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Preaching the Living WORD through the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4:2 - |
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2006 GBC THEME “Preach The Word” - Part 2 (2Ti 4:2) 12/10/06 Pastor Daryl
Hilbert I.
THE SOLEMN CHARGE TO PREACH THE WORD (4:1-2) II. THE EFFECT OF
PREACHING THE WORD III. THE SOLEMN
WARNING OF NOT PREACHING THE WORD (4:3-4) A. They Do Not
Endure Sound Doctrine (3) 1.
Timothy is charged with the responsibility of “preaching
the Word.” This mandate was given because a time was coming when people would
not desire the Word. 2.
In fact, Paul mentions five aspects of those who do not
persist in hearing the preaching of the Word. 3.
First, they will not endure (anechō - bear with or put up with cp. 4.
Sound (hugiainō
- lit. healthy, met. orthodox) doctrine (didaskalia
- instruction, or teaching) is the orthodox teaching established by the
apostles in the Scriptures (1Ti 1:10; 1Ti 4:6; Tit 1:9; Tit 2:1). 5.
Sound doctrine today, is established through the study and
expository preaching and teaching of the Word of God (Acts 2:42). B. They Want Their
Ears Tickled (3) 1.
People tend to gravitate toward the new and the novel.
Unfortunately, it will happen at the expense of sound doctrine. 2.
Paul describes this as, “ear tickling (knethō - scratch, tickle, or
titillate),” which is when people crave to hear only what they want to hear
as opposed to what they need to hear in the teaching of sound doctrine. 3.
The implication is that they only want to hear what
stimulates their carnal and self-willed “desires (epithumia - impulses and longings - 1Jo 2:16-17; Jud 16, 18). C. They Accumulate
Like-Minded Teachers (3) 1.
When they find a teacher who will tickle their ears, they
will attach themselves to him. 2.
In addition, they will surround themselves (“accumulate” -
episoreuō) with more teachers
just like the first one. Perhaps their consciences are better eased when
their ears are tickled by so many. 3.
These are teachers who are “in accordance” (kata) with their carnal and self-willed
desires. The teachers have the same carnal desires and teach in such a way as
to scratch the carnal itching of others. D. They Turn Away
From The Truth (4) 1.
In addition to feeling uneasy with sound doctrine, and not
enduring sound doctrine, they will actually turn away (apostrephō - cp. Acts 3:26; Tit 1:14; Heb 12:25) from sound
doctrine. 2.
This is a deliberate turning from the preaching of the
truth from the Scriptures. Therefore, they are totally responsible for their
actions. E. They Turn Aside
To Myths (4) 1.
Because they turned from sound doctrine, they left
themselves wide open to false teachers and deliberately turned aside (ektrepō - passive with middle
sense) to false teaching. 2.
Paul describes this false teaching by the Greek word, muthos (1Ti 1:4; 1Ti 4:7; 2Pe 1:16). We derive from it our English words,
myth and mythology. It refers to fiction as opposed to fact. 3.
Anything that is contrary to sound doctrine is a myth,
fiction, and a falsehood. When sound doctrine is rejected, false doctrine
will fill its void. IV. THE EXPLANATION
OF EXPOSITORY PREACHING A. The Definition
of Expository Preaching 1.
Haddon Robinson defines expository preaching as, the presentation of biblical truth,
derived from and transmitted through a historical, grammatical, Spirit-guided
study of a passage in its context, which the Holy Spirit applies first to the
life of the preacher and then through him to his congregation. 2.
Regarding expository preaching, Merrill Unger had this to
say, No matter what the length of the
portion explained may be, if it is handled in such a way that its real and
essential meaning as it existed in the mind of the particular Biblical writer
and as it exists in the light of the overall context of Scripture is made
plain and applied to the present-day needs of the hearers, it may properly be
said to be expository preaching.… It
is emphatically not preaching about the Bible, but preaching the Bible. “What
saith the Lord” is the alpha and the omega of expository preaching. It begins
in the Bible and ends in the Bible and all that intervenes springs from the
Bible. In other words, expository preaching is Bible-centered preaching. B. The Details of
Expository Preaching 1.
In the book, “Rediscovering Expository Preaching”, John
MacArthur Jr. and the Master’s Seminary Faculty summarize five elements of
expository preaching. a)
The message
finds its sole source in Scripture. b)
The message is
extracted from Scripture through careful exegesis. c)
The message
preparation correctly interprets Scripture in its normal sense and its context. d)
The message
clearly explains the original God-intended meaning of Scripture. e)
The message
applies the Scriptural meaning for today. 2.
