Preach The Word!

This sermon is from Grace Fellowship Church in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. To access other sermons or to learn more about us, please visit our website at graceedmonton .ca.

The Primacy of Preaching in the Church

Well, as I've done through this series, I'm going to begin with another story. This time, a story that originates from 1927 in England. In 1927, a 26-year-old Martin Lloyd-Jones began his first pastorate in a small church in Sandfields in the south of Wales.

The doctor, as he has become affectionately known as, had just resigned from his work as a physician, where he was one of the top medical doctors in all of London. Having been trained at the prestigious St. Bartholomew's Hospital, Martin Lloyd-Jones had secured a coveted position under the doctor and as part of the medical clinic that provided the medical care for the royal family.

It was the job to have as a doctor in the city of London. He was a brilliant young doctor who no doubt had a promising medical career ahead of him. But just as that medical practice began to take off, many of us know how that story goes.

How the Lord called Martin Lloyd-Jones out of the lab coat, out of the clinic, and into the pulpit to preach the glories of Christ to the local church. He called him that he might give up everything and devote himself to a whole new passion, to a whole new obsession, namely preaching God's word.

And so Martin Lloyd-Jones found himself ushered out of the spotlight that was London and the medical community there, and into a stale old port town known as Sandfields on the west coast of England. And when he arrived there, as is often the case, he found the church was in a state of disarray.

That in the church, many of the people had given themselves over to the social gospel. And what is the social gospel? At least at that time, it would be akin to the social justice movement of today. A church drawn by, taken to, the social issues of the surrounding community.

At the same time, the church had given itself over to a drama society that produced amateur stage plays from the platform at the front of the sanctuary. That the church was as much a theater and a stage as it was a place for the church building.

A theater and a stage as much as it was a place for God's people to meet. And upon arriving, Martin Lloyd-Jones immediately knew that the church was in great need of reformation. And so the very first thing that Lloyd-Jones did when he arrived, some of you know the story, is that he took the pulpit and he drug it out into the middle of the platform.

Front and center into the middle of the platform. One of the church staff, I believe it was the secretary, heard a ruckus. She went into the sanctuary to find Martin Lloyd-Jones nailing the pulpit to the floor.

And this was more than just mere interior design. But he was conveying a point. That from that point on, the preaching of God's word would be the focal point of that local church. That the social issues had to give way to the word of God.

That the drama club would have to find a new stage to perform on. Because these two items were no longer the locus of control in the church. But it was the primacy, the preeminence of the word of God preached in the worship of God.

The blazing center of all of the church's worship and activities was going to be the triune God, revealed through the word of God, preached from the pulpit to the people of God. And if anyone was going to change that, they would have to expel Martin Lloyd-Jones.

And they would have to pry the pulpit from the floor and move it back to the back of the platform. The doctor would go on to say that the work of preaching is the highest and the most glorious calling to which anyone can ever be called.

The most urgent need, he said, in the Christian church today is true preaching. How that could be said of the condition of the church today. That the greatest need of the church today is true preaching.

And this was not the first time that this had happened. Centuries earlier, John Calvin, if you know anything about Calvin's Geneva, went into many of the Protestant churches and moved the altar where the mass would have been served in the Catholic mass.

Moved the altar to the side and then pushed every pulpit to the front and center. And he said this, let the pastors boldly dare all things by the word of God. Let them constrain all the power, glory, and excellence of the world to subdue it.

To give place to the divine majesty of the word. He said that when the church met, it was as if the pulpit were the very throne of God. It was where God's voice was heard through the faithful preaching of the word.

And this afternoon as we meet, a little bit smaller today, but meet nonetheless. We're going to give the lion's share of our time to preaching God's word. And why? Because as we will see, the example of scripture, the urging of the apostles, and the very commands of God incline us, compel us to devote ourselves to preaching the word.

And so this afternoon we're going through this series on the regulative principle of worship. How God dictates through his word everything that we do as we worship. And my objective, my only objective today, relying on 2 Timothy 4 is this.

