“Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season.” 2 Timothy 4:2a NKJV
Any given Sunday, God’s people are blessed with the gift of gathering together for corporate worship at their local church. Singing the praises of our great God and Savior prepares us for His glory and grace and gospel to once again be preached to our hearts. At the heart of this worship service is indeed the preaching and teaching of God’s Holy Word through faithful exposition of Scripture.
Unfortunately, many professing Christians who show up at church really do not want to hear any type of bold declaration of biblical truth that messes with the idolatry of their rebel hearts. Whether it is their left-wing politics or a compartmentalized view of life into the sacred and secular which I describe as “the Jesus box”, many Christians lack a full-orbed understanding of truth as it applies to all of life. In other words, they claim to be sound in doctrine and generally conservative in their theology but are progressively liberal in their worldview. This is especially observed when it comes to their understanding of what it means to “preach the word.”
Politics in the Pulpit
Secularization has produced a politically correct atmosphere that renders anything related to the culture-wars as too controversial, inappropriate, and unacceptable for the pulpit. It is fascinating to observe that anytime a pastor says something like, “I’d don’t want to get political but…”, he then proceeds to say something “political” that grabs the attention of everyone present. Here’s the issue: so-called political issues are most often pre-political issues rooted in the comprehensive nature of the biblical worldview. Hot-button issues like gender, sexuality, marriage, divorce, the natural family, the sanctity of human life, and religious liberty are all pre-political issues directly connected to God’s design in creation order. Resolute biblical conviction is mandatory as these must be championed by the church and family in the face of an increasingly hostile culture.
Preaching & Preachers
Not that long ago, in another time and place that seems like light years from where we are at today in the modern church, there was a great preacher in London. Famously, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones ministered at Westminster Chapel in Buckingham Gate during the mid-1900s. As a young man, his soul-stirring words were used of God’s Spirit to ignite a zeal in the depths of my soul for the genuine biblical preaching of God’s Word. Speaking to a group of seminary students who were training for ministry back in 1969, Lloyd-Jones heralded:
“To me the work of preaching is the highest and the greatest and the most glorious calling to which anyone can ever be called. If you want something in addition to that I would say without hesitation that the most urgent need in the Christian Church today is true preaching; and as it is the greatest and the most urgent need in the Church, it is obviously the greatest need of the world also.”[i]
Faithful biblical exposition requires timely application that is connected to the culturally relevant issues of our day. Otherwise, Michael Eaton, who sat under the preaching of Lloyd-Jones as a teenager, explains that “the doctor” did not consider mere Bible-survey or Bible-analysis as true preaching at all. “Highly applied ‘expository sermons’ do not merely interpret the text; they also draw out its message [and] they press the message upon the people.”[ii]
What is desperately needed in the church today is an army of faithful men branded after the likes of the ancient Hebrew prophets who are unintimidated by the cultural elites. Such loyal servants of the Most High possess the moxie, backbone, and boldness to open their mouths and cry out, “Thus saith the LORD!” These are the kind of men whose hearts have been ignited by God’s Spirit with a passion for biblical exposition as applied to the culturally relevant issues of our day. This is the testimony of not only Holy Scripture but also of Church history.
Charles Spurgeon vs. Karl Marx
David Noebel of the Christian Anti-Communism Crusade featured an article in their monthly newsletter called The Schwarz Report that highlighted the stark contrasts between two men who were contemporaries and lived in the same city but couldn’t have more different from each other: Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892). Larry Alex Taunton explains that “Marx was preaching salvation through bloody revolution, Spurgeon, on the other side of the city, was preaching salvation through the blood and grace of Jesus Christ.”[iii] As a man who possessed an intelligent understanding of the times in which he lived through the lens of the comprehensive nature of the biblical Christian worldview, Spurgeon knew the evils of socialism and accordingly warned the people of his church. Further insights from Taunton shed light on the situation:
“It would be wrong to say—as many preachers do—that addressing matters of politics falls outside of the purview of the clergy. Of no other spere of life do they say it. Regardless, Spurgeon certainly didn’t agree with this sentiment. Christianity isn’t merely an accessory to a man’s life; it should define it. Thus, a man’s politics are simply the outward manifestation of the convictions of his heart. Socialism, Spurgeon knew, was much more than an economic or political question. It is a spiritual question, if only because it denies the very existence of the spiritual. It is atheism masquerading as political philosophy.”[iv]
The Black Robed Regiment
In this same spirit, the predecessors of Spurgeon were the courageous preachers of New England who were dubbed “the Black Regiment” because of the color of robes that clergy wore in those days. David Gibbs of the Christian Law Association explains that “the colonial pulpit was a major source of strength and inspiration both before and during the Revolutionary War for Independence.”[v] These men possessed an intelligent understanding of the times in which they lived as they viewed all of life through the lens of Holy Scripture. As these visionary leaders did so, the biblically informed solution to the challenges of their day were readily evident and they called their people to action accordingly. Gibbs explains that “long before the general population understood the threat to American liberty, some colonial ministers saw what was coming and boldly spoke out about it from their pulpits.”[vi] This is the kind of preaching that is needed today: faithful biblical exposition with timely application that is connected to the culturally relevant issues of our day.