Philip Schaff, records in the “History of the Christian
Church”, that Calvin exemplified the spirit of expository preaching. Calvin is the founder of modern
grammatico-historical exegesis. He affirmed and carried out the sound and
fundamental hermeneutical principle that the biblical authors, like all
sensible writers, wished to convey to their readers one definite thought in
words which they could understand. A passage may have a literal or a
figurative sense, but cannot have two senses at once. The word of God is
inexhaustible and applicable to all times; but there is a difference between
explanation and application, and application must be consistent with
explanation. C. The
Degeneration of Expository Preaching 1.
Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878–1979) was an American Baptist
preacher, who abandoned his belief in biblical infallibility and the
traditional understanding of the doctrines of historic Christianity. Fosdick,
sometimes called the, “champion of liberal Christianity, campaigned against
expository preaching. Many preachers, for example, indulge
habitually in what they call expository sermons. They take a passage from
Scripture and, proceeding on the assumption that the people attending church
that morning are deeply concerned about what the passage means, they spend
their half hour or more on historical exposition of the verse or chapter,
ending with some appended practical application to the auditors. Could any
procedure be more surely predestined to dullness and futility? Who seriously
supposes that, as a matter of fact, one in a hundred of the congregation
cares, to start with, what Moses, Isaiah, Paul, or John meant in those
special verses, or came to church deeply concerned about it? Nobody who talks
to the public so assumes that the vital interests of the people are located
in the meaning of words spoken two thousand years ago.…Preachers who pick out
texts from the Bible and then proceed to give their historic settings, their
logical meaning in the context, their place in the theology of the writer,
with a few practical reflections appended, are grossly misusing the Bible. 2.
His views were the seeds for the present day Seeker
Sensitive Movement. Rather than preaching God-centered doctrine and
principles from the Scriptures, he espoused man-centered solutions to meets
man’s felt needs. John MacArthur writes, [Fosdick’s]
philosophy was that the preacher must never start from Scripture and preach
to his people; rather he should start with his people’s interests and felt
needs, and then reason his way to some supposed solution of their perceived
problems. If Scripture could be used for illustrative purposes, fine, but it
was never to be the starting point. (John MacArthur, Our Sufficiency in
Christ) 3.
Fosdick writes, The
modern preacher … should clearly visualize some real need, perplexity, sin,
or desire in his auditors, and then should throw on the problem all the light
he can find in the Scripture or anywhere else. No matter what one’s theory
about the Bible is, this is the effective approach to preaching. The Bible is
a searchlight, not so much intended to be looked at as to be thrown upon a
shadowed spot. There is nothing that people are so interested in as
themselves, their own problems, and the way to solve them. That fact is
basic. No preaching that neglects it can raise a ripple on a congregation.(ibid.) D. The Demand For
Expository Preaching 1.
It is no secret
that Christ’s Church is not at all in good health in many places of the
world. She has been languishing because she has been fed, as the current line
has it, “junk food”; all kinds of artificial preservatives and all sorts of
unnatural substitutes have been served up to her. As a result, theological
and Biblical malnutrition has afflicted the very generation that has taken
such giant steps to make sure its physical health is not damaged by using
foods or products that are carcinogenic or otherwise harmful to their
physical bodies. Simultaneously a worldwide spiritual famine resulting from
the absence of any genuine publication of the Word of God (Amos 8:11)
continues to run wild and almost unabated in most quarters of the Church. (Walter
Kaiser) 2.
Various authors comment on the current state of the pulpit a)
Except for the
growing worldliness of its members, the pulpit is the church’s weak spot. b)
Yet it remains
true that “whatever be the marks of the contemporary pulpit, the centrality
of Biblical preaching is not one of them.” c)
In a tradition
that focuses on the centrality of the written Word few subjects are more
important than the interpretation and proclamation of that Word. Everyone
stresses the necessity of a solid exegesis of the text, but few are adept at
providing such an exegesis and preaching effectively from it. d)
But the glory
of the Christian pulpit is a borrowed glow.…
To an alarming extent the glory is departing from the pulpit of the
twentieth century.… The Word of God
has been denied the throne and given a subordinate place. 3.
Concluding thoughts a)
Who are the “they” in 2Tim 4:3-4? There are several
possibilities: (1)
Unbelievers in the church who influence the direction of
the church. (2)
Carnal Christians who are influenced by the world and
bring such influences in the church. (3)
Carnal leadership in the church who influences the
Congregation. (4)
Carnal pastors who have no interest or are unwilling to
influence the Congregation by preaching the Word in season and out of season. b)
In order to safeguard from turning away from the truth and
turning aside to myths and false teaching, two actions must be followed. (1)
The pastor/teacher must actively and consistently engage
in expository preaching and teaching regardless of the consequences. (2)
The Congregation must actively demand and receive the
teaching of the Word and sound doctrine regardless of the consequences. |
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