1. Topicality⤒🔗

The sermon, as the central part of the worship serv­ice, has come under fire these days. For many people in the ecclesiastical and theological world, it is no longer self-evident, as was the case in the past, that there should be preaching in a church service. As be­comes apparent from the titles of some recently published books, such as: Heeft preken nog zin? (Does preaching still make sense?); Sterft de preek? (Is the sermon dying?),¹ there is clearly something under­foot with respect to the sermon. Apparently there are many people who are of the opinion that the sermon has had its day; that it belongs to a cultural pattern that has become past tense.

Modern man finds it difficult to listen. The ser­mon addresses only one of his senses, namely hearing. The visual aspect is missing. People today have a tough time absorbing information that comes via the ear only. Television has changed people. When one looks at television, the exchange of information takes place in quite a different way. One sees and hears at the same time.

Research has shown that seeing is important for taking in information. We, therefore, hear from the side of modern sociology that the sermon is a totally inadequate means of communication? Research shows this to be the case. Many churchgoers have problems re-telling the sermon and it appears to have little or no effect on their daily lives. To modern social sciences this does not come as a surprise. The limited effect the sermon has, reveals its weakness as a means of communication.² Communication is after all a matter of reciprocity and this element naturally is not present in the sermon. The sermon is by nature a one-way street. There is no question of a to and fro movement. In fact, the sermon is a monologue: the minister speaks and the congregation listens silently.

Yet another objection is raised in various quar­ters: the sermon as monologue does not do justice to the coming of age of modern man. In essence the sermon has a patriarchal, authoritarian, feudalistic signature. People are told something without being allowed to react as mature individuals.³

On family visits one can at least respond, but in the church service one has to sit through it. Is the sermon as monologue not completely contrary to what the New Testament says about the maturity of Christians? Are we not all taught by God? (cf. John 6:45). And does this not mean that in church we have a say in the matter? As you can see, there are enough reasons to reconsider the preaching. Does preaching have to continue in our churches or must we look for other forms of transmitting the message? Are we in the sermon dealing with something that God has given for all times, or must we conclude that the sermon is comparable to the kerosene lamp in an age of electricity?

2. What does Scripture say?←⤒🔗

Preaching as we know it in our Reformed churches, undeniably dates back to the sixteenth century Ref­ormation. The Reformers brought the sermon to the fore as the central moment in the worship service. Calvin even called the church service "le sermon" (the sermon) in short. It is no accident that the Reformers accentuated the sermon. Their action resulted from the re-discovery of the Gospel of justification. Over against the Roman thought of justification of the sinner on the basis of grace poured into him via the sacrament, the Reformers stated that man was justi­fied by believing in the promise of the Gospel. That promise must be proclaimed and accepted in faith again and again. The message of acquittal must be heard, if the salvation that God in Christ gives to people is to reach them.

As a document of this reformational conviction, Lord's Day 31 is included in our Heidelberg Catechism. There we confess that the Kingdom of Heaven is not opened by the grace poured into us via the sacrament, but by the proclamation of the Holy Gospel. As the essence of this proclamation it is publicly testified to believers, "that God has really forgiven all their sins for the sake of Christ's merits, as often as they by true faith accept the promise of the Gospel."

This reformational conviction, namely that the sermon is a necessity, is firmly anchored in the Holy Scriptures. Recently C. Trimp correctly pointed out that the phenomena of the sermon is indissolubly tied to the way in which God deals with His people.⁴ During His work God has spoken. In the covenant He is the God who speaks and who meets the people with His Word. Hebrews 1:1 says that "in many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers" and that "in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son."⁵ In the second commandment the Lord reminds us that he does not reveal Himself through images, "but by the living preaching of His Word."⁶

At Sinai Israel did not see the figure of God, but heard His voice (Deuteronomy 4:12). Listening to that voice is the real point of the covenant (cf. Deu­teronomy 6:4; Exodus 19:5). Israel is finally exiled, because they did not listen to God's Word (cf. 2 Kings 17). When the Lord Jesus appeared on earth, it was once again — and now very decisively — a matter of listening. He preached the Gospel of the Kingdom (cf. Matthew 4:17). He urged people to listen to His words (cf. Matthew 7:24, 26). He declared the Father (cf. John 1:18) and revealed His name (cf. John 17:6).

