Why Should We Preach Christ in Every Sermon?

From Fred Malone at Founder's Blog:

1. Biblical hermeneutics requires us to preach Christ in every sermon. The historical rise of literal-grammatical-historical hermeneutics in the history of interpretation has been a very good thing. There is general agreement among evangelical teachers that the Bible should be taken literally (unless it uses metaphor, typology, allegory, parable, etc.), grammatically (using the original languages for exegesis), and historically (dealing with the historical context of the text). As part of this method, we also include the idea of “Scripture interpreting Scripture.” This is the foundation of exegeting a text and then expositing it in the sermon. This method is intended to prevent eisegesis in a text in order to be faithful to God’s specific Word. Sometimes, this method is used to justify not preaching Christ in every sermon if He is not mentioned specifically in the text, especially when expounding an OT text.

However, grammatical-historical exegesis is not the complete hermeneutical method used by Reformed interpreters. Reformed hermeneutics espouses grammatical-historical-theological exegesis. The addition of theological exegesis for each text is sometimes called “the analogy of faith.” It means that the exegesis of each text must look at the full theological context in which it resides; i. e., the place in biblical history, the covenant context in which it resides, and its relationship to the overall theology of the Scripture. This means that the overall theology of Scripture, which is Christ-centered, must be included in the full exegesis of the text. This is not eisegesis. It is theological exegesis.

Let me add that this theological element in hermeneutics is not quite the same as “Scripture interpreting Scripture.” An exegete may use cross-reference or word-studies of a text, comparing Scripture with Scripture and still miss the overall theology of Scripture in the exegesis. The analogy of faith takes the whole counsel of God into account, the faith once-for-all delivered to the saints, when interpreting the text. For instance, when preaching on an OT text, one may use the literal-grammatical-historical method, including Scripture interpreting Scripture in cross-references and word-studies, expounding the text faithfully in its original meaning in the OT. However, our Lord explained that He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. To explain the OT text and to expound its original contextual meaning without taking into account how our Lord fulfilled it in His person and work ignores the full theological interpretation of the text. So, one may expound accurately the OT text and its meaning in context without its full theological meaning in light of the completion of all revelation according to the analogy of faith.

To preach Christ in every sermon is more than just preaching a text in its literal-grammatical-historical meaning then going off into an unconnected explanation of the gospel. Rather, it is to expound how that text is connected to and fulfilled theologically in Jesus Christ, the theological center of God’s revelation to man. This method does not demean the OT as less inspired or not as important as the NT. Such caveats are not helpful or accurate. Rather, it recognizes that every OT text reaches its full meaning as contributing the revelation of Jesus Christ in all the Scriptures.

One more thing about the theological method of interpretation. It recognizes that all men are born condemned under law in the fall of Adam and that from Gen. 3:15 on, the rest of Scripture reveals the coming of Christ under grace. This is the old Law and Gospel theology that was central to the Reformation’s rediscovery of the gospel. All Scripture must be interpreted in light of the Law and the Gospel theology which reveals Jesus Christ to man. This enables the expositor to preach the gospel in every sermon legitimately without eisegesis. Charles Bridges, in The Christian Ministry, said:

The mark of a minister “approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,” is, that he “rightly divides the word of truth.” This implies a full and direct application of the Gospel to the mass of his unconverted hearers, combined with a body of spiritual instruction to the several classes of Christians. His system will be marked by Scriptural symmetry and comprehensiveness. It will embrace the whole revelation of God, in in its doctrinal instructions, experimental privileges, and practical results. This revelation is divided into two parts--the Law and the Gospel--essentially distinct from each other, though so intimately connected, that an accurate knowledge of neither can be obtained with the other (222).

