal appetites, or the promises and threatenings of God’s Word” (p. 486, vol. 10, Kimnach).

You’ll certainly want to explain “carnal appetites.” After you do, you have one half of an equation that affects our daily choices. The other half features two elements of sacred Scripture: promises and warnings.

Then, Edwards describes every moment of temptation:

“When there is set before us a self-denying, mortifying duty and a pleasant sin, for us to take our choice, the sinful pleasure and delight allures and entices on one side, and the favor of God and heaven invites on the other. Which do we choose, which has the greatest influence upon us…” (p. 486).

Your Scripture for this coming Sunday could have either direct or indirect reference to our “carnal appetites” or to “the promises and threatenings of God’s Word.” If so, then it’s a matter of identifying some specifics.

For instance, which element influences our thought life? What about the words we speak to each other?

And then, with typical Edward-like seriousness he states:

“Every man is in the way to heaven or the way to hell, and the way that we are now in, if pursued, will certainly bring us to one or the other of these” (p. 488).

And all that before the Application section of the sermon!

I hope that these excerpts from Edwards’s applicational angles helps you help your congregants put God’s Word into practice so that God continues to receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Moving From Stated Reality to Application: What I’m Learning From Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Early Sermons

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Edwards never let his listeners forget the goal of the sermon!

One of the things I’ve benefited from by reading Edwards’s early sermons is his emphasis on application. If you read his sermons you’ll see a balanced presentation of deep theology and practical exhortation.

In his sermon, The Way of Holiness, on Isaiah 35:8 (“And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it.”), Edwards concludes with an application section containing three elements. Here are the first two:

  1. By inference, Edwards reasons, “how many poor creatures are there that think they are in the way to heaven who are not?” (p. 476). I will never forget hearing veteran pastor, Chuck Swindoll, announce that the longer he pastored his church, the more he felt that less of his parishioners were saved.
  2. If this verse is true, then it is critical that his listeners “examine [them]selves by this doctrine to see whereabouts [they] are, and see whether or no [they] are in the way to heaven…” (p. 477). Under this point, Edwards exhorted: “Meditate on the holiness of God, and see if you cannot see a conformity, a likeness in your mind….It is not supposed that ever any copy comes near to this original, nor ever will; but yet they may perceive whether the same spirit, the same temper and disposition, in a lesser degree be in them, that was manifested by the life and conversation of Jesus Christ.” (p. 477)

Notice that Isaiah only presents stated reality. Edwards teaches by example that our job is to move from stated reality to the application inferred by that reality.

If you read this before tomorrow (Sunday), or early next week, see if your Scripture contains a stated reality that requires the same hermeneutical/homiletical move as Edwards.

And our Lord will receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21),

Randal

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Challenging False Professions Of Faith: What I’m Learning From Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Sermons

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Your “Text” is one warns the saints of their need for holiness.

This post comes from my reading Edwards’s sermon, The Way of Holiness. He will make sure that those who profess faith in Christ display a faith that results in holiness.

Edwards’s text was Isaiah 35:8 “And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it.”

We might be tempted to stay in the future with this prophetic Text, but Edwards cannot do that. In the Doctrine section of the sermon he immediately highlights the common misconception that holiness isn’t necessary for entrance into heaven. He writes (and read!):

“Everyone hopes for heaven, but if everyone that hoped for heaven ever got there, heaven by this time would have been full of murderers, adulterers, common swearers, drunkards, thieves, robbers, and licentious debauchers. It would have been full of all manner of wickedness and wicked men, such as the earth abounds with at this day.” (pp. 470-471, Kimnach).

All the stats tell me that more and more people claim faith in Christ but their lifestyle shows no transformation. It’s a good time to speak for God whenever He makes holiness a prerequisite for being a child of God.

This is especially important if you shepherd a church that holds tightly to the doctrine of eternal security. Our listeners will tend to water down any of those warnings, any of those conditions (e.g., Colossians 1:23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard). Many of our listeners believe that their profession of faith expressed when they were young makes them secure, without any evidence.

Edwards’s would reply: “What a wretched place would the highest heavens have been by this time if it were so….the royal palace of the Most High…would be turned into a mere hell. There would be no happiness there for those that are holy.” (p. 471)

In interpreting Isaiah, Edwards is practicing what I call ecclesiological exegesis. Isaiah is functioning for the church by showing a future that mirrors the status of every genuine Christian: holy and clean.

Does your preaching portion for this Sunday include a Word from God that challenges the professions of your listeners? Mine does: Psalm 80:18.

May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus as we faithfully challenge our listeners to display genuine faith (Ephesians 3:21),

Randal

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Are You Achieving this Balance in Your Preaching?

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How to challenge hypocrites without unduly stressing out the saints!

I’m not quite finished with Bavinck’s one volume theology, but couldn’t help starting to read, Theoretical-Practical Theology, written by Petrus Van Mastricht in the late 17th century. I was excited to read it because he wrote the theology book to train pastors. For instance, it contains a wonderful first section, The Best Method of Preaching. What a way to begin a systematic theology book!

In it, Mastricht speaks to a subject matter that may be difficult to do in some churches because of their goals. However, it is impossible to avoid if a pastor is committed to preaching through books of the Bible.

That subject matter is challenging the saints to make sure their lifestyle matches their profession of faith. In other words, the Scriptures regularly urge the saints in church to a faith that expresses itself in required virtues.