I want to convince you, and I'm probably preaching a bit to the choir, but I want to convince you still. I was further convinced as I prepared this. I want to convince you that the most important thing that we do together on the Lord's day, when we meet for worship, is to faithfully preach and to eagerly hear God's word.

The centerpiece of the room must today remain to be the pulpit. The nucleus of all of our worship activities must be the accurate, faithful, and relentless proclamation of God's word. And so together today, we're going to look at 2 Timothy chapter 4, and we're going to look at at least four demands that this passage places on us as it relates to the word of God.

I'll list them in advance, and then I will recount them again as we go through. You'll find them in your bulletin. But scripture demands that we preach the word. Scripture demands that we preach expositorily or expositionally.

Scripture demands that we preach Christ. And number 4, scripture demands that we hear and heed the word preached. Now, you know what our sermons have been like the last couple of weeks. If we get into danger, point 4 is going to become its own sermon next week.

So we'll see where we end up, but that's what I intend to show us this week. And so turning our attention again to 2 Timothy 4, I want to read again verse 1 and the beginning of verse 2. Paul says, I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom, preach the word.

Be ready in season and out of season. The first demand that God places upon our worship when we meet is that we preach the word. Number 1, preach the word. The second letter to Timothy, if we were to go back into history and look at when it was written, it was authored approximately AD 66.

Now, there are many reasons why that detail is important, but the first among them, if you know perhaps, is that was the same year that the Apostle Paul would die at the cruel hands of the Roman Emperor Nero.

And so opened before us is the last canonical letter of the Apostle Paul. In the truest of all senses, this was the last inspired letter from a man who was near to his appearing before the throne of the living God.

The letter itself is full of references. We won't go through each of them, but references to Paul's chains and his suffering. And then in chapter 4 and verse 6, the verse immediately after what we've read this afternoon, Paul makes clear that he knew indeed what was coming.

In verse 6 he says, For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. What we need to understand about the letter of 2 Timothy is that Paul was writing a letter as a dying man to his beloved disciple, Timothy.

In this letter he acknowledges that his race is coming to an end. And he's going to pass the baton to this young protege who has now been entrusted with the gospel, once for all delivered to the saints.

And I pose this question to you. What would you say, what would you write if you were given the opportunity to write one last letter to your brothers and sisters in Christ? By God's grace I am so thankful that he has created such a warm and united fellowship in this church.

And so I know for many of you the love that you have for one another. What would you write in that letter to your brothers and sisters in Christ? To your dear friends in this church? I think we would all recognize that there is a special kind of sobriety that comes when a man or a woman is about to die.

One begins to reflect on their life and what they have done with the years and the months and the days and the hours that God has allotted to them. If they were to live their lives all over again, what would they do differently?

How then would they live? Or if God were to grant them another 10 years, what would they do with that time? It is at this moment when one stares death in the face that we might expect the distillation of all of man's thoughts and priorities.

That every extra thought, every useless thought, every trivial matter crumbles away and all that is left are the ultimate priorities of one's life. It is here at the anteroom of God's court that all of these small issues fall to the wayside and we find out what truly matters.

Now Paul, who is a dying man, writing to the protege, the disciple Timothy, he could say literally anything. But what will he emphasize? What is he going to emphasize if you look for a moment at this letter, the last letter, the last chapter, the next paragraph?

He goes on to deal with personal instructions. This is the last exhortation. What is he going to emphasize? Now he could prioritize the music ministry of the church. Last week I went to great lengths to show you the importance of that.

But he does not. He could emphasize spiritual gifts and spiritual warfare. As important as that is. But he doesn't. He could speak about how the church needs to be a loving community. Certainly an excellent thing.

The world will know we are his disciples by our love for one another. But he does not. What does he say? As Paul writes to Timothy, he invokes the very presence of God. He says, in the very presence of the living God, the God who he is going to meet very shortly.

And in the presence of Jesus Christ, who is to judge the living and the dead, Paul himself included soon. He issues these three words to the church that must be forever taken heart by his people. The distillation of all of the priorities of the local church.