2. Biblical example requires us to preach Christ in every sermon. We now live under the New Covenant of Jesus Christ, the completed revelation of God to man. We have been given the full revelation of God in the faith once-for-all delivered to the saints. Our example of preaching and teaching is now displayed in how Christ and His Apostles preached and taught. His teaching of Himself, each sermon in Acts to unbelievers, and each Epistle to believers is fully Christ-centered. Even if we take a text from Christ or the Apostles' writings which do not explicitly mention the Lord Jesus Christ, they must be explained in light of their whole teaching in the context of His message and the whole Epistle’s message. These are our examples of biblical preaching under the New Covenant.

For modern-day examples of such preaching, you only have to look at the greatest preacher of the 19th century, Charles Spurgeon, and the greatest preacher of the 20th century, Martyn Lloyd-Jones. They both followed the grammatical-historical-theological method of hermeneutics to preach Christ in all the Scriptures.

Quote of the Day

“If God had perceived that our greatest need was economic, He would have sent an economist.

If he had perceived that our greatest need was entertainment, he would have sent us a comedian or an artist.

If God had perceived that our greatest need was political stability, he would have sent us a politician.

If he had perceived that our greatest need was health, he would have sent us a doctor.

But he perceived that our greatest need involved our sin, our alienation from him, our profound rebellion, our death, and he sent us a Savior.” 

– D. A. Carson

What Is A Christian?

What is a Christian? 

One who, by the grace of God, can declare that he justly deserves the wrath of God, save for the mercy of Jesus Christ alone. He casts aside all hope in his self-righteousness and puts away all pride in his own goodness. One who is glad to be regarded as spiritually bankrupt, a poor sinner, saved by the free grace and righteousness of Christ and, with a grateful heart, yields in allegiance to Him alone as LORD and sovereign. In a word, one who "glories in Christ Jesus and has no confidence in the flesh." (Phil. 3:3)


How about you?  What would you say?

Quote of the Day

Had the Lord remained on His throne in glory, He would never have been our Savior.

That exalted head could not save apart from the pierced throne-crowned brow.

That hand that held the scepter and that holds the seven stars could never save us were it not nailed to the Cross.

And that glorious body, clothed in the clouds of heaven, the shekinah glory of God could never have been our Savior had it not been submitted to the ignominious shame of being naked and broken and nailed to the tree.

We are saved by the smitten rock.  We are saved by the sufferings of the Son of God.

- W. A. Criswell

Christ My Righteousness

John Bunyan (1628–1688), author of Pilgrim’s Progress, was a rebellious youth, particularly fond of “cursing, swearing, lying, and blaspheming the holy name of God.” In 1648, at the age of twenty, he married a God-fearing woman who brought to the marriage two books of Christian theology, which Bunyan read. Convicted of sin, he began attending the parish church, stopped cursing, and observed the Sabbath. As he came into contact with other Christians and heard their joy-filled testimonies of faith in Christ, his conviction intensified. He knew he was outside of Christ, and “cried to Christ to call [him].” In 1651, he was introduced to Pastor John Gifford of Bedford, whom God used to lead Bunyan to repentance and faith. One day, while meditating on the Word he had received, he was converted. Of that day, Bunyan wrote:


"One day, as I was passing in the field, this sentence fell upon my soul: Thy righteousness is in heaven, and I thought withal I saw with the eyes of my soul, Jesus Christ, at God’s right hand; there, I say, as my righteousness; so that wherever I was, or whatever I was a-doing, God could not say of me, He wants my righteousness, for that was just before Him. I also saw, moreover, that is was not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that made my righteousness worse; for my righteousness was Jesus Christ Himself, the same yesterday, today, and forever. Now did my chains fall off my legs indeed. I was loosed from my afflictions and irons; my temptations also fled away. Now I went home rejoicing for the grace and love of God. I lived for some time very sweetly at peace with God through Christ. Oh! methought, Christ! Christ! There was nothing but Christ that was before my eyes. I saw now not only looking upon this and the other benefits of Christ apart, as of His blood, burial, and resurrection, but considered Him as a whole Christ! It was glorious to me to see His exaltation, and the worth and prevalency of all His benefits, and that because now I could look from myself to Him, and would reckon that all those graces of God that now were green in me, were yet but like those cracked groats and fourpence-halfpennies that rich men carry in their purses, when their gold is in their trunk at home! In Christ my Lord and Saviour! Now Christ was all. "

—Meet the Puritans (Reformation Heritage Books, 2006), 103–104.

