Preaching has a place in Christianity which it has in no other religion. If it is true that preaching is the product of the church, it is also true that the church is the product of preaching. For the church did not spread in its earliest centuries through the sword or with the backing of state favor, but in the face of great obstacles and enmity. Its advance was spearheaded by the preaching of Spirit-filled messengers of the cross.
Does preaching still occupy this central place in the church today? It is probably true to say that serious and meaningful preaching has fallen on hard times. One authority on this subject goes so far as to say: “In the [present] history of the church, preaching has been neglected, ignored, debased, even almost totally forgotten….” In place of preaching they wish for more time to be given to all kinds of innovations–drama, group therapy, liturgical experiment, discussion forums, “in-depth” counseling, seminars and many others, some of which are useful but none of which is a substitute for preaching.
Every preacher must face one important question before he faces his audience: “Do I believe in preaching?” Not just, “Do I believe the Bible I hold in my hand?” or, “Do I believe the gospel I preach?” but something even more basic, “Do I believe in preaching itself?” The earliest preachers must have seemed eccentric as they set out to accomplish their task. Maybe they seemed to be figures of fun. But they believed in what they were doing. They knew it was a God-given work. They were confident that it was God’s good pleasure “through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (1 Cor. 1:21).
And where there is a man today who believes with all his heart that preaching is a divinely ordained means of reaching men with the message of the love of God and the power of the cross, there is an effective preacher. For we must understand that God’s grace is not confined to the subject of the gospel but extends to the preaching of the gospel. Thus the God who revealed His grace at the cross still reveals His grace whenever the gospel is preached.
Failure really to believe this–that preaching is a divine activity and one at the very center of the purposes of God–results in many of the vices for which preachers are criticized: superficiality, frivolity, novelties in interpretation, dullness and many others. These deficiencies bring preaching into disrepute and can never be overcome unless first we clear away the debris of false ideas so as to come to a clear understanding of the nature and function of preaching.
Thus preaching is not an entertainment. It is an event in which, as someone has said, “the Incarnate Word is manifested from the written Word through the spoken Word.” Nor is preaching a performance in which we set ourselves forward. It is an encounter when we set forth Christ in such a way as to bring men face to face with Him. Moreover preaching is not a comfortable discourse. Rather it is an urgent summons of God to men, “God Himself entreating by us, Be ye reconciled to God.” Thus preaching is not merely the heralding of the saving action of God, it is itself an action of God through His chosen servant to call men to Himself. The God who worked in Christ to reconcile the world to Himself now works in His messenger, calling men to accept the reconciliation which has been effected at the cross.
The task of the preacher is thus of the very highest significance. His is a calling like no other, his a task of immense responsibility, his a message awesome and unique. What is most lacking today is not homiletical expertise, though this is important. Nor is it sufficient to speak of “hardened hearts” or “itching ears” as the cause of ineffectiveness. The real lack is a sense of exalted calling, which every preacher should have, together with a strong faith in the efficacy of preaching. We believe and so we speak (2 Cor. 4:13).