Preaching

Editor’s Note: This article is reprinted by permission from Warren Vanhetloo’s Cogitations.

“In the last days scoffers will say, Where is the promise of His coming?” (2 Pet. 3:3-4).

Years ago, we heard a great deal of preaching about the possibility of the rapture occurring in our lifetime. As I remember, 1980 was about as long as we expected to have to wait. World affairs were such that, to our eyes, the tribulation following the rapture would soon come about. And then the world situation changed. Things settled down, and new disruptions arose. And for the last three decades, there has been little preaching on the imminent any-moment return of the Lord Jesus Christ in the air for church saints. Men’s predictions and analyses failed. God’s plan was not adjusted a bit. He didn’t change as the world changed. So many had been so wrong; it was best to keep quiet.

We cannot today predict any more accurately than those of the last century. We can be more cautious of the conclusions we reach. The one thing we ought to avoid is that of neglecting to preach of the coming rapture just because some have overstated some things about it in the past. If it is in the Word of God, it is a part of what we are to proclaim as the whole counsel of God. From our human point of view, it is just as possible of occurring any moment now as three decades ago. We know no more of God’s schedule than did our fathers or their fathers. We do have the same Scripture they had.

Smith, Robert. Doctrine that Dances: Bringing Doctrinal Preaching and Teaching to Life. Forward by Dr. James Earl Massey. Nashville, Tenn: B & H Academic, 2008. Paperback, xiv + 207 pp. $19.99

(Review copy courtesy of B&H Academic.)

Leaving Christ Out of His Story

Read Part 1.

Leaving Christ Out of His Story

Are morals overrated? Is it a waste of time and energy to lead a morally pure lifestyle? Should youth pastors exhort their students to obey their parents, to tell the truth, and to read their Bibles? Or are Christians somehow beyond those rules now? These types of questions are inevitably asked of those who speak out against moralistic preaching. But these questions betray an underlying misunderstanding of the dangers of moralism.

Expository preaching has been succinctly defined as preaching in which the point of the text is the point of the sermon. In this sense, all preaching should be expository, whether it handles a topic, a verse, or an extended passage of Scripture. If a preacher uses God’s words to make his (the preacher’s) point, then how does God get a word in edgewise?

Reviewed by Doug Smith.

Lawson, Stephen J. The Expository Genius of John Calvin. Lake Mary, FL: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2007. Hardcover, 142 pages. $15.00.

(Review copy courtesy of Reformation Trust.)

^{Note: Dr. Sam Horn is host of The Word for Life radio program.}

by Dr. Sam Horn

^{Note: Dr. Sam Horn is host of The Word for Life radio program.}

by Dr. Sam Horn