Quote of the Day

“There are many preachers who never preach justification by faith at all, because they do not believe it. They regard the New Testament message as no more than an ethical system, and they are always exhorting people to live better lives, and to stop doing this and that. They apply this in a more general sphere, and so are always making protests to Governments and other powers. They talk unceasingly about applying the Christian ethic… we can say without any hesitation that such men are not preaching the Gospel.”

- Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Christ More Excellent

On what do you base your assurance of salvation? If you are resting on the apparent works of grace in your life, your trust is misdirected. That is not to say that those works are no testimony at all, but that they are, at best, only a testimony to your faith. If we are to find real assurance, we must not look inward to signs that may be deceptive. We must look to the one true object of saving faith. Puritan and Westminster Divine Anthony Burgess (d. 1664) wrote:


We must take heed that we do not gaze upon ourselves to find graces in our own hearts as thereby we forget those Acts of Faith, whereby we close with Christ immediately, and rely upon him only for our justification. . . . The fear of this has made some cry down totally the use of signs, to evidence our Justification. And the truth is, it cannot be denied but many of the children of God, while they are studying and examining, whether grace be in their souls, that upon the discovery thereof, they may have comfortable persuasions of their Justification, are very much neglective of those choice and principle Acts of Faith, whereby we have an acquiescency or recumbency upon Christ for our Acceptation with God. This is as if old Jacob should so rejoice in the Chariot Joseph sent, whereby he knew that he was alive, that he should not desire to see Joseph himself. Thus while thou art so full of joy, to perceive grace in thee, thou forgettest to joy in Christ himself, who is more excellent than all thy graces.

—Meet the Puritans (Reformation Heritage Books, 2006), 116.

Quote of the Day

“Upon a life I did not live, upon a death I did not die; another’s life, another’s death, I stake my whole eternity.”

 – Horatius Bonar

Quote of the Day

“Faith is nothing but the instrument or the channel by which this righteousness of God in Christ becomes ours. It is not faith that saves us. What saves us is the Lord Jesus Christ and His perfect work. It is the death of Christ upon Calvary’s Cross that saves us. It is His perfect life that saves us. It is His appearing on our behalf in the presence of God that saves us. It is God putting Christ’s righteousness to our account that saves us.” 

-Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Christ in All of Scripture

John Calvin, writing in the preface to Pierre-Robert Olivétan’s 1535 translation of the New Testament.

• He [Christ] is Isaac, the beloved Son of the Father who was offered as a sacrifice, but nevertheless did not succumb to the power of death.
• He is Jacob the watchful shepherd, who has such great care for the sheep which he guards.
• He is the good and compassionate brother Joseph, who in his glory was not ashamed to acknowledge his brothers, however lowly and abject their condition.
• He is the great sacrificer and bishop Melchizedek, who has offered an eternal sacrifice once for all.
• He is the sovereign lawgiver Moses, writing his law on the tables of our hearts by his Spirit.
• He is the faithful captain and guide Joshua, to lead us to the Promised Land.
• He is the victorious and noble king David, bringing by his hand all rebellious power to subjection.
• He is the magnificent and triumphant king Solomon, governing his kingdom in peace and prosperity.
• He is the strong and powerful Samson, who by his death has overwhelmed all his enemies.