And when He went to heaven, He gave His disciples the task of preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom (cf. Matthew 28:19; 24:14; Luke 24:47, 48). God is the speaking God and He extends His salva­tion to people in and through the proclamation of His Word. That has been the greatest discovery of the Reformation, "God required of His people no eye or hand religion, but an ear religion, and such lis­tening the Reformation taught us again. For the Word must 'im schwange gehen' (become fashion­able) Luther used to say."⁷

Herein lie the roots of the central place that the Reformers assigned to the sermon in the worship service. That the proclamation of the Gospel in the assembly of the congregation has such an important place, is also expressed in the New Testament. We read that the congregation at Jerusalem "devoted themselves to the Apostles' teaching" (Acts 2:42). Even though we need not restricts⁸ what is said here to worship only, it clearly concerns the worship service as well. The Apostles instructed the congre­gation further, and she let herself be taught.⁹

Also Acts 20:7 makes it clear that preaching occupies a central place in the assembly of the congregation. The congregation at Troas meets on the first day of the week "to break bread" and to listen to a speech by Paul. In this connection one can also point out the fact that the Apostolic letters were read to the congregation, according to Colossians 4:16.

This reading will have taken place during a meeting of the congregation and thus the instruction of the Apostles received a place in worship.

When the Catechism in Lord's Day 35 says that God does not want His Christians to be taught "by means of dumb images but by the living preaching of His Word," it is, therefore, in complete agreement with the Scriptures. The Lord wants to deal with us via His Word. It has pleased God through the folly of preaching to save those who believe (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:21).

3. The Character of the Sermon←⤒🔗

The Heidelberg Catechism in Lord's Day 25 views the preaching as a means of grace used by the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who works faith in our hearts through the proclamation of the Holy Gospel. The sermon fits within the larger framework of the appropriating work of the Holy Spirit. It is He who makes us "share in Christ and all His benefits" (cf. Lord's Day 20). It is the Spirit who imparts salva­tion to us. Behind the preaching we must see the Holy Spirit who takes it all out of Christ in order to proclaim it to us (cf. John 16:14).

Of ourselves we cannot lay hold of salvation. It must be given to us, appropriated and "mined" for us. This is precisely what the Holy Spirit does through the preaching of the Gospel. Paul summarizes this state of affairs when he calls the preaching "the dispensation of the Spirit." In the preaching the Holy Spirit is at work. In that way He works faith in our hearts (cf. Romans 10:14, 15) and connects us to Christ.

Many people object vehemently to the monologue character of the preaching. It is precisely this character that makes the sermon unsuitable as a means of communication for today. This character, however, is deeply rooted in the way in which the Lord deals with His people. He reveals Himself by speaking and this speaking of God has absolute priority in the covenant. To be sure, people may speak. There is prayer, confession and praise. This, however, can never be anything but an answer to what the Lord has said first. Before we may open our mouth, we first must have listened to the Lord in faith.

The monologue character of the sermon is also deeply rooted in the nature of salvation. We do not possess salvation of ourselves; we cannot fabricate it. Salvation comes from the outside; it must be told, proclaimed to us. And because of our evil, unbeliev­ing heart, it must be told us again and again. Man does not believe once and for all, but must time and time again submit himself to the Gospel (cf. the "as often" in Lord's Day 31!). Because of our sins, we must hear the Word again and again and that Word must capture us each time. Here Calvin's words apply: "For to the end, yea without end, we must be Christ's pupils."¹⁰

To be sure, the strictly monologue character of the sermon, as we know it in our churches, is a certain type of preaching that has developed in our Western culture over the centuries. In other cultures this form is often different, less strictly monologic. Preachers in these cultures respond to the reactions of their audience and often interact with these "inter­ruptions."