In Season & Out of Season
Preaching “in season and out of season” means that there is no time when the Word of God is to be relegated to the periphery. There are certainly times of more formal declaration of biblical truth as in the case of the Sunday morning worship service. This is the primary thrust of Paul’s divinely inspired words of exhortation to Timothy who was a pastoral ministry leader in the church at ancient Ephesus. Regardless of our ministry context as Christians who are “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Cor.5:20), every member of the Church, the Body of Christ, in this age of grace has been entrusted with a stewardship responsibility. Al Mohler speaks to the depth of Paul’s charge by explaining that it means:
“when it fits and when it does not fit, when it works and when it seems not to work, when it bears visible fruit and when it seems barren, when it is appreciated and when it is denounced, when it is legal and when it is illegal, when it is plentiful and when it is scarce, when it is broadcast on airwaves and when it is preached in catacombs. We are to preach the Word at all times.”[vii]
Preaching Throughout History
Throughout every epoch of history, God has always been faithful to raise up the leadership that is needed for His Church. As far as human agency is concerned, this is perhaps the most pressing issue of dead serious urgency that ought to be at the forefront of the heart and mind of the church and family: raising up leaders, especially men, for the next generation who will boldly “preach the word!” The late John MacArthur was a renowned pulpit expositor in his own right who announced that:
“One of the clearest lessons we learn from church history is that strong biblical preaching is absolutely vital to the health and vitality of the church. From the birth of the New Testament church until today, every significant phase of authentic revival, reformation, missionary expansion, or robust church growth has also been an era of biblical preaching.”
“The preaching of God’s Word was of course one of the hallmarks of the apostolic age. The most influential post-apostolic church fathers, including all the early apologists, were also bold and powerful preachers of Scripture. Early theologians such as Tertullian, Jerome, and Augustine were likewise skilled preachers as well as brilliant biblical scholars. The leading men among the Lollards, the magisterial reformers, and the Puritans were some of the finest, most courageous expository preachers the world has ever known. The Great Awakenings, the Welsh Revivals, and the early student missionary movements were all ignited by the powerful preaching of biblical doctrine.”[viii]
Preaching & the Modern Church
By way of contrast, it has been fascinating to observe the fetish of the modern church for church growth fads, humanistic formulas, and other man-centered gimmicks over and against the old-fashioned means of robust preaching and teaching of the Word of God. In the face of a situation not altogether different in his day, Apostle Paul exhorted the church in ancient Corinth to champion God’s revealed wisdom rather than succumb to the innovations of man. “For since in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe” (1 Cor.1:21 NKJV). MacArthur further declared that:
“It is remarkable, then, that over the past half century (or longer) evangelicals have devoted vast quantities of energy and resources to the invention of novel church-growth strategies that tend to discount biblical preaching. Such schemes sometimes even deliberately avoid any reference to the Bible altogether-especially when unbelievers are present. They aim instead at attracting people through marketing campaigns, entertainments, social activities, and other similar techniques. Many of today’s evangelical church leaders have borrowed their management philosophies from the corporate world; they have taken their fashion cues from the entertainment industry; they have imitated the communications styles of secular mass media (favoring sound-bites over substance); and they have employed various bells and whistles from modern technology designed mainly to amaze and impress rather than to teach and edify. The visible church now mirrors the world to a disturbing degree. A major portion of Christendom is spiritually starved-and sound, biblical preaching has become an extremely rare commodity.”[ix]
Confronting the Challenge
Before all the tremendous challenges facing the modern church, let us pray that God’s Spirit would ignite a renewed passion for the preaching and teaching of the Word of God in the hearts of young men. This was the testimony of the ancient Hebrew prophets including Jeremiah who lamented in the face of opposition:
“Because the word of the LORD was made to me a reproach and a derision daily. Then I said, ‘I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name.’ But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not” (Jer.20:8b-9 NKJV).
His people in the pews ought to also be prepared to gladly receive such pulpit ministry very much like the noble-minded Bereans of old who “received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11b NKJV). May there be a day when we will not have to ask the question: “Where have all the preachers gone?”
[i] D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers (Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan, 1971), 9.
[ii] D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (edited by Dr. Michael Eaton), The Christian in an Age of Terror (Grand Rapids, MI, Kregal Publications), 9).
[iii] Larry Alex Taunton, Charles Spurgeon vs. Karl Marx—Part I (The Schwarz Report, October 2024), 1.
[iv] IBID, 2.
[v] David C. Gibbs, Jr., One Nation Under God: Ten Things Every Christian Should Know About the Founding of America (Christian Law Association, 2013), 189.
[vi] IBID, 189-190.
[vii] R. Albert Mohler, Jr., Preaching: The Centrality of Scripture (Carlisle, PA, The Banner of Truth Trust, 2002), 18.
[viii] R. Albert Mohler, Jr., He is Not Silent: Preaching in a Postmodern World (Chicago, IL, Moody Publishers, 2008), 11.
[ix] IBID, 12.