These three words. Preach the word. Brethren, there is nothing more important in all of the worship of the local church than this. Preach the word. The last words of the Apostle Paul inspired for the church until the end of days.

When Christ shall return is to preach the word. And whether that is preaching when it is in season. Meaning, when preaching is in favor and opportunities abound and people want to hear the Bible preached.

Or to preach the word. But even more, maybe in days like today. Where biblical preaching is out of season. And is scorned for being too serious. Scorned for being too severe. For being boring. For not being entertaining enough.

Our charge from the very word of God is clear. We are to preach the word. Preaching is foundational for the worship of the church. And preaching is foundational for the existence of the church. It is through the proclamation of the word of God that we hear the gospel and believe.

It is through the proclamation of the word of God that we are instructed to live the Christian life. It is through the proclamation of the word that we are reminded. Week in and week out of what we were just singing a few minutes ago.

What is our only hope in life and death? Christ alone. It is through the diligent and faithful preaching of God's word. That we are ushered into the very presence of God. And confronted with truths that we would rather not deal with in our private reading of the Bible.

I think of a story. You might recall me sharing it at one time. When Joel Beakey invited one of his neighbors to church. And the man came and participated in the service. And before our brother Joel Beakey could greet him at the door.

The man was gone. And he thought, well that was unfortunate. That I wasn't able to acknowledge that I had invited him. And he did in fact come. And so the next time he spoke to the man. And he said, oh so nice to have you on Sunday.

What did you think? And he said, it was as if you grabbed me by the scruff of the neck. And brought me into the very throne room of God. And I had to look at him face to face and answer him. It is in preaching of the word.

That every single one of us, even Christians. That we are made to face the truths of God. That we would rather not face even as we are on our own. Where we are made to do business with him. It is through the pure proclamation of God's word.

That God's voice is heard audibly in the assembly of the saints. Now, we don't have time, a long time to dwell here. But I want us to understand then what it means to preach the word. When we talk about a church that preaches the word.

Or for those of you men who aspire to preach the word. What does it mean? I found as I studied this week at length. That I was gripped afresh by this reality. Of what it means to preach the very word of God.

When Paul says in 2 Timothy 4, 2. That first word preach, preach the word. That is the same word that would be used to describe the actions of a herald of the king. The role of the herald was not complicated.

In fact, it was very straight forward. And yet it was deadly serious. The herald was to speak on the king's behalf. And deliver the king's message to the citizens of his nation. When the herald spoke the words of the king accurately.

These words came with the full weight of the king's authority. It was as if the king were present right there and then speaking to the people. And what this means is that every single week. Week in and week out.

When this local church meets. It is commanded that one of God's heralds. One of those men who are manifestly called. Who are biblically qualified. Who are evidently gifted. One of those men is to stand up in the assembly of God's people.

As if he were a herald standing at the city gate. Or in the town square. And he is to declare this is the king's message. And then he is to preach the word for God. But notice here that we're not called just to be heralds.

God does not tell us just to herald anything that we want. To be carried away by our own imagination. By what we heard someone else say. But the herald is to preach the word. Namely to preach God's word alone.

And this is what differentiates a true herald from a false herald. When the true herald of God stands before God's people. He is to take the king's scroll into his hands. The living and abiding word of God.

And he is to diligently and painstakingly and precisely preach only that which is revealed in the scriptures. He is to read and to expound and to exhort without adding or taking away. He is to prepare a meal.

I thought about it this week. Where every key ingredient is sourced from the Bible. That this is the grocery store where the preacher goes to get his ingredients. To make the meal for God's people on Sundays.

And in a very real sense when the herald preaches. And I want you to listen very carefully because you might think to yourself. Wow that sounds pretty extreme. But in a very real sense when the herald preaches God's word faithfully.

He preaches with a real authority. It is a derived authority. An authority derived from the scriptures themselves. But it is a real authority. And in that moment he becomes a mouthpiece for God. In the church and for that day.

