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NASB | 2 Corinthians 3:12 ¶ Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 2 Corinthians 3:12 ¶ Since we have such a [glorious] hope and confident expectation, we speak with great courage, |
Bible Question: I am a minister. How does a preacher strike a balance in his preaching when concerned about people who will likely not understand a sermon on some theological topic and people who need to hear that sermon? |
Bible Answer: Dear Angies, It is a blessing to hear this heart cry regarding preaching. There are so many things that you could have asked, but instead you express the concern of one who seeks to feed and tend the sheep that belong to our Lord. Many read these posts, so I can assure you that many will be praying for you as you seek to expose the truth of the Word of God. Your struggle is an understandable one, and a common one for anyone who preaches. Any given set of people assembled to hear a sermon come from quite a varied background. The language and terms you can use for blue-collar people will differ from those that you can use for white-collar people. It also varies on other demographic considerations. It will also vary depending on the instruction that they have already received in the Word. Finally, it will vary depending on the spiritual maturity of your hearers. I believe that your responsibility is to take all of these factors into account. You want to hit a point that can be understood, but that will also cause your hearers to stretch. In other words, it isn't just a matter of simple accommodation. By the same token, I am made mindful of the fact that the Roman Church used to argue that they needed paintings and statuary in order to teach the truth of the Bible to a people too unlearned to understand anything else. John Calvin, typically hitting the heart of the problem, responded that if the church had been doing what it was supposed to do, the people would not have been unlearned. Hence, the Reformational movement to bring education to the people, specifically so that they could understand the truths of the Bible! It has always fascinated me that in a sound hermeneutic one must stave off the tendency to apply the truth of the Word as long as possible. We cannot apply what we do not understand. However, in preaching, we must expose the truth with the soul objective of bringing it to bear on the lives of those to whom we preach. I was reading John Owen recently. Application, he said, is the preacher's highway from the head to the heart. The skill to apply God's truth appropriately in preaching comes most powerfully from those who apply God's truth most powerfully to their own lives! I would commend you to a sermon by John MacArthur, warning of a watered down sermon: http://www.reformationtheology.com/2006/08/the_devastating_consequences_o.php You might also want to read the following on how the Puritans preached. In Christian history they are, I believe, some of the few who fully sought to preach simply and clearly the full truth of Scripture: http://www.the-highway.com/Puritans_Hulse.html I don't think there is any simple answer to your question. However, I think that your desire to do the work of a preacher originates from the heart of God. With diligence, study, and practice, I am certain that the Holy Spirit will empower your efforts. In Him, Doc "A man preacheth that sermon only well unto others which preacheth itself in his own soul. And he that doth not feed on and thrive in the digestion of the food which he provides for others will scarce make it savoury unto them; yea, he knows not but the food he hath provided may be poison, unless he have really tasted of it himself. If the word do not dwell with power in us, it will not pass with power from us." --John Owen "I came to this resolved principle, that I would preach wholly and altogether sound and wholesome words, without affectation of wit and vanity of eloquence... I... have preached what I thought was truly edifying, either for conversion, or bringing them up to eternal life." --Thomas Goodwin "A crucified style best suits the preachers of a crucified Christ... Prudence will choose words that are solid, rather than florid... Words are but servants to matter. An iron key, fitted to the wards of the lock, is more useful than a golden one that will not open the door to the treasures... Prudence will cast away a thousand fine words for the one that is apt to penetrate the conscience and reach the heart." --John Flavel "The preacher's task, in other words, is to display Christ, to explain man's need of Him, His sufficiency to save, and His offer of Himself in the promises as Saviour to all who truly turn to Him; and to show as fully and plainly as he can how these truths apply to the congregation before him." --J. I. Packer |
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Questions and/or Subjects for 2 Cor 3:12 | Author | ||
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angies | ||
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DocTrinsograce |