Cowper on Paul on Preaching (7)
I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 2 Timothy 4.1, 2
…conscious of his awful charge,
And anxious mainly that the flock he feeds
May feel it too; affectionate in look
And tender in address, as well becomes
A messenger of grace to guilty men. (William Cowper, The Task)
We are considering the context within which preachers carry out their “awful charge”, as Cowper put it, of proclaiming the Word of God. We saw that, first of all, the preacher must be always mindful of the fact that this is God’s Word which he handles in God’s Presence by the power of God’s Spirit and unto God’s glory through the proclamation of Jesus Christ. This is the vertical context of our preaching and teaching.
The horizontal context of preaching consists of four components.
The Kingdom and the Church. Preaching is about building the Church and advancing the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (v. 1).
Consciousness of sin. The people who sit to hear the Word of God proclaimed are sinners, some saved by grace and certain of it, some saved but not sure, some not saved but thinking themselves saved, some not saved and knowing they are not saved, some not knowing one way or another where they stand with the Lord. The ministry of the Word is to sinners.
Mindfulness of the times. The preacher must have a keen sense of the times in which he ministers. Like the sons of Issachar (1 Chron. 12.32), he will only know what the people of God should do, whether as individuals or a congregation, and therefore how to instruct them, as he understands the times in which they live and the dangers and opportunities they are likely to confront.
The imminent return of Christ. Finally, the horizontal context in which preaching goes forth may at any moment be interrupted and concluded by the imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ (v. 1). Jesus is coming again, and Paul, like the apostles Peter and John (cf. 2 Pet. 3; 1 Jn. 2), exhorts his preacher to keep his flock mindful of this fact.
Preachers should have little difficulty keeping the horizontal context of preaching in mind. But we will have to work diligently to focus our preaching along this axis so that, as the “messenger of grace to guilty men”, we might effectively equip and prepare them to live for Christ amid the vicissitudes and particulars of their everyday lives.
Resources for being and making disciples
What is the role of preaching in the work of making disciples? Surely, as we focus on the horizontal context of preaching, we should have specific discipleship aims in mind. This is the subject of this week’s conversation with Dr. Mike McQueen. Listen in as I talk with Mike McQueen on the topic of “Disciples and Disciple-Making”.
Other columns of interest: This week: In our ReVision column we finish our consideration of important questions that we as church leaders must answer, and we begin a new series looking at the role of reason in faith. Our Read Moore podcast pursues readings from our book, The Joy and Rejoicing of My Heart. Our Crosfigell teaching letter is considering a series on spiritual poetry of the Celtic Revival. And in our daily Scriptorium column we are working through Matthew 16. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
The Ailbe Bookstore: At The Ailbe Bookstore, download a free copy of our book, Pray for Your Church. Here are 35 prayers to use and share which cover all aspects of the life and ministry of the local church. Use them yourself, share them with your group, or print them in your bulletin. Help the people you lead so that they can pray more effectively and consistently for your church. You might also order copies of two books to help in understanding the times: Winds of Doctrine and Understanding the Times.
Resources for Shepherds: How do the life and work of your church compare with what we see in the New Testament and the Early Church? Watch this brief video, then download the ReThinking Church Appraisal Tool.
From the Celtic Revival
Spiritual Poetry of the Celtic Revival
Hearken, all you lovers of God, to the holy merits
of a man blessed in Christ, the bishop Patrick:
how through his good deeds he is like the angels,
and on account of his perfect life is made equal to the apostles.
– Sechnall, Audite Omnes Amantes
Celtic Christians understood the power of poetry. A good portion of the literature extant from the period of the Celtic Revival (ca. 430-800 AD, and a little beyond) is in the form of poems. Celtic poets understood that all people, especially all believers, should receive poetry and read and contemplate it until, like Jacob wrestling the angel, it releases its blessing to their souls.
The opening line of the first Christian hymn written in Ireland—Audite Omnes Amantes—is simply, “Hearken, all you lovers of God…” A poem is coming. A long poem, celebrating the greatness of Patrick and his faithful work. And I’m going to sing it, or at least, you will receive it in all its rhythm and movement and images (“fish with nets of doctrine”, “precious talents of the Gospel”, “heavenly feasts”, etc.), which are crafted to impact your soul with admiration, wonder, and undying respect and gratitude for the man under whose ministry the Celtic Revival began.
Yes, it takes a poem to get our attention for something as significant as that.
You can read the first two installments in this 30-part series by clicking here and here.
Resources from the Celtic Revival (ca. 430-800 AD)
What was the Celtic Revival? What made it “Celtic”? In what sense was it a “reviva”l? Why should we care about this ancient period? These and more questions can be answered by downloading a free copy of The Celtic Revival: A Brief Introduction at The Ailbe Bookstore. For an overview of what Celtic Christians believed, order a free PDF copy of The Theology of the Celtic Revival.
T. M. Moore
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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
