The Measure of a Sermon, 4

I have learned a great deal from my wife. She is a gift to me – and God has used her in my life more than any other human. One of the lessons she has taught me is about motivation and grace. She did this in the kitchen . . . .

She is a fabulous cook. Because of that I often enter the home at the end of the day to wonderful fragrances . . . baked chicken, stir fry, or chocolate chip cookies. As I walk in the garage door I am often not hungry – I am tired, worn in mind, distracted. My wife could tell me she is about to make dinner and ask what sounds good to me. I would not know. The possibility of dinner would not stir my hunger. But, one whiff of her cooking stirs my appetites.

This is what good preaching does. What I am talking about in these posts is the temptation of preachers to exhort people to be hungry – to trust in moral exhortation and the thunderings of the Law to create interest. That would not even be true to the Old Testament. 

What NT preaching does is bake the cookies and let the Spirit empowered fragrance draw them to the Savior, stir hunger, and provoke godly motive. The Law has rarely softened a hardened heart. God’s mercy cuts through our pride and stubbornness and makes us willing. Just read the Epistles from end to end and see how often the apostles motivate by the majesty of grace and how rarely by a threat. Gospel driven preaching deals with my unbelief -- I think that threats will do more to motivate than grace.  I do not believe the Gospel is powerful.

Let me elaborate on that (in response to a comment).  The question is this: what is the most effective way to promote the godliness of my people?  to keep them from abusing grace?  The answer my heart gives is to preach rules and give threats.  The answer of the NT is to continue to preach the cross as it is the power of God to save.  That is deeply counter-intuitive!

 

Years ago a mentor noted that most young preachers he knew seemed angry at their people. Their tone was one of a nag. They wanted their people to shape up. Their people think that feeling guilty at the end of the sermon is its best measurement (Oh pastor, that was wonderful, that was so convicting). In other words, we have trained ourselves and our people to think that looking at their lives in the presence of the law, and being aware of sin, is what good preaching produces.

But that is not what we are to do – we are to point them to Christ, and out of a reflection on his grace and sacrifice, bring them to see their sin as on offense against his love.  If I think carefully, I can use the cross as an argument about the seriousness of sin, even with a secular person. What evil requires this death by this Jesus? I am to point them to Christ and his generous grace as what they have already experienced and draw them to yield themselves to God in response.

 

 

Comments

[Ryan Wentzel]

These have been great posts Mark!

[Milton Stanley]

Sublime.

[Tommy]

Pastor Mark, do you mind clarifying this statement?

"Gospel driven preaching deals with my unbelief -- I think that threats will do more to motivate than grace. I do not believe the Gospel is powerful."

In light of your context it seems that you are using this phrase to refer to your "tendencies" or to your "natural way of thinking," namely, such gospel-centered thinking and preaching is counterintuitive! But unqualified words on a short blog entry leave ambiguity. Do you mind clarifying?

Thanks!

GDL: see modifications on the entry