Posted by Mr .Don on September 10, 2006 at 14:38:19
Relating to what was being discussed on Journeys thought I'd post one of the papers we studied in Homiletics. It is written by Haddon Robinson who is regarded as on the the best preachers today. We used one of his books as some of our required reading. It's always amazing how scripture was misused in TF, but seeing some the misuse in the "System" was very interesting.
Expository Preaching Reflects Exegesis and Hermeneutics
(Robinson, H. W. 1999. Making a difference in preaching. Grand Rapids: Baker Books.)
Since effective expository preaching deals largely with explanation and application of Scripture, it reflects exegesis and hermeneutics on every hand. For one thing, the theme of the sermon should develop from the thought of the Bible. Every Sunday, ministers claiming high regard for the Scriptures preach on texts whose ideas they either do not understand or have not bothered to study.
Misuse of Scripture in Preaching
Matthew 18:19-20
Scores of sermons on prayer have been based on the wording of Matthew 18:19 and 20:
[Jesus} 19"I also tell you this: If two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. 20For where two or three gather together because they are mine, I am there among them." Matthew 18:19-20 [NLT]
At first glance, Jesus endorses prayer offered in groups of two or three and promises that if Christians agree together about a prayer request they bind the Father in heaven to do it. Good sense, if nothing else, would drive us to scrutinize the context of those verses (If two or three Christian Dallas Cowboys fans agree to ask God for victory in an upcoming game and a few Christians on the opposing team pray for a cowboy defeat, which group is God bound to answer?).
Actually, Jesus’ words here have little to do with the subject of prayer but instead with how sinning Christians should be restored. In the immediate context, the two or three does not refer to a small group prayer meeting but to the witnesses summoned in verse 16:
15"If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the fault. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. 16But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses.
Matthew 18:15-16 [NLT]
All that Jesus says, therefore, applies to Christians dealing with someone who has sinned. In battling for the inspiration of individual words of Scripture we sometimes forget that words are merely “semantic markers for a field of meaning.” Particular statements must be understood within the broader thought of which they are a part or what we may teach may not be God's word at all.
Colossians 3:15a
15And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. Col. 3:15 [NLT]
Many sermons on “How to Know the Will of God” have been developed from this verse. They advance the thesis that “Inward peace gives assurance of God’s direction in our decisions.” This verse is offered in support of that idea and often the preacher provides a word study of braxzeo “to rule” or “to umpire.” Christ’s peace, the sermon goes, serves as a referee who “calls” each decision we make. When a Christian lives within God’s will, he experiences peace which “surpasses all understanding.” Through this peace the referee, Christ, affirms our correct decisions. Should Christians make wrong choices, they will experience inner anxiety – a sign that they have stepped out of God’s will.
Such an approach has the ring of exposition. It focuses on the Greek text and sounds extremely practical. Unfortunately it is not Biblical. A reading of the context reveals that Paul is not talking about decision making, but instead about how Christians should relate to one another. Look at the context:
13You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
Col. 3:13-15 [NLT]
The “peace of Christ” which is talked about here is not inward peace of the soul, but rather, peace with one another as the context clearly shows. Using Colossians 3:15 to preach on God's guidance ignores completely the idea the apostle intended. When sermons proceed from such a cavalier handling of the Bible, they divorce sound hermeneutics from homiletics.
Psalm 11:3
The common practice of using a single verse or fragment of the verse as the text can be blamed for leading many preachers away from the intended meaning of the biblical writer. For instance, ministers calling people back to God, to the foundations of faith or to a lost morality, have posed the question found in Psalm 1:13:
The foundations of law and order have collapsed. What can the righteous do? Psalm 11:3 [NLT]
The question appears rhetorical. Without the foundations of law and order the righteous can do nothing all. Yet the question apparently comes from friends who speak as enemies of God. They ask in desperation, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do but give up?” In the second part of the song, however, David replies that righteous men and women have splendid options open to them. Their faith does not depend upon the foundations but instead on the Sovereign God who judges both the wicked and the righteous. Look at the verse in its context:
11:1For the choir director: A psalm of David.
I trust in the LORD for protection.
So why do you say to me,
"Fly to the mountains for safety!
2The wicked are stringing their bows
and setting their arrows in the bowstrings.
They shoot from the shadows at those who do right.
3The foundations of law and order have collapsed.
What can the righteous do?"
4But the LORD is in his holy Temple;
the LORD still rules from heaven.
He watches everything closely,
examining everyone on earth.
5The LORD examines both the righteous and the wicked.
He hates everyone who loves violence.
6He rains down blazing coals on the wicked,
punishing them with burning sulfur and scorching winds.
7For the LORD is righteous, and he loves justice.
Those who do what is right will see his face.
Psalm 11:1-7 [NLT]
While sermons taking off from the question in verse 3 may offer stirring pleas to secure the foundations both in the church and society, they're not Biblical. In fact, such preaching proceeds from a methodology that itself undermines the foundation of biblical thought.
One more example:
I Corinthians 2:9
Who hasn’t attended a funeral where the preacher waxed eloquent about the glories of heaven and how we cannot even imagine the beauties and wonders that God has in store for us in that eternal home? A popular verse quoted during such a message is I Cor. 2:9:
9That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
for those who love him."
1 Cor. 2:9 [NLT]
This New Testament verse actually comes from the Old Testament:
3When you came down long ago, you did awesome things beyond our highest expectations. And oh, how the mountains quaked! 4For since the world began, no ear has heard, and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him! 5You welcome those who cheerfully do good, who follow godly ways.
But we are not godly. We are constant sinners, so your anger is heavy on us. How can people like us be saved? Isaiah 64:3-5 [NLT]
If we, as Christians, want to quote the Old Testament, then well and good. But, are we on solid footing when the New Testament writers have taken an Old Testament scripture and then expanded upon it? Revelation is progressive and as it is unfolded more in the New Testament than the Old, we are not doing the Scriptures justice when we ignore what the New Testament writers have to say about the Old Testament Scriptures. When placed in its New Testament context, we see a very important distinction:
7No, the wisdom we speak of is the secret wisdom of God, which was hidden in former times, though he made it for our benefit before the world began. 8But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would never have crucified our glorious Lord. 9That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
for those who love him.”
10But we know these things because God has revealed them to us by his Spirit, and his Spirit searches out everything and shows us even God's deep secrets. 1 Cor. 2:7-10 [NLT]
Paul unequivocally states that what was unknown to the Old Testament believers has now been revealed to us in the New Testament. Are there things about our eternal glory that we do not know? It makes sense that there are many things we do not know nor understand, but this is not the passage to use to prove that.
Exegesis, hermeneutics, and homiletics, therefore, link together as supporting disciplines. The Biblical preacher builds bridges that span the gulf between the written Word of God and the minds of men and women. He must interpret the Scripture so accurately and plainly and apply it so truthfully that the truth crosses the bridge.