Even though the form is somewhat less of a monologue, what cannot be relinquished is the fact that someone, on behalf of God, announces salvation to me and calls me to believe and live out of it. K. Runia correctly calls this "the essential element of the sermon that cannot be given up."¹¹ Those who disparage the monologic character of the sermon, at bottom, do not understand the manner in which God wants to deal with His people, nor the nature of the salvation that comes to us from outside.

In our churches, the sermon is typified as the ministry of the Word of God (cf. Art. 16 of the Church Order). That is a modest and sober characterization. It is not so that in the sermon the Word of God is brought to life and is made current.¹² Hebrews 4:12 says: "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword..." And Paul calls the Gospel, "the power of God for salvation" (Romans 1:16).

In the preaching the Word of God is not brought to life, but the living and current Word is brought to the congregation. As a living reality it is placed in the midst of the congregation. For this ministry the Holy Spirit uses people. That means that the ministry is not infallible. The congregation must always listen in critical obedience. Paul calls the Thessalonians "to test everything; hold fast what is good." Only when the minister faithfully proclaims the Word of his Sender, may and must we bow before that Word without reservation.

The fact that the sermon is ministry of the Word, underlines the reality that the minister has to come on the pulpit with the Word. What the Lord has to say in a certain text must be brought out in the sermon. The text will have to be carefully explained, and it must never be forgotten that in each text all of Scripture resounds. God's Word is a unity. That is why the text is always a window on the whole of the Bible.

Because the sermon concerns the ministry of the Word, the minister must always exercise reserve with respect to the shaping of the message. The Word of God does not provide readymade answers to all current questions.¹³

The congregation also must test what is pleasing to the Lord in Christian responsibility (cf. Ephesians 5:10) and acknowledge what is the will of God (cf. Romans 12:2). When the minister goes too far in the application, his speaking lacks the authority of God's Word and he degrades the sermon to a vehicle for his own opinions. In this connection C. Trimp writes:

The gold of the Gospel and the law of Christ must also be given along in small change. No matter how deeply the preacher enters into everyday life, his words ought to remain transparent as words that make the content and power of the text visible. The congregation needs this and is entitled to it.¹⁴

The characterization of the sermon as ministry of the Word also contains the aspect of being atuned to the congregation and her present situation. After all, the Word is God's message to the congregation. And that congregation lives in the here and now. There is not only the text, taken from the Word, but there is also the context of the life of the congrega­tion. The sermon must do justice to that context, if it really wants to be ministry of the Word! This means that the needs and struggles of the congregation must be dealt with in the sermon. The sermon may not be "timeless." It must speak about the dangers that the congregation experiences.

In addition, the sermon must deal with the life of faith as described in the Holy Scriptures and the Reformed confessions. In this connection we can think of the Book of Psalms and the Canons of Dordt.¹⁵ The life of faith knows its struggles with tempta­tions, its degrees and growth. These matters may not be overlooked in the preaching. When people in certain Reformed Churches champion the cause of experiential preaching, purified of excesses, wherein attention is paid to the experience of faith, the work of the Holy Spirit in one's heart, and wherein guid­ance is given to the life of faith, then it must have our approval. Even though I would replace the expres­sion "experiential preaching" with "pastoral preach­ing." In such preaching man's heart is mentioned. However, that dark, lost sinner's heart is placed in the light of God's liberating and healing light. In this way the preaching will truly speak and be able to ad­monish, comfort and teach.

When the sermon responds to the need and struggle of the congregation, to the questions and difficulties of her faith, it undeniably shows dialogi­cal traits. Its basic structure remains monologic, but it contains dialogical moments. The sermon then does not just deal with timeless truths, but brings a message in the midst of the assailed life of the con­gregation.

4. The Content of the Sermon←⤒🔗

In Lord's Day 25 of the Catechism it is said that the Holy Spirit works faith in our hearts "by the preach­ing of the Gospel." I think that here we have a clear indication of what the content of the sermon must be. In the sermon the Gospel may and must be pro­claimed. Every time it’s basic tenor must be the an­gels' message to the shepherds: "I bring you good news of a great joy" (cf. Luke 2:10). In 2 Corinthians 5 Paul characterizes the preaching as "the ministry of reconciliation."