This is what we should in short seek in the whole of Scripture: truly to know Jesus Christ, and the infinite riches that are comprised in him and are offered to us by him from God the Father. If one were to sift thoroughly the Law and the Prophets, he would not find a single word which would not draw and bring us to him. . . . Therefore, rightly does Saint Paul say in another passage that he would know nothing except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

The Chief End of Preaching

“What is the chief end of preaching? I like to think it is this. It is to give men and women a sense of God and His presence. As I have said already, during this last year I have been ill, and so have had the opportunity, and the privilege, of listening to others, instead of preaching myself. As I have listened in physical weakness this is the thing I have looked for and longed for and desired. I can forgive a man a bad sermon, I can forgive the preacher almost anything if he gives me a sense of God, if he gives me something for my soul, if he gives me the sense that, though he is inadequate himself, he is handling something which is very great and very glorious, if he gives me some dim glimpse of the majesty and the glory of God, the love of Christ my Saviour, and the magnificence of the Gospel. If he does that I am his debtor, and I am profoundly grateful to him.”

- D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers: 40th anniversary edition (Grand Rapids, MI.: Zondervan, 2011), 110-111

A Dramatic Opening

From John Samson:

Have you ever read the opening seventeen verses of Matthew’s gospel and wondered why the New Testament would open with a genealogy? Could there not have been a more exciting and dramatic introduction? Is there not a better way to grab people’s attention that this?

At first glance, it really does seem to be such a strange beginning for the most exciting message the world could ever hear, the good news of Jesus Christ. And yet…

I remember hearing the testimony of a former Hindu, born and raised in India, who recalled his Christian conversion experience. In finding a New Testament in a hotel room drawer one day, he started reading the first page (Matthew 1) and was completed captivated by it. He explained that all the guru’s of Hinduism just suddenly appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and certainly without genealogical heritage of any note. Yet here in Matthew, he read of one who could trace his ancestry for thousands of years and could confirm he was heir to the throne of David, king of Israel. This could not have been more dramatic for this man, and before the sun had set, the man had repented and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.


Matthew 1:1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

When Matthew was written, all claims of genealogy could be confirmed/denied by checking the Jewish records contained in the Temple. These records eventually were destroyed in the AD 70 but until then, were available to anyone who sought to check out Messianic claims. A side note is the fact that after the events of AD70, it would be virtually impossible for any Jewish man to be able to prove he was the Messiah.

Good Grief: 5 Ways Your Mourning Can Glorify God

From Clint Archer:


If When you need to comfort a Christian friend in the loss of a loved one, you need to be prepared with a spiritual first-aid kit of verses to help the healing to begin.

This list is by no means exhaustive; if you have any other balms to add to the cache, please feel free to do so in the comment section.

These are the five points I have found useful to cover with someone who wants to honor God in their grief.


1. Resist the temptation to be angry at God.

It is natural for mourners to experience a sense of indignation, even rage, at the loss of a loved one. This, I believe, is our soul’s normal response to the Curse. We recognize deep within us that death is unnatural, and everything in us cries out for justice and for death to just stop its devastation. The problem is that most people are theologically ill-prepared for the onslaught of these emotions.

Their anger can at that time be misdirected. People whoa re smarting from the pangs of the fresh wounds of loss, may be tempted to mistakenly direct their indignation at God. They will often say, something like, “I’m so angry at God right now I can’t even pray.”

I say “tempted” because anger at God is always a sin.

James 1:20 "The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

God never sins, and He never does anything unjust. Anger is a right response to an assault on God’s glory (as when Jesus cleansed the Temple). But to be angry at God is to aim your guns at a friend instead of the enemy. In a time of emotional trauma, believers sometimes need to be reminded to resist the temptation to think wrongly about their loving Savior.

2. Rest in God’s sovereignty.

When death comes in an especially unexpected way, for example in a sudden accident, or in cases where a young child is suddenly taken, there is always a sense that this was not meant to be. We are left reeling at the ambush of fate. This sensation of being caught off guard can sometimes lead us to feel as if God was also surprised. Since He didn’t provide us with warning or prep time, as when we are diagnosed with a terminal illness and supplied with a prognosis of time, we may feel as if the loss was incidental.

