In the book Between Two Worlds: The Art of Preaching in the Twentieth Century by John R.W. Stott, Stott gives, what he calls, the “Theological Foundation for Preaching.” Stott, an Evangelical, provides noteworthy information for both the preacher and church.
Preachers must have a conviction about God. Three affirmations about God are necessary: God is, God has acted and God has spoken to reveal Himself to man. Therefore, what God has spoken is imperative!
Preachers must have a conviction about Scripture. This includes three things: (1) Scripture is God’s Word written. (2) God still speaks through what He has spoken. His Word is still relevant and applicable to us today. (3) God’s Word is powerful. It is able to accomplish what God intended for it to accomplish in man.
Preachers must have a conviction about the church. The church is the creation of God by His Word. The church did not give us the Bible nor is it the authority behind truth; it is, however, the total number of redeemed following the Bible. Furthermore, God “maintains and sustains it, directs and sanctifies it, reforms and renews it through the same Word.”
Preachers must have a conviction about preaching. Preaching is expounding the sacred text. This type of preaching has benefits: (1) It sets us limits. It restricts us to the sacred text, not secular literature or our own opinions. (2) It demands integrity. “Not everybody is persuaded of this,” says Stott. “It is commonly said that the Bible can be made to mean anything one wants – which is true ONLY if one lacks integrity.” The Scriptures must be allowed to interpret themselves – each one throwing light on the other, pulling out of the text only what it teaches. (3) It identifies the pitfalls we must avoid at all costs – two of these being forgetfulness and disloyalty. “The forgetful expositor loses sight of his text by going off on a tangent and following his own fancy. The disloyal expositor appears to remain with his text, but stains and stretches it into something quite different from its original and natural meaning.” (4) It gives us confidence to preach. Since preachers are expounding God’s Word with integrity and honesty, they can be very bold and “speak as the oracles of God” (1 Peter 4:11).
Works Cited
Stott, John R.W. W.B. Between Two Worlds: The Art of Preaching in the Twentieth Century. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982.
