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What Does the Bible say about preaching?
Preaching is predominantly translated as “heralding,” which means to announce something. Jesus did this at the beginning of his ministry. Paul is the best example of someone who preaches in churches. He often says, “We are preaching Jesus Christ” (see 1 Corinthians 1:22-23 and 2 Corinthians 4:5). The message of Christ is to be announced (1 John 1:2).
Evangelistic proclamation of the gospel should be distinguished between preaching or expositing the Word of God in a church setting. Evangelism is focused on nonbelievers. Preaching is focused on believers and helping them grow in the Word of God.
A Manual for Preaching
A Manual for Preaching, written by Abraham Kuruvilla, defines preaching as “the communication of the thrust of a pericope of Scripture, discerned by theological exegesis, and of its own application to that specific body of believers that they may be conformed to the image of Christ.”
It is easy to get caught in the weeds and getting bogged down in the details of a text. Instead, Kuruvilla argues that preachers ought to do what the text is demonstrating, not simply reiterate what the text is saying.
All of Scripture has a command behind it – even passages not directly associated with commands. The Bible does not simply impart information just because. It imparts information in a way that necessitates a response. This is what pastors ought to pay attention to in preaching.
Expository Exaltation
Expository Exaltation by John Piper discusses the main point that preaching is to awaken worship in those who hear.
Piper discusses the distinction between teaching and preaching. Teaching is simply conveying information. Preaching is when a sermon moves from conveying information (all sermons will have some teaching) to calling people to encounter and worship the living God. Exaltation ought to begin with the preacher to reach the hearts of the hearers.
By the end of a sermon, hearers ought to be feasting on the word of God as presented and dealing with heart change. Spiritual reality (what God says) can be made more real than physical reality – this is how pastors reach the hearts of their people. The emotions, minds, hearts, and desires of people should be brought further into alignment with the Word of God.
Brittany Proffitt lives in Dallas and is a writer and content manager for So We Speak.