But the Bible assures us that God is absolutely sovereign over life and death. He is never caught off guard, He is never surprised at events; no, God ordains everything to the minutest detail. This is truth that brings peace and rest to a heart that is staggering under the dizzying sucker-punch of sudden loss.

Matthew 10:29-31 “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

This is a precious and profound reality that needs to be impressed on the grieving heart.

3. Realize that it’s good to grieve.

In this day of Prozac and over-the-counter anti-depressant oblivion being proffered by an over-eager medical community, we need to be reminded that the pain felt in mourning is normal. Grief is not a condition that needs to be treated. Grief is not a disease that needs to be cured. Grief is the treatment, grief is the cure!

God equipped us with the emotion of sadness in the same way that He gave us physical pain. He wants us to feel when things are wrong so that we can do something about it. When you feel a sting in your skin you look and see a kamikaze bee injecting poison into you. You don’t take a pain killer to forget about the bee. You address the sting.

When His friend Lazarus died, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). He was known as a “Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). Jesus did not avoid sadness, because it’s not wrong to grieve.

To numb the pain only prolongs the recover period. I tell people I counsel in these dark times to cry their hearts out if that’s what they feel. Sometimes you just need a box of tissues, a tub of ice cream, a dark room, and some Enya in the background, so you can have a really good cry. The catharsis is a gift from God. And most people would testify that the more the allow themselves to weep, the less frequent, and less intense the breakdowns become, until eventually they are only very occasional.

4. Rejoice in the hope of reuniting.

This is a joy that can only be appreciated by Christians who have lost loved ones who are in Christ. One of the sweet joys of Heaven is not only seeing our Savior face to face, but also being reunited with our brothers and sisters in Christ who have crossed Jordan ahead of us.

1 Thess 4:13-14 "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.”

We see King David comforted by this truth when his infant son died. He confidently asserted that “He cannot come back to me but I shall go to him” (2 Samuel 12:20-23).

This is the silver lining we must draw our friends’ attention toward as they are overshadowed by the storm clouds of loss.

5. Reach out to others.

Though it seems callous to tell a mourner to think of others rather than themselves, it is a unique opportunity for the hurting to be healed by ministering to others who are hurting too.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too."

There is a sense in which the only people who can comfort those who have lost a child, or parent, or best friend, are those who have walked the same stark path through the arid valley of death. Everyone else offers platitude that sound trite in the ear of the grieving one. But comfort that stems from genuine empathy is an elixir of healing in what otherwise is a very lonely time.

One thing I’m sure all believers agree on is: without Christ in our lives, death would be impossible to face. I love the Apostle Paul’s triumphant reminder:


When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. ” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55)

Our Sufficient Savior

“Jesus Christ, God’s own Son, became like us to be a total Savior, sufficient for the whole range of our need. How hollow, then, ring the world’s complaints against our God. People are saying all the time today, lamenting in this world of woe, ‘Where is God? Why doesn’t he do something?’ Meanwhile, he has done everything, indeed, more than ever we could ask or imagine. God has entered into our world. He has walked through the dust of this earth. He who is life has wept before the grave, and he who is the Bread of Life has felt the aching of hunger in his belly.


Is there anything more lovely in all of Scripture than the scenes of Jesus supping with the weak and the weary, the sinners and the publicans? He has taken the thorns that afflict this sin-scarred world and woven them into a crown to be pressed upon his head. And he has stretched open his arms in love, that the hands that wove creation might be nailed to a wooden cross. Then he rose from the dead, conquering all that would conquer us, setting us free to live in peace and joy before the face of God.”


— Richard D. Phillips (Hebrews: Reformed Expository Commentary, pg. 82)

God doesn’t love us because we are lovable

“We must remind ourselves that God loves us, not because we are lovable, but because we are in Christ, and the love which the Father has for him flows over to us because we are in him.” – Jerry Bridges, Who am I?

God doesn’t love us because we are lovable.