Of course, this kind of preaching will create some angst in those who know they are saved. So Mastricht writes,

“…from one perspective, we would not without cause lead the consciences of the pious into doubts and anxieties from which afterward we could not so easily lead them out; from another perspective, so that we would not also strengthen hypocrites and harden them in their carnal security” (vol. 1, p. 23).

That’s the tension that can be created in preaching the Word of God to both kinds of listeners. It’s the kind of preaching that some preaching portions demand.

When the Text demands it, may our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) because of your faithfulness in not strengthening the hypocrites without pricking the consciences of the saints without cause.

Randal

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What An Odd Way to Preach the Gospel: Jesus’s Strongest Instruction, “Be perfect…”

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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?

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Preaching Grace in the Sermon on the Mount

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The famous Sermon raises the righteousness bar: “Unless your righteousness exceeds…”

I have been enjoying preaching through Matthew’s gospel for several months this year. The Sermon on the Mount beginning in chapter 5 has been especially enjoyable.

If you are interested in the elements of grace in what is often known as more of a law-kind of text, here are some things I have experienced.

First, because of my recent Ph.D. dissertation on Psalm 119, I had a hyper-awareness to the similarity between the “blessed” in the Psalm and the Beatitudes. It is important that Jesus’s sermon begins with the announcement of blessing. No requirements or rules. Not yet.

Second, Jesus’s first recorded sermon contains the command to “repent” (4:17). So, as Jesus continues to preach about the necessary righteousness, each element of righteousness is a form of repentance, which we know is granted as a gift (cf. Acts 11:18).

Third, and probably the most subtle, is found after the Sermon ends. Matthew 8 begins with two characters displaying tremendous faith in Jesus to heal, first the leper and then the centurion. Matthew positions these narratives in such a way to help readers realize that success in reaching the ultra-righteousness called for in the Sermon is found only through faith in Jesus.

Watch your parishioners while your preaching the Sermon. The bar is raised so high, over and over again. Watch the smiles emerge as you remind them that Jesus commands what He creates. There is no longer the thought of, “I can’t do that!” He has done it and now provides a new desire and capacity for the ultra-righteousness He demands.

Those smiles, sourced in God’s grace, will continue to contribute to His glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21),

Randal

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Caleb’s “different spirit” and the Christian: Preaching Through Numbers

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Photo by Joseph Gonzalez on Unsplash
Preaching Numbers Serves Up A Rich Meal Every Sunday!

When I decided to preach through Numbers, I selected a clause from 14:8 as the theme for the series: “He will bring us into this land.” And in the pericope, 14:20-38, that is followed by: “That is, All of Us Who Have a ‘different spirit'”

That means I decided that God meant Caleb to be our spiritual role model. You can find that in verses 24, 30b-31, 38. That was my final thought block or main idea for the sermon. You’ll want to explain how this description of Caleb, “because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully…” fits every genuine Believer.

But additional richness permeates this meal in the form of our need to make sense of both pardon and judgment. This is where I began in vv. 20-22a, 23a, 25, 28-30a, 32-37. God clearly states that he has pardoned (v. 20) but in vv. 21-23 He continues by saying “none of those who despised me shall see [the land].” God pardoned, but judged?!?

If nothing else, preaching through Numbers forces us to be better theologians!

My second section was devoted to making sure we’re not part of “this wicked congregation” (vv. 22b, 23b, 26-27, 35). Those verses describe what the congregation did. They clearly function as a “go and do otherwise” characters.

And this is what separates Caleb from the others. His “different spirit” is the result of God’s transformation in him heart. He doesn’t test God or despise God or grumble against God. He’s today’s Christ-follower and we urge our congregants to go and do likewise.

And if you’re interested in reading Numbers through the lens of the Christ-event, look no further than the graphic statements of judgment and the prophecy that God’s people would bear their iniquities and know the displeasure of God for 40 years (cf. v. 34). Only those who receive pardon through faith in Christ, our Sin-bearer, are transformed into the Caleb’s of our congregations.

May God grant you the joy of serving up rich food from everyone’s favorite book of Numbers so He receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Our Salvation Is That Good! What I’m Learning From Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Earliest Sermons

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Edwards makes our salvation look so good!

The second recorded sermon recorded in Kimnach’s volume 10 of The Works of Jonathan Edwards is, The Value of Salvation. It’s based on Matthew 16:26 “…what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Of course, you’d make sure your listeners answered, “Nothing!”

And Edwards makes sure they see the “inestimable worth” of salvation (p. 322). He does this by focusing our attention on what it means to be delivered from all evil.

He writes, “There shall be nothing to interrupt the happiness of believers: there shall be no evil approach the gates of heaven” (p. 322). Edwards is teaching me that that’s not specific enough as he continues with…

“They shall be perfectly delivered from sin and temptation. The saved soul leaves all its sin with the body; when it puts off the body of the man, it puts off the body of sin with it. When the body is buried, all sin is buried forever, and though the soul shall be joined to the body again, yet sin shall never return…” (p. 323).

That is going to be a great day for anyone who is plagued by temptation in this life. The more godly your listeners, the more their ungodliness bothers them. Any of your sermons/lessons aimed at defeating temptation in this life are enhanced by thoughts of how happy the next life will be when evil is erased.

For instance, “there shall [be] no more assaults of lusts to be resisted….They shall no more be tempted by the shining vanities” (p. 323).

What a day that will be!

Edwards was a master at showing all the reasons why the salvation of the soul is of inestimable worth. And he was a master at using the rewards of the gospel to motivate his listeners to godliness.

May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as we follow his example.

Randal