And when that message is declared accurately and clearly. It comes with the full weight of God's authority. I would go even so far as to say that when the preacher of God's word faithfully and accurately preaches that word.

God's people hear even the voice of God. Now don't for a moment think that I am talking about the Pope. In the sense that when he speaks ex cathedra. His words are on par with scripture.

No.

But that the preaching is to be a servant of the word. Think of it this way. The sermon is a platter on which the word of God is served to God's people. John Calvin said every time the gospel is preached.

It is as if God himself came in person solemnly to summon us. He says God does not speak openly from heaven. But employs men as his instruments. This means that when the preacher is proclaiming. That which finds its origins in his own imagination.

And we see lots of that today.

Don't we?

Where men preach what they read in a good book. What they thought of this week. What they think might sound nice or compelling to the people. When a man preaches that kind of message. It comes with zero authority.

There is no demand placed upon the people of God. But when that preacher proclaims God's word. It is as if the church has established a weekly appointment to meet with God. And to hear him speak through the preaching.

Now does that sound far fetched? If we were to turn to passages like 1 Thessalonians 2. In verse 13. We read about Paul's interactions with the Thessalonian church. And he says this. He says. And we also thank God constantly for this.

That when you received the word of God. That is the preached word of God. He says which you heard from us. You accepted it. Not as the word of men. But as what it really is. The word of God. Which is at work in you believers.

Now someone might hear that and say. But Shane you are talking about the apostles. These men are inspired. They have written books that are in the Bible. That will endure. Heaven and earth will pass away.

And their words at least as they are inspired will endure. But we can go to another example. In the book of Luke in chapter 10. In verse 16. As Christ is preparing to send his 72 disciples out. Not the 12.

But the 72. He says. The one who hears you. Hears me. And the one who rejects you. Rejects me. And the one who rejects me. Rejects him who sent me. This is what it means to preach the word of God. Now I am not sure.

For those of you who aspire to preach. If you feel the same weight that I have felt. Through the week as I have thought about these things. But this is why it says in James chapter 3. In verse 1. That not many of you should become teachers my brothers.

This reality should not puff up the preacher. Of God's word with pride. But should lay him in the dust. I would say in fact that it is a contradiction. To find a man who is both a preacher of the word.

And a proud preacher of the word. Said what you should find is men who. As they preach the word. They must confess that they are weak. And they tremble at such a responsibility. That when they unpack the word of God.

Faithfully. That is. It comes to the people of God. With God's very authority. That so far as he preaches the Bible. God's people are compelled to obey. Who is worthy for such a task as this? This would flatten I would believe.

Even the most self-confident of men. Even as I was preparing this this week. I felt as if I cannot preach this week. I think I need to hang up the cloak. And let Sam preach from now on. But what are we to do?

God has commanded us to preach. And so we do. And so every man here who aspires to preach the word. You must take great care. In doing so. In preparing for it. In living in accord with it. In 2 Timothy 2 .15.

It says do your best to present yourself to God. As one approved. A worker who has no need to be ashamed. And rightly handling the word of truth. For those who faithfully handle God's word. They have no need to be ashamed.

And yet it seems at the same time. There are men who ought to be ashamed. Who shamelessly peddle God's word. As if it were not his word at all. But we need to be diligent in preparing ourselves. This is a word for you young men.

Who aspire to ministry. Or to even you young women. Who want to lead a women's group. Or something like that. There was the Puritan preacher Thomas Shepard. When he was on his deathbed. A group of young ministers came to his bedside.

And don't you love these deathbed stories. Where again just as we see with the Apostle Paul. These men just spout out wisdom. For the next generation. And as these young ministers were gathered around.

Thomas Shepard's bedside. They asked him for a couple words of wisdom. With respect to their calling. And he said this. Your work is great. And requires great seriousness. For my own part I have never preached a sermon.

Which in the composing. Did not cost me prayers. With strong cries and tears. I never preached a sermon. From which I had not first. Got some good for my own soul. And then listen to this. He says. I never went up into the pulpit.