In the preaching, the central matter is the pro­clamation of the Gospel of the great acquittal. The essence of all that we preach about is that God for Christ's sake forgives us our guilt. This is brought out clearly in Lord's Day 31. Through the preaching, the Kingdom is opened, "when it is proclaimed and publicly testified to each and every believer that God has really forgiven all their sins."

This reformational conviction is in complete accordance with Scripture. The Saviour says "that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in His name to all nations" (cf. Luke 24:47). Zechariah combines the knowledge of salvation with the forgiveness of sins in his song (cf. Luke 1:77). Paul does the same in Colossians 1:13.

But even if the essence of preaching is the joyful message: "Son, your sins are forgiven," it does not end there. Round this centre lie many other ele­ments: further education in the doctrine, the refuta­tion of heresies, directions for daily life and admoni­tions and comfort.¹⁶

In this connection we may not forget the closing function of preaching. Lord's Day 31 also says that "the Kingdom is closed when it is proclaimed and testified to all unbelievers that the wrath of God and eternal condemnation rests on them." In the preach­ing the Kingdom is also closed for all who do not heartily repent. God's wrath must be proclaimed. The seriousness of serving God may not be missing from the preaching. For the congregation of the New Testament it also applies that God is an avenger (cf. Hebrews 10:30, 31). This preaching of judgment, however, takes place within the framework of the proclamation of the "good news of a great joy." It is striking that Lord's Day 31 says that the Kingdom is closed by the preaching of the Holy Gospel.

Also when the sermon speaks about God's wrath and the eternal judgment, it remains a message of great joy. Salvation comes first and from that salva­tion the warning sounds: "how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation" (Hebrews 2:3). Preach­ing, therefore, is always essentially the preaching of promises, central to it is the proclamation of the promise of forgiveness The Canons of Dort say in II, 5 that these promises must be proclaimed publicly "together with the command to repent and believe."

The congregation is no longer under law but under grace. This means that the preacher must make this grace sparkle and show it in all its riches. In other words, the congregation must know what has been given her in Christ. Each sermon must be Christ-preaching. That also applies to sermons on texts from the Old Testament. Paul says in Colos­sians 1:28 that he proclaims Christ, when he warns and teaches every man in all wisdom. In Christ we have been given everything. He is our justification and our sanctification (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:30), that is why the sermon must always be about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The sermon may not be legalistic; the congrega­tion may not leave the church building dejected. At all times she must be reminded how rich she is in the Lord Jesus and that she may and must live out of Him. The preacher is free in the choice of the text. No ecclesiastical assembly prescribes what texts he must choose.¹⁷ However, with respect to the content he is not free. All of Christ must be proclaimed. There may not be any one-sidedness. Everything the con­gregation possesses in Christ, must come to the fore in the preaching. According to Paul's example, the preacher must proclaim "the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27).

With approval I quote C. Trimp. He writes:

With conviction we choose for the freedom of text choice. In this way the independence of the office bearer, who is called to proclaim the whole counsel of God and who, also in view of current events, must bring the Word of God, is hon­oured. A fear for individualism and the threat of one-sidedness is greatly curtailed in Reformed  churches by the prescribed Catechism preach­ing. This compels the minister of the Word to explain the complete doctrine of the Word.¹⁸

5. The Form of the Sermon←⤒🔗

We have already seen that the apostle Paul calls the preaching "the ministry of the Spirit" in 2 Corinthi­ans 3. It is the Holy Spirit who works faith in our hearts by the proclamation of the holy Gospel. In this proclamation the Holy Spirit uses people. What is characteristic of the Holy Spirit is that He employs the whole man with all his gifts and abilities. Here we encounter the great responsibility of the prea­cher. He must let himself be used; he must want to be a complete servant of the Word.