In fact, in and of ourselves we are very much unlovable.  But Mark, you ask, aren’t I good enough, smart enough and doggone it don’t people like me? Yes people may like you.  Yes, you may be smart enough.  But you’re not loveable enough to merit God’s blazing holy love that burns up all impurities in its presence.

The Bible gives us pretty rough assessment of our “lovableness”.

…as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
“Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
(Romans 3:10-18)

Observe how lovable we are: we’re unrighteous, have no interest in or understanding of God.  We’re worthless. Our throats are open graves – what a lovely stench! And the the venom of asps under our lips makes us doubly attractive to God, as well as our mouths full of curses and bitterness.

Can you imagine a husband saying to his wife, “I love you honey.  Your mouth reminds me of an open grave. And your lips  are like the venom dripping from a Gaboon Viper.”  Somehow I don’t think that wife would feel particularly lovable.

Though our sin renders us repellent to God, when he saves us he not only washes our sins away, but he plunges us into Christ. We become so organically and intimately one with Christ that when God looks on Jesus he sees us, and when he looks on us he sees Jesus. When God loves Jesus, he loves us in him and when God loves us he loves his Son in us.

The Father doesn’t love believers because we are lovable, but because Jesus is infinitely lovable and God has made us one with Jesus. And because we are one with him, when the Father pours out his love on  his Son, that love washes over us as well.

Let this truth fill you with joy today.  No matter what kinds of trials you’re facing, remember the Father loves you with the love he has for his own Son.  And nothing can separate you from that love.  Ever.

Christ is Our Treasure

From Desiring God:

The home exists for Christ. Our marriages, our children, our physical spaces — all these are means of joyful response to Him. Through the home, we treasure Christ and show others how to treasure Him also (Titus 2:3–5; Proverbs 31:10–31).

Too often, however, we treasure the home more than we treasure Christ. As a result, what He has given as a blessing and an avenue of sanctification becomes a means of achievement or accomplishment, where our well-behaved children or our organizational abilities are an indication of our value and our righteousness. Our homes become a matter of pride, self-elevation, or comparison. And we cling to our treasure, thinking that the home is under our control, that it’s ours to possess, that we have somehow created and cultivated something special.

The temptation to treasure the home is especially intense on good days, when our children are playing nicely together, when we’re unified with our spouse, or when the house is bright and clean and everything is in order.

But on bad days? When a child throws a fit or disrespects another adult, or when communication is crossways? When the dishwasher leaks all over the kitchen floor or an appointment is forgotten? When a harsh word is spoken or priorities have been shoved aside? What about the days when life is thrown wildly off-kilter?

When the home is the treasure above Christ and our value is entwined with the circumstances of our home, the bad days are unsettling, even devastating.

On the bad days, we recognize the home acting similarly to the Law:

• Our treasure, the home, speaks urgent, ever-changing, and unending demands for perfection that can never be fulfilled. (Galatians 3:10)
• Our treasure, the home, causes us to value and conform to what pleases others or earns their respect rather than what pleases God. (Colossians 2:20-22)
• Our treasure, the home, with its perfectionistic, image-maintaining urgencies, cannot bring life to our hearts and our families. (Galatians 3:21)

If we treasure our home as our righteousness, we subtly teach our children that behavior matters more than the attitudes of the heart, that a clean home matters more than relationships, that we are superior to others, or that we must cling to and control the things we love rather than trust God with them.

The good news is that even when we treasure our home more than we treasure Christ, our failings act as a tutor to bring us to Christ, the true Treasure, and to show us that we are incapable of righteousness apart from Him (Galatians 3:24). We recognize in our failings that we need something apart from ourselves to make a home as God intended, that something being the grace and power of Christ.

When Christ is our treasure, our homes consist of love, grace, and utter dependence on the Holy Spirit. We don’t chase self-righteousness, and we don’t cling to treasures that, despite all their goodness, can still be lost. We cling tightly to the only Treasure that cannot be stolen or tarnished, Christ Himself.