But as if I were going to give. An account of myself to God. Such should be the approach. Of every preacher. Of the word of God. And if I can apply that to you. Such should be the approach of every hearer of the word of God.

That we would tremble. At the preaching of God's word. And when God's word is preached. We should expect that it will not return void. We will not receive the accolades. The world's accolades. For preaching the bible.

I assure you.

Brethren.

This church is not going to grow. At least apart from God's. Amazing and miraculous. Revival work. Simply by preaching the word.

It will grow.

But it's not going to grow like the mega church. That's planted down the street next year. You'll recall me telling a story. There was one church that was planting the same time as Steve and I were preparing to plant.

And our efforts were very modest. In the living room. With a bible study. And I remember one day looking over at this other church. And thinking. Wow, they have all the bells and whistles. And I saw them on CTV news.

They had a marketing budget of $100 ,000. To plant a church. Our church will likely never grow. At that rate.

And yet.

God's word will never return void. But it will yield an abundance of fruit in the lives of its hearers. When we think about Martin Luther. And his reformation experience. The explosion that took place in Wittenberg, Germany.

What was the catalyst of those efforts? He said this. In Lutheran fashion. I simply taught. Preached. And wrote God's word. Otherwise, I did nothing.

And then.

While I slept. And here's the Lutheran part. And drank Wittenberg beer. With my Philipp of Vamsdorf. The word so greatly weakened the papacy. That never a prince or emperor did such damage to it. He said, I did nothing.

The word did it all. And so that will be the case. Let's turn next to the second half of verse 2. The second half of verse 2 says this. Maybe I'll begin from the beginning. Preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season.

Here it is.

Reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching. Scripture demands that we not only preach the word. But that we preach the sermon expositorily. That we preach the word expositionally.

Expository Preaching and the Whole Counsel of God

Number 2. I have on more than one occasion heard. That if we as a church really want to truly and faithfully preach the word of God. Then we just need to read the Bible aloud. That as soon as we add something to it.

We pervert it. But the question I ask you. Is that actually the case? That once we have moved beyond reading the Bible. That we are no longer preaching the word of God. I would say that our text shows us.

Paul shows us in his letter to Timothy. That that is far from the case. That our charge is certainly not less than reading the Bible aloud. But it encompasses far more than just simply reading the Bible.

The preaching of the word as we see here includes other important elements. Paul tells us that God ordained preaching. The God ordained preaching of the word isn't just to preach the word here. But he says this.

To reprove.

To rebuke.

To exhort. With complete patience and teaching. This could rightly be called expository preaching. And there are many people who. If we're talking about expository preaching today. It's interesting. I've read a number of books on the topic.

Every author has a slightly different definition. But there's a vast majority of people. In the broader visible church today. That have no idea. What expository preaching is. I heard Derek Thomas. Seminary professor.

Was a seminary professor. I'm not sure where he is now. Who said that the vast majority of his students. That would come into seminary. It was clear that they had no idea. What expository preaching was.

That they had never seen expository preaching before. In a course that we do with the men. As part of Grace Institute. The brothers here who have taken. The foundations for expository preaching by Stephen Lawson.

He tells the story of when John MacArthur. Would travel to different events to preach. I don't think he's there anymore. But when he would travel. What would often be the case. Is that he would get picked up at the airport.

And on his way to the church. He would pass by. One mega church. Two mega church. Third mega church. And eventually he would think. Okay well this must be the church. That we're going to. They would pass by that one.

And it was almost a universal experience. That as he traveled to these different cities. To preach. That they would get to the edge of the city. And there at the edge of the city. Not at a mega church.

But at a small. A modest sized church. With a faithful few. That would be the group. Hosting the conference. For him to preach. Expository sermons. Expository preaching you could say. Is out of season.

In many respects. And yet. That is what we are called to do. That we are to preach the word. To look at it more closely. 1 Timothy chapter 4. In verse 13. Gives us a very helpful. Definition or summation.

Of what expository preaching is. There again. In 1 Timothy 4. Paul tells Timothy. He says. Until I come. Devote yourself. To these three things. Devote yourself to the. Public reading of scripture. To exhortation.