This implies that he must take the greatest care in writing his sermon. Its monologue character is deeply rooted in God's speaking and in the nature of salvation. For those who want to honour this state of affairs, this character cannot be given up. That, however, does not mean that he does not do every­thing possible to assure that the message he brings really reaches his hearers. The sermon must be in good understandable English. It must be clear and easy to follow. A preacher who preaches "difficult" sermons has not meditated long enough on his text. The message has to be considered long enough in order that one is enabled to speak about it in clear words.

In our churches we still have thematic preach­ing. At the beginning of the sermon, the theme and points are given. In many denominations this prac­tice has been abandoned. It is considered too old fashioned and not suitable for our modern times. I do not say that it cannot be done in a different way. But thematic preaching has a long history and is well tested. The formulation of a theme with points, forces the preacher to bring the message of the text in clear and concise words. At the same time the con­gregation receives the opportunity to grasp the es­sence of what is to follow right from the start and keep it in mind as a point of orientation while listen­ing.

We can state that this manner, this approach, betrays a profound respect for the Word that the minister is about to bring. Precisely the formulation of the theme gives evidence of the fact that the minister himself and the congregation want to stick to the message of the text.

From a practical point of view the theme and points remain an excellent means for giving the sermon a transparent and easy to follow structure.¹⁹ It is a good thing that our theological seminary teaches a subject called homiletics (the art of preach­ing or writing sermons), in which proper attention is paid to composition, use of language and the pres­entation of the sermon.²⁰ As there are rules for con­versation, so there are also rules for sermon presen­tation. Speaking well requires a certain "ability."

Sermons in general are shorter today than they were in the past. That does not necessarily represent a loss. We have become more efficient and have less time for verbosity. It is also a well-known fact that modern man cannot listen for a long period of time anymore. In the shorter sermon, the message of the text can be presented quite well. It requires more effort in thinking the message through. If one wants to be more concise, then that which is to be said must be weighed more thoroughly. In the final analysis, how the minister does it is determined by the mes­sage he has to bring. Here as well, the Word disci­plines the official act. Rules of rhetoric do not have the last word, but everything must serve the Word with which Christ feeds His sheep.

6. In Conclusion←⤒🔗

The sermon is not only a matter of responsibility for the preacher. At its most profound level it is a mat­ter of responsibility for the consistory?²¹ The care of the congregation has been entrusted to the office ­bearers together. Article 30 of the Belgic Confession accentuates the fraternal aspect of church government?²² Office bearers never work independently but do everything together in collective responsibility. According to the Form for Ordination, one of the tasks of the elders is to supervise the preaching. The point "preaching" is an essential part on the agenda of a consistory meeting. At least once a year, the consistory must speak about the ministry of the Word and ascertain whether or not the whole counsel of God is proclaimed and whether or not the congregation is actually built up by the preaching.

Preaching is also a matter that concerns the congregation. In the first place, she must accept the proclaimed Word with "meekness" (cf. James 1:21). In the second place, she must "test" everything and "hold fast" what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Her listening must always be a scripturally — critical lis­tening. The congregation surrounds the ministry with her criticism.²³ She is not a voiceless multitude but stands in the riches of Pentecost, in which every­one is taught by God.

Even though she cannot react during the wor­ship service, conversation about the sermon with the minister belongs to the essential structure of the congregation. A minister who side steps this conver­sation, misunderstands the manner in which the office functions in the congregation of Christ. The congregation may require that the preaching be current and that it really builds her up.

In the third place, the congregation has to carry the preaching with her prayers. Paul emphatically requests the prayer of the congregation with respect to the work of proclamation (cf. Ephesians 6:19; 2 Thessalonians 3:1). The congregation may never forget that aspect. Members of the congregation must pray at home for this extremely important work of the minister of the Word. The office is in need of the prayers of the congregation. We must not only pray for the minister when we are ready to go to church, but especially during the week when he is busy writing his sermon.

He must choose the right text; he must do the necessary preparatory work; he must reverently consider what God says in the passage and he must put the message on paper in clear and correct Eng­lish. The congregation likes to hear good sermons. Let her not forget that here also "the Lord gives in the way of believing prayer!"