The Purpose of Preaching Pt. 2: What Is He Doing?

Preaching is a strange event. It is public speaking, but not only public speaking. It involves the personality and gifts of the preacher, but the preacher is bound to a structure and method. It is a one-sided event, not a conversation. It is divine and spiritual, yet tangible and ordinary. It is one man explaining to many people something which he himself cannot fully understand. It is a moment of authority, but the preacher bears no authority himself. It is a mingling of the natural and the supernatural, the normal and the divine. It happens every week, but it is unique and special.

Everyone has an opinion about preaching. More stories, deeper theology, more practical application, more joes, less jokes, and so on. Each preacher approaches the task differently and with changing goals. In the midst of this strangeness and varied opinions, what can we make of the act of preaching? The Scriptures shed great light on this monumental, weekly act.

The cornerstone of preaching begins with teaching. In Nehemiah 8 we find a wonderful example of public teaching. Ezra opens the book of the law, reads from it plainly, and clearly gives the meaning of the text. Then all the people worship.

Why is teaching the first component of preaching? Because it centers upon explaining something, and that something is the Word of God. Preaching is about exposing the Word of God. This means that the preacher is not free to say what he wants to say. Nor is he free to do what he wants to do. The preachers is bound to the Bible. He must use it only. He must teach it only. He must study and explain what it says. The pulpit is no place for philosophy, cultural musings, or moral antidotes. The sacred desk is the place for exposing what God’s Word says and thereby revealing who God is.

Teaching isn’t the only component to preaching. In 2 Corinthians 5 we find another aspect to this work. It is found when Paul says that we implore people to be reconciled to God through Christ. In other words, the preacher pleads with people to believe what he is teaching, to follow the Scriptures and to trust in the Lord Jesus. He puts his whole self into this work. He exhausts himself in imploring his listeners. He persuades others with the force of his own soul. It is not enough for one to simply teach, he must also plead. Likewise, his pleading must be grounded in right teaching.

The preacher is not free to do as he desires. He is a man bound to explain the Bibles and to plead with others to believe it. His task is to engage the mind, the heart, and the conscience. He speaks not to the eardrum but to the soul. He shares words of life, not mystical musings. His message, if grounded in the Word, comes from heaven itself.

There is one last component to the vent of preaching I wish to mention here. In the act of right preaching, of teaching and pleading the Bible, the preacher is uniquely governed by the Holy Spirit. This is experienced by both the preacher and listener alike. Often times, two people with two different issues and backstories will find the same Scripture text, the same sermon points, apply directly to their hearts as if the sermon was just for them. How can this be? It is because the Spirit is working in and blessing the whole act of right preaching. In other words, this is how God speaks to and edifies his people.

In worship, we spend most of our time singing and prayer to God. He is our focus. But in preaching we find that God is speaking to us. He is correcting, encouraging, rebuking, and restoring each one that sincerely listens to the words of Scripture.

Preaching main seem commonplace, but it is a significantly divine moment where God Almighty utilizes the voice of a finite man to speak the glorious, eternal truths of heaven. This is done when the preach teaches and pleads the pages of Scripture. Take note of what he is doing in that pulpit, for through his study and efforts you may have God carry his Word directly to your heart.