Modern biblical evangelical theology has long been a gift to the church; It triggered the current of moral preaching in many churches and provided useful theological resources to combat the most notorious theological dangers of our time, such as the gospel of prosperity.
But I also witnessed (and was guilty) a bad biblical theology. In my first year of seminary, for example, I was so in love with biblical theology and how did the story fit together?That I have lost sight of the moral demands that history imposes on us all?a mistake that spread through the way I taught the scriptures to others. Will biblical bad theology end up damaging the health of a congregation?distort the message of the scriptures and impede the growth of a church in the knowledge of God. .
- All of us.
- Not just preachers.
- Must beware of biblical bad theology.
- But what exactly does biblical bad theology look like in sermons?.
The Bible opposes moralism, not morality. Unfortunately, I’ve heard a lot of sermons confusing the two. I even interacted with preachers and seminary students who would tremble if they heard a preacher give orders to their congregation as Paul does in the epistles (1 Corinthians 16:13-14).
Do I appreciate the desire of many pastors to avoid moralism?And focusing on the gospel as an agent of transformation in The Christian life, however, it is also true that some preachers – especially the youngest – must adopt this preaching and also include appropriate exhortations for the congregation to respond to the climax of Old Testament fulfillment in Christ. The law, legally used? As you preach the gospel (1 Timothy 1. 8), it is both biblical and necessary.
For example, preaching how Jesus fulfills the Daviadic covenant and ascends to the throne of Israel requires us to call people to bend their knees before Jesus, the king. It is by preaching how Jesus fulfills the role of priest that we urge people to trust in His Lord to preach Jesus as the prophet like Moses (Deut 18:15a) requires us to tell people as well (Deut 18:15b). Preaching Jesus as temple fulfillment requires us to also teach people that Christ has scattered the Spirit over his church and expects us to preserve the purity of God’s room through faithful discipline and discipline. Don’t love idols, honor your father and mother, don’t look for pornography, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t codicies.
Furthermore, the preaching of how Jesus performs the Old Testament types must include how the Messiah incorporates his people in this achievement. I’ve come out of many sermons that have masterfully demonstrated how Jesus accomplished an Old Testament guy, thinking, Wow, Jesus is not amazing! I really wish it had something to do with me! Is it exciting to discover how all the Old Testament stories whisper the name of Jesus? How every promise, person and rule is finally fulfilled.
At the same time, we must remember that we are also part of history, Jesus is the true and the best temple, but he gives his people the same identity (1Co 3,16), Jesus is the true and the best Israel, but incorporates those who trust him in the new Israeli community (Galatians 6. 16). Jesus rises from the dead, fulfilling the types of the Old Testament Resurrection (1Co 15,1-3), but his resurrection is the first of things to come, guaranteeing our coming resurrection and offering a hope that should shape our daily life . (1Co 15. 58) Is Christocentric preaching inevitably ecclesiological? He is the head, we are the body.
I congratulate preachers who do not want to damage the congregation’s esteem for the grace of God revealed on the cross and the resurrection of Christ. Having experienced moralistic preaching, I know firsthand the spiritual crises it creates. But avoiding imperatives is short-sighted and wrong. I am convinced that the cripple of Mark 2 has not lost his sense of wonder of grace or trust in Christ when the Lord commanded him to take his stretcher and return home.
Perhaps you’ve heard young shepherds challenge you to dare to be a Daniel?Or “run away from sexual temptation like Joseph. ” Perhaps you attended a preaching that encouraged you to be like Abraham, David, Jonathan, Josiah, Paul, or even Jesus. In my first year of seminary, I mocked that “moralism. “After a few years, I stopped making fun of him. Yes, we must preach to Jesus of each text authentically by reading each passage in the light of the whole canon of Scripture and the climax of redemptive history in Christ. And yes, the characters of Scripture indicate beyond themselves the grace of God in his Son, but the authors of the New Testament, in the context of a robust and Christocentric biblical theology, do not hesitate to present the characters of the Old Testament as moral examples.
Jesus and the Apostles regularly call Christians to?Or? Not to be like? Old Testament figures (He 12:16). Even Paul tells us that Israel’s sinful actions in the wilderness: these things have become examples to us, let us not coven evil things, as they did (1C 10. 6. 11). Similarly, James encourages believers to be like the prophets, Job, and Elijah (James 5:10-28). Paul even recommends himself as someone that the Corinthians should emulate (1 Cor 11. 1). In addition, many parables of Jesus command listeners to immigrating to exemplary people. (Mt 7, 24-27). After teaching the Good Samaritan, Jesus commanded the interpreter of the law: “Are you going to do the same?(Lk 10:37). In other words: “Go and be like the Good Samaritan. “
Of course, a preaching that uses only biblical characters as moral examples is not biblical, but a preaching that draws no moral implications from the lives of biblical characters is equally unbolic. We must show how each story finds its climax in the final Word. God in Christ, and we must learn moral lessons from the lives of biblical characters.
To be affirmed, preaching must be primarily aimed at transforming the heart, but transformed hearts must be taught to observe all that Jesus commanded (Mt 28:20). Moral examples are one of the most powerful ways to inspire obedience among God’s people. Who can’t help but have a little cold in their spines reading about Sadraque, Meshach, and Abednego standing among the crowd of idothers kneeling in Daniel 3?As Bruce Wayne said in Batman Begins, “People need dramatic examples to get them out of apathy. “
Some historically redeeming preachings may fall into the trap of saying the same thing week after week. Instead of allowing the sketches of the text to shape the homilical sketch, some preachers allow their biblical and theological commitments to dictate the structure of their sermon, so that the point of each sermon always tends to be the same:?See how Jesus did it? X? From the Old Testament ?.
As Derek Thomas noted, a historic sermon can be impressive the first time I’ve met him, but if he’s the only tool in his tool belt, his sermons will soon be predictable.
One last problem with some historical-redemptive preachings is how does this fail, preached the text. Instead of letting exegesis lead the sermon, I have listened to preachers who simply identify the great biblical-theological theme (temple, priest, king, law, Saturday, etc. ) and then review the meta-up of the scriptures by focusing on this topic. Unfortunately, this approach ignores the basic question of preaching: “What does the text say?Finally, our biblical-theological journey to Jesus must arise from the exegesis of the text.
Evangelical preaching has benefited from lectures, articles, and books that revitalized the idea that each sermon should ultimately lead its listeners to respond to God’s free grace in the gospel. But no adjective corresponds better to preaching than “exponent”.
Because? Because the faithful sermons expose the text and the faithful exhibition takes into account the literary, historical, pactual and finally canonical context of the text.