Lively Preaching

As I have mentioned here before I am a co-teacher for my church's 7th-8th grade catechism class. We are working through the "Gratitude" section of the Heidelberg Catechism which includes the Ten Commandments. A couple of weeks ago we were on Lord's Day 35 which deals with the second commandment. POP QUIZ: What is the second commandment?... That's right - No idols or images of God. One of the things I love most about the Catechism (and the Westminster Catechisms as well) is that they expound on the Biblical teaching of the Ten Commandments and give us a fuller meaning of what God is saying through the Decalogue. It is surprising at first to hear the answer in response to the question "What does God require in the second commandment?" Answer - "That we in no way make any image of God..." So far so good, this is exactly what we would expect from the language of the second commandment, and so far we can probably say we keep this commandment fairly well. But then more is said, "...nor worship Him in any other way than he has commanded us in his Word" (Q&A 96) Well then, maybe we have to rethink our keeping of this commandment!

In Reformed Theology this is called the "Regulative Principle of Worship" (the RPW) which means that we cannot do in worship anything that is not commanded by God (this is what the second half of the answer of Q&A 96 says). Unfortunately, many churches, and even Reformed churches have failed to uphold the RPW. Instead they go towards the false view of the RPW which states, "We can do in worship anything that God hasn't forbid us from doing." Do you see the difference? Things would be a lot different in worship if we used God's Word positively to guide our worship.

There is more to be said concerning the RPW, but I want to focus on Q&A 98 (still concerned with the second commandment) of the Heidelberg Catechism which is:

Q. But may not pictures be tolerated in churches as books (teaching aids) for the people?
A. No, for we should not be wiser than God, who will not have his people taught by dumb idols, but by the lively preaching of his Word.

What is the method by which God has ordained to teach his people about the wonderful truths of the Gospel? Romans 10:14 and 17 give us a clear answer - by preaching. And this is what the catechism says as well - "by the lively preaching of his Word." The catechism puts it plainly that "we are not to be wiser than God." He knows what he is doing by ordaining this simple and foolish method for making the truth of salvation known! It always amazes me how much wiser than God many preachers think they are. They think that they need to do something different to really reach people so they show slide shows, movies, use props or demonstrations, or the most appalling of them all... (sorry Tracy)... dramas. In effect what happens when these things are used is that the preacher has lost confidence in God's ability to work through his means by the power of the Holy Spirit, and instead has turned to the devices of man.

"But Mark..." you say, "a lot has changed since Paul wrote Romans. Paul didn't know about all the cool technology that we have." True, but there was plenty of entertainment in Paul's day that could have been employed. According to Everett Ferguson in Backgrounds of Early Christianity the heyday of Greek theater had past by the time Christianity came on the scene, but there were still traveling performers that would put on plays in the towns and cities (p. 99-100). Ferguson goes on to make a very interesting statement, "The plays performed in the theater became a metaphor for life employed by philosophers and others" (100). What drama used in church isn't a metaphor for life? Ferguson also reveals that a philosopher, Cebes, "wrote a moral dialogue describing the good life and the bad life, depicted as the choice between two ways. One's goal should be deliverance from the bad life, achieved only by repentance" (324). WOW!! I can easily imagine this being in a church this Sunday! And guess what? This was written in the first century A.D. - precisely the same time period of the Apostles and Paul. This stuff was in the air and it would have been natural for the early Christian preachers to adopt the methods of their contemporaries to make their point with the use of drama. But guess what? That is not what God commanded his workers to do - He told them to preach.

I really love the way that the Catechism uses the phrase the "lively preaching" of the Word. I take this in two ways, 1) preaching is to have passion and energy, and 2) it is truly alive by the power of the Holy Spirit. First of all, preaching should have passion and energy - it should be lively (of course, within limits)! Lord willing, the preacher has poured his life and soul into preparing his sermon (if not then that is a problem!), and that should be reflected in his presentation of the message that God has given him to proclaim. The preacher should have preached that message to himself, seen his need for a Savior and then wants to impart those convictions on his people as well. Secondly, the Word of God which is preached is alive. God promises that it will not return to him without having its desired effect (Isaiah 55:11). There is something alive in that preached Word, in fact the Second Helvetic Confession (1566) goes so far as to say that when a minister preaches, "we believe that the very Word of God is preached" (Chap. 1). Preaching isn't too be some guy rambling on for 25-30 minutes (unfortunately that probably does happen), but it is some guy being the mouthpiece of the Triune God. That is what is happening! If a pastor doesn't believe this, and if he doesn't believe that the very act of preaching is alive, then no wonder all sorts of crazy things happen to supplement his "teaching" or "lecture."

I just read for a class On the Preparation and Delivery of Sermons by John Broadus, a 19th century American preacher. He has a whole chapter in that book dealing with how the message of a sermon must be CLEAR to all ages. Another 19th century preacher, Thomas Murphy, says, "It [our particular message] may prove a savor of life unto life or of death unto death, and the results of it may extend away into the endless ages." Why does a sermon need to be clear? Because it is dealing with matters that have eternal consequences! I have a feeling that there are a lot of sermons being preached that do not bring forth a message that is "a savor of life or death" or deal with eternal matters.

So all of that comes out of the second commandment and "lively preaching!" Maybe much of what I said you don't think applies to you because you do not hold to the Heidelberg Catechism or the RPW. What you do in worship and especially what is done in a sermon or done in place of a sermon seems perfectly fine to you. Then ponder Romans 10:5-21 (esp. 14-17); 2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Pet 1:19; Is 55:11 and ask yourself, "What has priority the methods of God or the methods of men?" And, "Are we really trusting in God to use preaching to do what he promises, that is, to work salvation in the hearts of his people?"