Why is preaching the main event on Sunday morning? Why are prospective pastors given trial sermons? Just why does the Church place such a high priority on preaching? The simple answer is because God does. Prioritizing preaching is both theologically sound and missionally effective: these two cannot be separated. The work of the Church is to make disciples, which is an ongoing process rooted in a growing relationship with Christ. This means growing in the knowledge of the faith. Every healthy believer is to be ready to learn. Indeed, Scripture speaks of disciples having a desire to learn. See 1 Peter 1:23, Romans 1:16, and 1 Peter 2:2:
The Priority of Preaching
It makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? After all, we profess to love Jesus Christ more than anyone else. See Luke 14:26: “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.”
When we love someone we want to know as much about them as possible; we listen eagerly to stories of their childhood and revelations of their inner lives. How much more should we desire to hear about Jesus, and all things He had written down for us?
We can all read the Bible for ourselves, and we should read it regularly. However, there are some portions of Scripture that we may struggle to understand. There may be truths in Scripture we pass over without realizing. There may be times when we need help to accept the testimony of God’s Word. The younger we are in the faith the more help we will need, just as we need help with physical nourishment early in our lives. Even as adults we need help to feed ourselves from time to time, so even mature believers need assistance to grow in their understanding of the truth.
So, God has called and prepared a select few men to tend to the feeding of His flock. And He appointed one task as the primary means of distributing spiritual nourishment to His people. We call it preaching, and the Bible places an incredible emphasis on it.
See 2 Timothy 4:2: “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”
This is the last great charge of the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to Timothy in his work as pastor: and so, to all pastors. There are many things that we might expect to find here, but it is preaching that takes the primacy of place. Preaching was the regular means by which God communicated with His people throughout the Old Testament. See Hebrews 1:1: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,”
Christ began with preaching in Matthew 4:17: “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Preaching was the primary in His earthly ministry. See Luke 4:43: “And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.”
Christ also trained preachers and sent them out to preach. See Mark 16:15: “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
Preaching was the first Spirit-empowered act of the Church. See Acts 2:4,40:
- Acts 2:4: “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
- Acts 2:40: “And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.”
Preaching was a pillar of the earliest church. See Acts 2:42: “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” The apostles dedicated themselves to preaching, and to prayer above other services according to Acts 6:4: “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.”
Paul’s ministry was one of preaching, and this he commends to Timothy instructing that other preachers be raised up after him in 2 Timothy 2:2: “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”
This was evidently done, as the ministry of the proclamation and exposition of God’s word continued throughout the early church, was central in the Reformation, the Great Awakening, and held firmly wherever the church prevailed. This is all to be expected and upheld. See 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:21, Hebrews 4:12, and Psalm 119:89:
- 2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”
- 2 Peter 1:21: “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
- Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
- Psalm 119:89: “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.”
Preaching is a practical expression of our belief in the Word of God, and the work of the Holy Spirit through it. It is for this reason that preaching is held as a primary means of grace within the church. God’s Word is proclaimed, and exposited, by a man of His own choosing. All throughout the Book of Acts, God worked through preaching, and the Bible expects He will continue to do so according to Romans 10:14: “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?”
Church history demonstrates beyond all reasonable doubt that God indeed still works through this means of grace. We can see it in the history of true revivals from the Reformation, to the Great Awakening, to the most contemporary example.
- J. C. Ryle: “There is no office so honorable as that of the preacher. There is no work so important to the souls of men. It is an office which the Son of God was not ashamed to take up. It is an office to which He appointed His twelve apostles. It is an office to which Paul in his old age specially directs Timothy’s attention. He charges him with almost his last breath to “preach the word.” It is the means which God has always been pleased to use above any other, for the conversion and edification of souls. The brightest days of the Church have been those when preaching has been honored. The darkest days of the Church have been those when it has been lightly esteemed. Let us honor the sacraments and public prayers of the Church, and reverently use them. But let us beware that we do not place them above preaching.”
- Charles Spurgeon: “The preaching of Christ is the whip that flogs the devil. The preaching of Christ is the thunderbolt, the sound of which makes all hell shake.”
- Montgomery Boice: “Preaching is that wise means of God by which the wisdom of the world is shown to be foolishness, and the folly of the gospel, as the world conceives it, is shown to be true wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:21).”
Preaching is an inherently authoritative act, and that does not always sit well with people who are accustomed to relativistic value systems. Some have argued that preaching is outdated and needs to be replaced with something more acceptable to modern society. “Preaching will not be heard anymore,” they will say; but Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit anticipated this objection in 2 Timothy 4:3-4: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
Paul is actually saying to the young preacher, “preach because people will not listen.” Isaiah and Jeremiah were similarly commissioned. To move away from preaching is to weaken our understanding of the authority of Scripture, which is to call into question our knowledge of God. To raise dialogue into the place of preaching makes human reason the grand arbiter of truth, and subjects God’s revelation to human authority.
Put simply, removing preaching in favor of something less overtly authoritative sends the wrong message.
There is a place for dialogue in our churches. But the place of preaching must be preserved, and reserved for this particular ministry of the Word. We have seen how it is theologically necessary, but there is also a very practical benefit in the life of the church.
The primacy of preaching is practical in shepherding the local church. Consider in restoring and commissioning Peter Jesus thrice commands him to feed His sheep in John 21:15-17: “So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.”
The words vary to encompass the full scope of pastoral ministry, while retaining an emphasis on the careful provision of sustenance to the sheep. The Lord might have said first to lead, and then to feed, and then to care for the sheep. The Lord might have emphasized any aspect of ministry He wished, but He wished most to have His sheep well-fed. It is not difficult to see why the emphasis of the passage, and of all Scripture, falls firmly on preaching.
Firstly, without nourishment, there can be no strength to go on, and so leading is impossible, and care has already failed. The feeding must come first then, as it is the beginning of caring and a prerequisite to leading. We might add that a mal-nourished soul will be weak when attacked. Indeed, the starving soul will be most easily lured away by the offer of good food. One cannot protect what he has not cared for.
Second, sheep and people follow most willingly the one who can nourish them. In feeding the sheep on the milk and meat of the Word of God through preaching, a man demonstrates both caring and understanding. He demonstrates his ability to lead according to God’s direction. If the preacher handles the Word well in the pulpit we can trust him more easily in the counseling room, at the dinner table, and at the bedside.
Thirdly, feeding is, as has been said, the first step in caring for the sheep. To neglect preaching in favor of any other ministry activity is to undermine all other activities. Also, if the sheep are not properly fed, what confidence can anyone have that they would be well cared for in any other way?
So, even from a purely practical perspective preaching should be the priority in ministry. It is the most effective activity in the life of the church. It reaches the most people and in the most important ways.
Before we go any further, we must clarify the point we have sought to make in this section. Ministry does not end with preaching, but it must begin with preaching. Where preaching is neglected, no amount of activity will fill its place or make up its absences. Where preaching is strong many other deficits are overcome.
To this, a man who excels at preaching ought to be forgiven for many weaknesses. Nevertheless, even the best preacher cannot be forgiven for negligence in the responsibilities of leading and caring for the flock beyond preaching. That is, a pastor must follow preaching with diligence in prayer, and teaching, and must be ready to undertake counseling, discipleship, and visitation as needed.
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