And to teaching. That is. In a nutshell. Expository preaching. To read the word of God. To exposit it. To expound it. To teach about it. And then to exhort it. G. Campbell Morgan. Who is the predecessor of Martin Lloyd Jones.

He says that. That every word from the pulpit.

Should amplify.

Elaborate on. Or illustrate. The text at hand. With a view towards clarity.

He wrote.

The sermon is. The text. Repeated.

More fully.

An expository sermon. Is that which seeks. To read. To explain. And to apply. A passage of scripture. So that the very. Main point of the text. Becomes itself. The main point of the sermon. Scripture alone.

Is the basis. Of every observation. Interpretation. And exhortation. I like what Stephen Lawson says. That expository preaching. Is akin to water skiing. If anyone here has been water skiing. Or kids if you've been tubing.

You know what that is like. You're behind the boat. And you have a little bit of freedom. To go right. And a little bit of freedom. To go left. But wherever the boat goes. You go. And such is a picture.

Of expository preaching.

Now.

We need to discuss what. Expository preaching is not. Expository preaching is not just. A line by line. Commentary of the text. Sometimes I think. And I think we've all been there.

I'm sure.

It's a preaching pitfall. That I have fallen into. At different times. But we can all read. A commentary of the text. It is not simply. A commentary. But it is taking. The main thrust. Of that passage.

And it is applying. The truth. Of God's word. To its hearers. On every occasion. It is also not. Purely teaching. An expository sermon. Is not. Just teaching the text. But it is preaching the text. And there is a difference.

Someone might ask. Someone asked. I think it was. Martin Lloyd Jones. What is the difference. Between preaching and teaching? He says. When you hear preaching. You will know the difference. Expository preaching.

Is not. Seeking to be as boring. As we can possibly be. Just because. A sermon is boring. Doesn't mean. It's expository. Or just because. It's expository. Doesn't mean.

It's boring.

But an expository sermon. Is this.

Is.

It exposits. The passage.

It.

We read. The text. Together. We consider. And this is an important word. The authorial intent. What did the author. Intend. When he wrote this. Under the inspiration. Of the Holy Spirit. We ask. The questions.

What are.

The grammatical. What is the grammatical. Context. What is the historical. Context. What is the literary. Context. In other words. Taking all things. Into account. What does this passage.

Mean.

That is to exposit. The text. But that's only. Part of it. Because it is. Expository. Preaching. We exposit. The text.

And then we.

Exhort. From the text.

It is.

To borrow.

Part of an illustration.

From.

Another brother. It is like.

Taking.

The pulpit. Which is. The altar. If we can use that analogy. For the moment. And taking. One part. Rocket fuel.

Bring that. Into the mix.

That is. The exposition. That is. The condensed.

Truth.

Of God's word. Rocket fuel. In one hand.

And then.

The exhortation.

Is to bring.

The spark. And it creates. An explosion.

Of biblical.

Proportions. So much so.

That it.

Compels.

The Christian.

Forward.

To greater. Christlikeness.

And this.

Explosion.

Of both. Of both.

Truth.

And application.

It creates.

This. This mixture.

Of both.

Light.

And.

Heat. Where God. Is revealed. Where you get. To see yourself. As you truly are. Before God.

And then.

The heat. That you are propelled. To serve God. With greater zeal. With greater love. That you are moved. With a greater passion. To live. For the living God. As Lloyd-Jones would put it. It is logic.

On fire.

Truth.

On fire. And at the end of the day. When an expository sermon. Is preached. Well. What you should do. Is this. You should leave the room. Thinking to yourself. I understand that text better. I understand.

Myself.

Better.

In light of who God is. I understand. God. Better. In light of who I am. In light of what scripture says of him. There's an increase in understanding. And there is a transformation in the heart. And I think that the best expository sermons.

Are always demanding. And yet in the same sense. They are always easy. There are many churches. My friends. That we can go to. Perhaps this morning. Or maybe. Later this evening. Where they are serving up.