The Vital Role of Preaching in Salvation

I suggested last week that in verses 14 and 15 you have what is called the general proclamation of auor of the gospel and in verses 16 and 17 he deals with the question of how it becomes efficacious the general call the efficacious call the General call is made to all it is only efficacious or effective in the case of some and the Apostle here deals with those two aspects of the matter. [00:02:40]

There is only one adequate explanation and that is that God in his own inscrutable and mysterious manner is able to make this truth concerning the Lord Jesus Christ known to whomsoever he Wills whether they be infants Heathen adults whatever they are it doesn't matter nothing is impossible with God. [00:05:59]

God is all powerful and if God so chose he could cause food to rise from the ground immediately directly at any moment but God in his eternal wisdom hasn't chosen to do that what God has chosen to do is this that men should have plows and that they should plow the Earth and then that they should Harrow it and break it up they should sew the seed into it and then smooth it over and they do all that in the spring or perhaps even earlier but they don't get the Harvest they don't get the food until you're over in the Autumn God has chosen to work through means indirectly and in that manner. [00:08:34]

Preaching after all is that which has been ordained by God it is God who has ordained that through the foolishness of preaching the thing preached that men should be saved so he called Apostles and Prophets and evangelists and preachers and teachers pastors and teachers now why why why do I say that it is important for us to realize the truth concerning preaching as against reading. [00:17:03]

One that though the word is here before us and in a language that we can understand and though as Christians we have all received the Holy Spirit and he is in US it does not follow that we are therefore competent in and of ourselves without any Aid to arrive at a true knowledge and understanding of the word of God. [00:18:01]

Preaching is truth mediated through personality truth it must always be truth but mediated through personality what does that mean well it means this that God can use everything about the preacher in order to bring the truth home I say God can do so when the preacher tries to do so it is Thoroughly bad it's meretricious it's even worse but God can use everything pertaining to a man. [00:23:10]

There is something about the Gathering of the Saints which is very vital to preaching that is where the church is so important we're in danger of becoming uh individualists but you see the church is the pillar and ground of the truth and it is when the church is assembled together that the preaching is generally most effective. [00:25:12]

Application it's one thing to read it's a very different thing to apply the message to yourself we need application we need exort to Deliver Us from a mere intellectual theoretical academic interest in the truth and that is one of the greatest functions of the preacher and that is why men of course who read their sermons are d denying the very essence of preaching it is to be applied the whole time. [00:29:07]

The Bible we are told is the best seller in the world today but look at the state of the world the Bible's the best seller in Great Britain but look at Great Britain what's the point of saying it is the best seller there's something wrong somewhere yes and what is wrong is that people don't listen to preaching the possession of a Bible good though it is is not enough. [00:30:02]

Preaching first preaching is God's ordained method here it is how shall they hear without a preacher this is the way still reading supplementary a good supplement an excellent supplement but never a substitute that's the position it's when men substitute reading for preaching the disaster comes in but reading as a substitute a as a supplement to the preaching is of course excellent. [00:34:45]

Every Christian should be able to give the good news but that every Christian is not called upon to be a Herald any man who's a Christian should know the way of Salvation and should be able to tell another should be able as Peter puts it in one Peter in the third chapter to give a reason for the hope that is in him. [00:41:59]

We are all meant to be preachers in the sense of Acts 8:4 but what about the meaning of Acts 85 and the application here and in other instances which God willing I shall put before you very well we leave it at that and we'll take it up once more next week. [00:44:46]