Rich Young and Lost

From Pulpit Magazine:

Luke 18, Mark 10, and Matthew 19 give us the familiar story of the rich, young ruler. This story is perhaps the most commonly used model for evangelism from the Gospels, and provides a stunning insight into Jesus’ approach to evangelism.

Obviously the synagogue ruler did not get saved. This fact is essential in understanding how Jesus models “ successful” evangelism. This is not to suggest that Jesus failed, but it does show that the goal of Jesus’ evangelism was to expose the motives in the heart, more than it was to convince people to follow him. If anything, this exchange is remarkable because it shows Jesus saying things designed to drive this ruler away.

It seems that many of today’s gospel presentations are geared to trap someone into a logical corner where reason dictates that they make a commitment to follow Christ (if you want out of hell, if you want a happy life, if you want your hole in your heart filled, just repeat after me). Reason demands that people follow Christ, and God demands that people follow Christ. But Jesus did not appeal to reason or a logical argument when talking with the rich young ruler. Instead, Jesus structured this command in a way that caused the person to ask, “Is Christ more valuable than everything in life?” Most of our gospel presentations ask, “Do you want to go to hell? If not, then follow Christ.” Jesus asked, “Do you value me more than everything in the world?”

Jesus used the Law as an entry point into the conversation with the ruler. But, he did not use the Law to lead him to repentance. Remember that when Jesus used the Law, the ruler replied that as to the Law, he was blameless. Jesus did not argue with him. He did not say, “so are you saying you have never lied, not even once?”

Instead, he set the whole discussion of the Law aside, and asked the ruler if he would treasure Christ above the riches of the world. Jesus used the ruler’s self-professed obedience to the Law to make a dramatic point: law keeping does not save anyone, but rather treasuring Christ leads to salvation.

People need to know the bad news, that they are sinners, before they know the good news, that Christ died as a substitutionary atonement for their sin, and rose from the grave. But, when Jesus met the rich young ruler, he did not make the issue the Law. It is as if Jesus said to the ruler, “You have kept the Law your whole life? So what? You are lost because you love your life more than you love me.”

If I could change modern evangelism in one way, this is it: that we would stop reasoning people to a commitment or decision, and we would start calling people to deny their life, and follow Christ.

Even if it means that they walk away.

The Curse of Motivation Speaking

From Conrad Mbewe:

Last Sunday, a young man came to see me after our church service. He is the kind of guy who shows up at church once in a while and then disappears for a season. My guess is that he goes around churches sampling sermons and looking for answers. On this visit, he asked that I help him to overcome a failure in his life, and it was a failure to progress. He said that his greatest problem is that he does not believe in himself. Could I help him believe in himself so that he could become successful?

I asked him whether he was a Christian. His answer was, “Do I really need to be a Christian in order to be successful? Are you telling me that all those successful people out there are Christians? Aren’t there general principles that I can apply to my life—whether I am a Christian or not—that can catapult me to success?” I challenged him to answer that question himself. After all, I was sure he had done enough rounds among motivational speakers to have the answer.

“That is the problem,” he said, “I have been told that such principles exist and I have tried them. They seem to work for a while and then I am back to my old self again. I want you to help me find that formula that will help me go forward and never slide back to the place where I do not believe in myself.” To cut the long story short, I finally persuaded him of the need for reconciliation with God before anyone can break free from the frustrating rut that God locks unreconciled sinners in.

I gave him a booklet to read, entitled, What is a Biblical Christian? When we met the following day, he was honest enough to tell me that he was disappointed with what he read because it was not telling him what he wanted to hear. “What I want to know is how I can be successful. This booklet did not say anything about that.” I repeated what I told him earlier. What he needed was not belief in himself but belief in a Saviour sent from heaven. He needed forgiveness as a foundation for his life.

Yesterday, a church member told me that he met the young man in the local market. He had two booklets in his hands. The first was the one I had given him and the second one was by Joel Osteen. He told our member, “Pastor Mbewe gave me this book but I don’t like it because it makes me feel guilty. I prefer this one by Joel Osteen because it lifts me up. It motivates me.” I am very concerned about this and so I decided to put some thoughts together about the curse of motivational speaking.

