by Mike Willis
Synopsis: Preaching was an essential part of worship assemblies in the New Testament church. Renouncing the denominational emphasis on entertainment, let us reaffirm our commitment to hearing and obeying heaven’s message.
The worship of the New Testament church is not formally described, as are the sacrifices of the Old Testament (i.e., the burnt offering, Lev. 1:3-17; the meal-offering, Lev. 2:1-16; the peace offering, Lev. 3:1-17; the sin offering, Lev. 4:1-5:13; etc.). Nevertheless, from the materials in Acts and the Pauline epistles, we can learn how God wants men to worship.
Acts 2:42 describes what the New Testament church did in its assemblies: “They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). The “apostles’ doctrine” (or teaching) is the part played by preaching in the assemblies described in verse 42. The church at Troas met on the first day of the week to break bread and to hear preaching: “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight” (Acts 20:7).
The worship assembly is under discussion in 1 Corinthians 11-14. This text speaks about the role that women play in public worship, the Lord’s supper, and then the part that preaching plays, as conflicts had arisen regarding tongue-speaking and prophecy, both of which focus on teaching the apostolic doctrine in the public assemblies. The reading and studying of Paul’s inspired letters were a part of the worship of the early saints (Col. 4:16). Three of the Pauline letters, 1-2 Timothy and Titus, were designed to give instruction to preachers in the local church; many texts describe the evangelist’s need to adhere to sound doctrine (1 Tim. 1:3; 4:16; 6:3, 17-20).
Preaching is the means of instructing Christians in what it means to be a Christian. Being a Christian starts with a belief in God and His work through Jesus to redeem man from his sins (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16). After conversion, a Christian continues to reshape his life into conformity to the image of Christ (Rom. 6:11-17). The means of learning what it is to live for Christ (and to live like Christ) occurs through the preaching of God’s word, i.e., the apostolic doctrine. Therefore, the preaching that occurs in the local worship assemblies is designed to effect the result of leading people to Christ and bring newborn Christians to maturity.
Paul instructed Timothy saying, “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Tim. 4:2). Let us think about the things required by this admonition. The word ephistēmi (“be ready”) means “to be present in readiness to discharge a task, fix one’s mind on, be attentive to” (BDAG, 418). “Hence the meaning here seems to be that the Christian minister must always be on duty. He must take every opportunity to serve, whether the occasion seems opportune or not” (Guthrie, 185).
This involves preaching all of the word, not just those things that are gladly received. Paul said to the Ephesian elders, “I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house” (Acts 20:20). (Who wants a doctor who would not tell him that he was sick because it might hurt his feelings even though he was in the initial stages of a treatable disease?) The Lord’s word should be preached “in season and out of season,” “eukairos akairos are a paired wordplay on the word kairos.Eukairos) (Mark 14:11) designates a time or season (kairos) that is ‘good’ (eu-) or ‘convenient.’ Akairos (a NT hapax) designates a time or season that is ‘not’ (a-) good or “inconvenient” (Knight, 453).
Popular preaching frequently has very little biblical content. Please note that even the media described the message of Joel Osteen as a “cotton candy” gospel. The preacher needs to remember that what he preaches is reliable only to the extent that it aligns with what is revealed in God’s word. The reason one has for changing his way of life to what is being preached is that it rests on “God’s command.” An anecdote may stir the emotions of one’s heart or illustrate a spiritual principle (such as Jesus’s parables did), but should only be used as they illustrate or emphasize the Bible commandments. One should be careful to keep God’s word front and center. Emotionally stimulating anecdotes and illustrations should not dominate the sermon to the point that one remembers the illustration instead of the word of God, which it was re-enforcing.
The word elegchō (“convict” [KJV]; “convince” [KJV]) means “to bring a person to the point of recognizing wrongdoing, convict, convince someone of something” (BDAG, 315). The preacher should preach about sin so explicitly that the audience understands and recognizes the sinful conduct, is given biblical evidence of God’s disapproval of the behavior, and other supporting evidence for why a person should abstain from that behavior (whether that be abortion, homosexuality, fornication, lascivious behavior, dressing immodestly, drinking or using intoxicating substances [beverages or drugs], etc.).
The word epitimaō (rebuke) means “to express strong disapproval of someone, rebuke, reprove, censure also speak seriously, warn in order to prevent an action or bring one to an end” (BDAG, 384). Paul’s rebuke of the Corinthian fornicator illustrates how specifically sin sometimes must be rebuked (1 Cor. 5:1-11). Not all sinners have the same disposition and attitude, so sometimes a more gentle approach is better. “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted” (Gal. 6:1). A church that tolerates sin in their midst falls under the same rebuke as Jesus gave to the churches of Pergamum and Thyatira (Rev. 2:14, 20-24).
The word parakaleō (“exhort”) means “to urge strongly, appeal to, urge, exhort, encourage” (BDAG, 765). Christians face the same trials, temptations, and discouragements that are common to all men. Sometimes one’s soul needs to be encouraged. Passages such as 1 Corinthians 15:58, Philippians 1:18-23; 4:3-13, and Ephesians 4:17-32 come to one’s mind. Exhortations and encouragements should not be neglected or minimized in importance; indeed, this kind of preaching constitutes a large percentage of solid biblical preaching fitted to the needs of the assemblies gathered for worship.
Paul modifies his instruction with a prepositional phrase with two objects: “with all longsuffering and teaching.” “Longsuffering” (makrothumia) comes from a compound word made up of two words: makros (long) and thumos (temper); it signifies a “state of being able to bear up under provocation, forbearance, patience toward others” (BDAG, 612). We sometimes speak of someone who is “short-tempered” but do not use its opposite, “long-tempered,” in English, but if we did, it would pick up the basic meaning of the word. The evangelist must be patient in trying circumstances. “Teaching” (didachē) is “the activity of teaching, instruction” (BDAG, 241). If conduct is corrected without instruction, the root cause of the problem is not completely addressed. The modifying adjective “all” (pas) signifies that the kind of instruction that works with one individual or group may differ from that needed by another, dependent upon the individual’s or congregation’s background, what is occurring in the congregation at the time, and their respective personalities.
May God bless every evangelist in his work. May one’s motives be pure and his conduct be holy so that his imperfections do not distract from the message.
Arndt, William, et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (BDAG). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.
Guthrie, Donald. Pastoral Epistles: An Introduction and Commentary; Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 1964.
Knight, George W. The Pastoral Epistles: A Commentary on the Greek Text; New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1992.
