Marks of Good Preaching - Christward

To the Reader: If you have not already done so, please read the introduction to this series, ”Thoughts on Sermon Criticism”, before reading this article.

This is a follow up to “You Are Not the Main Character”.

On March 5, 1861, in the first sermon in the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Charles Spurgeon preached, "I would propose that the subject of the ministry of this house, as long as this platform shall stand, and as long as this house shall be frequented by worshippers, shall be the person of Jesus Christ." (source, C.H. Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. VII, 169)

He went on to add, "...if I am asked to say what is my creed, I think I must reply - 'It is Jesus Christ... who is the sum and substance of the gospel; who is in Himself all theology, the incarnation of every previous truth, the all-glorious personal embodiment of the way, the truth, and the life."

These words reminded me on John's famous honorific title for Jesus - "the Word". To preach the written word is to preach the living Word. Good preaching should make much of Jesus Christ, even to the extent of echoing Paul's statement, “For I determined to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified,” 1 Corinthians 2:2.

While I previously wrote of finding what each passage tells us about the thinking of our God, this article it meant to hit the point from a slightly different angle. Jesus is God. However, He is the person of the Godhead who became flesh and dwelled among us. He is the express image of God's person. And it is the incarnation, His humanity, that in some sense makes Jesus Christ more visible or understandable to us. God's intent to redeem us feels very personal when we see the incarnate person of Christ.

His sinless life on this earth was a visible portrayal to us of the written word lived out. His presence among men was a visible picture of His grace, compassion, and affection to actual people. His cutting speech to the Pharisees was a visible demonstration of His wisdom, judgement and judicial action.

Truly, when we discern the mind of God in any passage like we learned in the previous article, there is always a sense in which we can then see Jesus display the same reasoning in living color. He and the Father are one. There is no way in which Jesus acted that was incongruous with the thinking of the Father.

This why in preaching through a passage, when we have discerned the original intent with stable and learned accuracy, and revealed God as the main character, it then behooves us to search the Scriptures for times in which Jesus displayed the will and thinking of God that our chosen passage demonstrates.

I am by no means suggesting to typographically, or in any numerological sense, find Jesus in the text where He is not. Rather, I believe that good preaching should always attempt to exalt the person of Christ in some way. Any responsibility placed on the listener in the message should be secondary to an exalted Christ.

He brings the thinking of the Divine Creator closer to the reach of man's understanding and emulation. Thus, our preaching should try to demonstrate Him to the listener.

INTRO: Thoughts on Sermon Criticism

NEXT: Accountability