Sadly, motivational speaking has become the staple diet of many evangelical pulpits. The message being heard is, “God has put the potential in you and all you need to do is believe in yourself to unlock that potential. Have a grand vision and live out that vision. You must be a man or woman of destiny and the sky will be the limit for you. Don’t let your past failures get in your way of success. Look beyond them, as Jesus looked beyond the cross and thus overcame it. You are the head and not the tail. ”

In the light of the plethora of motivational speaking, it begs the question, “Is this how Old Testament and New Testament preachers preached?” If I summarise the preaching of Noah, Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, Jonah, Paul, Peter, etc., in the Bible, is this the kind of message that I will find there? I do not think so. Granted, motivational speakers borrow words from these men, but borrowing someone’s words is not the same thing as saying what he is saying. “A text without a context is a pretext.”

My chief quarrel with motivational speaking is that it reduces God to a means rather than an end. Men and women are not made to see that the nature of SIN lies in the letter “I” in the middle of the word. Instead, motivational speaking feeds that same ego and points to God as the one who can spoil it to the point of intoxication. That is a lie! It is God alone who must be at the centre of our lives. Christianity demands a dying to self, a taking up of one’s cross, and a following after a suffering Saviour.

Whenever I listen to motivational speaking, I seem to hear the message, “Peace, peace,” where there is no peace. It sounds to me like a doctor assuring a patient who has terminal cancer in its final stages that he should not worry because all will be okay if he only believes in himself. The guy is dying, man, for crying out loud! It is the height of insincerity if a preacher knows that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and instead makes those heading for the slaughterhouse feel nice.

Motivational speaking makes people feel good, whereas the gospel first makes people feel bad—until they find their all in Christ. True preaching must make people face the fact that they are living in rebellion against God and that they need to repent or they will perish. It is only as people recognise this and cry out, “What shall we do to be saved?” (Acts 2:37, 16:30) that true preaching gives them the good news, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).

Motivational speaking is an attempt at trying to kill a charging lion with a pea-gun, using freshly cooked peas, spiced with the most aromatic seasonings. The aroma may be tantalizing to the taste buds, but it is totally useless in bringing down that ferocious beast. Men and women outside Christ are DEAD in trespasses and sins. Exciting their senses with nice-sounding platitudes will not give them life. They need the law to kill their fallen egos and the gospel of Jesus Christ to give them life.

I know that motivational speaking is filling up our church buildings until they look like football stadiums. In this world of misery and gloom, we can all do with some encouragement. But is that all that we were called to do as preachers? What good is it if men feel inspired and motivated, and then go back home to live a life of sin and selfishness? Sadly this is the norm in so many evangelical churches. The churches are filled to capacity with people determined to drink sin like water the whole week.

Motivational speaking is not biblical preaching. It is a blight on the landscape of true evangelicalism. It is filling the churches with dead people who are being told to live as if they are alive. We need to return to the good old gospel that truly gives life to the dead and sets men and women free. Like Paul of old, every truly evangelical pulpit must sound out the clear message of “repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). Let us get rid of this curse of motivational speaking!

Visual Theology: The Tabernacle

Today’s graphic looks to the Old Testament tabernacle. Every item in the tabernacle was given by God to display truth and here we’ve tried to show what each item proclaims about the sinner’s need, God’s provision, and the ultimate fulfillment in the coming Messiah.

Quote of the Day

“Without Christ crucified in her pulpits, a Church is little better than a dead carcass, a well without water, a barren fig-tree, a sleeping watchman, a silent trumpet, an ambassador without terms of peace, a messenger without tidings, a lighthouse without without light, a stumbling-block to weak believers, a comfort to unbelievers, a hot-bed for formalism, a joy to the devil, and an offence to God.”

– J.C. Ryle