In this article I want to draw on Old and New Testament examples and in­structions to show that preaching was the primary means of communicating the Word of God throughout biblical times, and that these models and this method ought to direct preaching in the church today.

The Prophets⤒🔗

The prophets of the Old Testament were, first and foremost, forceful preach­ers of God's truth. Men such as Elijah and Elisha, Isaiah and Jeremiah, and Ezekiel and Daniel fearless­ly proclaimed God's word in the city and country, before nations and kings. They preached with the convic­tion that they were bringing the Word of God to his peo­ple (Hosea 4:1, Joel 1:1); they knew they had to pro­claim it no matter what it cost them (Jeremiah 1:7-8, 17-19). In their role as prophets they pointed forward to a great­er prophet who was going to come. The Lord promised this person through Mo­ses:

I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command them.Deuteronomy 18:18

These words were fulfilled in the prophetic ministry of the Lord Jesus.

The Ministry of Jesus←⤒🔗

Jesus opened his min­istry on earth in the syn­agogue at Nazareth by quoting the words of Isai­ah: "The Spirit of the sov­ereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor" (Luke 4:18f, Isaiah 61:1­3). From that time on Je­sus made preaching the primary work of his ministry (Matthew 4:17). He preached in the synagogues, from Pe­ter's fishing boat, on a mountainside, and to his disciples as they walked from town to town. His preaching was popu­lar with the common people and even his critics had to admit; "No one ever spoke the way this man does." (John 7:46).

Someone might object that Jesus also performed many miracles. Yet Jesus urged those who heard him to concen­trate on his words rather than his deeds. He warned the crowd of 5000 he had fed saying; "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eter­nal life, which the Son of Man will give you" (John 6:27). He rebuked the Jews for their constant hankering after signs, directing them instead to the preached word; "This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgement with this generation and con­demn it, for they repented at the preach­ing of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here" (Luke 11:29, 32). After he had healed many in Capernaum the crowds came searching for him. "Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they ex­claimed; 'Everyone is looking for you!' Jesus replied, let us go somewhere else – to the nearby villages – so I can preach there also. That is why I have come" (Mark 1:35-39). John explains that Je­sus' miracles were "signs" proving he was the person he claimed to be, con­firming his words, and calling people to "believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God" (John 20:30-31). His miracles were secondary; his primary work was preaching the gospel of the kingdom.

The Disciples and Apostles←⤒🔗

Jesus wanted his disciples to pursue this same task. While still with them "he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick" (Luke 9:2). These miracles had the same role in the ministry of the disciples as they did in the ministry of their Lord – they were signs confirming the message preached. As he was about to leave them Jesus charged them to be witnesses of Him. His last great commission to His Church was to evangelise the world. The apostles were to make disciples of all nations by preaching the good news to all nations (cf. Matthew 28:18 and Luke 24:47). This was the Lord's strategy for His Church in communicating the message to the world. "From the very beginning the Church was a preaching church."¹

We see this emphasis on preaching throughout the book of Acts. The Apos­tle Peter preached the first sermon of the New Testament church and in re­sponse three thousand people were add­ed to the church that day. Many years later Peter explained that these New Testament believers had "been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and en­during word of God... And this is the word that was preached to you" (1 Peter 1:23, 25). When the Jewish authorities arrested Peter and John and warned them against speaking or preaching in the name of Jesus they responded; "We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20). They were released but later were arrested again and once more were forbidden to preach – but continued on.

Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.Acts 5:42

Nor did the Apostles want to be dis­tracted from this task. In these early days of the church they outlined their priori­ties when they gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables." They advised the church to appoint seven men to concentrate on a ministry to the poor and widows so they could give their attention "to prayer and the ministry of the word" (Acts 6:4). Martyn Lloyd-Jones, in his superb book Preaching and Preach­ers, comments:

Now there the priori­ties are laid down once and for ever. This is the primary task of the Church, the primary task of the leaders of the Church, the people who are set in this position of authority; and we must not allow any­thing to deflect us from this, however good the cause, however great the need.²

Significant preachers of the early church include Stephen who spoke in such a way that those arguing with him "could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by which he spoke" (Acts 6:10) and Philip who "went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there" (Acts 8:4). Yet the most influen­tial preacher of this period was the Apos­tle Paul. Writing to the Corinthians he outlined the priority of his ministry, "Christ did not send me to baptise, but to preach the gospel" (1 Corinthians 1:17). This was an urgent obligation: "Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel" (1 Corinthians 9:16). The Apostle was ut­terly convinced that God had set him apart from birth and called him to preach Christ to the Gentiles (Galatians 1:15­-16). To the Christians in Rome he could write: "I am so eager to preach the gos­pel also to you who are at Rome. I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes" (Romans 1:15-­16). It was this conviction that drove him in his ministry, that took him around the Mediterranean and through Asia Minor, that motivated him to preach whenever and wherever he could – in synagogues, market places, and a lecture hall; in pri­vate homes, on the steps of Roman bar­racks, and at the Areopagus in Athens.

Preaching the gospel was, for Paul, not only an inescapable duty. It was a divine obligation. It was the raison d'être of his ministry, the thing he was born to do in the purpose of God.³

Roman Catholics and Mystics←⤒🔗

In emphasising the preaching of the Word we are clearly distinguishing ourselves from current trends in many evangelical churches where the move is away from preaching towards other more 'contemporary' and 'relevant' means of communication. In re­sponse we must point out that preaching the Word of God has been commanded and practiced through both the Old and New Testament pe­riods and has been powerfully used by the Lord.

A stress on preaching is also in contrast to the Roman Catholic church and its focus on the sacraments as the primary means of grace. They believe that the sacra­ments work ex opere operato, that is, they work in and of themselves, having a power of their own. This is in opposi­tion to the protestant belief that the sac­raments only convey spiritual benefit when they are accompanied by true faith. The practical effect of the Roman Catho­lic doctrine of the sacraments is to down­play the role of the Bible and its preach­ing in the church. Many Roman Catho­lics believe they receive all the grace they need simply by attending mass – there­fore they do not need to read the Bible or hear a sermon. With the Reformers, however, we insist that the Word of God is the chief means of grace, not the sac­raments. There is, of course, no conflict or rivalry between the ministry of the Word and the sacraments: Both are "in­tended to focus our faith on the sacri­fice of Jesus Christ on the cross as the only ground of our salvation."⁴

The mes­sage of the gospel is illustrated and con­firmed through the ministry of the sacra­ments. However, the sacraments, administered on their own, apart from the con­text of biblical preaching, the sacraments "can become dumb ceremonies and magical rites, breeding grounds for blas­phemy and superstition."⁵

This accent on preaching also stands in contrast to the mystics who put the weight on inner spiritual experience and private revelations received directly from God quite apart from the Bible. Present-day examples of this mysticism can be found in pentecostal and charismatic cir­cles. There it is not uncommon to hear a person or a pastor claim; "God spoke to me", or "God gave me this word of prophecy". The claim to direct and private revelations attacks the sufficiency of the Bible as the Word of God and casts doubt on the necessity of preaching. If a person can receive the word of God im­mediately and personally why should he bother to read the Bible or hear a ser­mon? In his mind it is far better to hear God directly rather than through the use of means. The Scriptures, however, op­pose such mysticism by emphasising the sufficiency of the Bible, assuring us that it is profitable for "teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Conclusion←⤒🔗

In the face of the widespread ne­glect of preaching in favour of novel­ties amongst evangelical Christians, the mass amongst Roman Catholics, and prophecies amongst charismat­ics, we must hold to the biblical em­phasis on the Word of God written in the Scriptures and preached by God-appointed ambassadors. This Word directs those who hear to the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3).