RTM sITE SEARCH

When I was a boy, there was a mall near where I lived that paid homage to veterans by displaying a replica statue of the Marines planting the flag at Iwo Jima. The soldiers are stacked atop one another and fighting to raise the waving flag, signaling victory at Iwo Jima. If there is one flag that must be fought for in the Church today, it bears upon it the inscription ‘THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’ During the days of that passionate and pleading prophet Jeremiah, the Holy Land lay under siege from without and within. Within the walls of the Kingdom, the line of kings that ruled over the kingdom of Judah had led the people further away from the heart of God and further into the abyss of self-reliance. Outside the walls, grim soldiers armed to the teeth stood at the ready with chains in hand, ready to shackle those who survived the siege. Rightly dubbed the ‘Weeping Prophet,’ the man of God was the mouthpiece of God during the violent and turbulent times that would see Judah torn apart. One of the loveliest messages came down out of Heaven’s throne room of grace to the prophet Jeremiah during these dark days. “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (Jeremiah 23:5-6 NKJV) The banners that flew atop the walls of Jerusalem were about to be torn down and unceremoniously trampled upon by the muddy boots of the enemy. Strongholds would be pulled down and homes destroyed. The devastation was going to be real, but so was the promise that Israel would have a king again. In the hands of this king, the salvation of the people is held firmly in his grasp, for God’s name shall be upon him, ‘Jehovah Tsidkenu,’ meaning ‘THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’ A grim enemy stands outside the walls of the Church today, shackles in hand and ready to cart its citizens away. It is an enemy which seeks to tear our eyes away from Christ and his righteousness. There is a real danger we are facing that requires a fight of faith to believe. The grim-faced enemy outside our gates is crafty; the enemy's battle plan is not to just drive people into lives of complete debauchery – although he does do that. The real plan of attack is to pull you away from a life of dependency on Christ and into a life of self-dependence. The propaganda of the enemy has even infiltrated our church walls today. The message usually comes as “the enemy doesn’t want you to know your value, that you can do whatever lies before you.” The enemy’s tactics are to subvert the gospel message and turn our preachers into therapeutic teachers. “You are enough; God loves you just as you are” is spiritually killing people. Satan smiles at this message. We must point people to the banner, “The Lord Our Righteousness.” Yet another enemy exists, not just inside the walls of the church, but inside the walls of the heart. Even inside our hearts, we need to take up arms and fight the fight of faith against this insidious enemy. Our inner fight is to fight to believe that we were saved by a Person – and that Person is the Lord Jesus Christ, the one in whom is God’s own righteousness. Nobody is saved by faith in theological concepts; they are saved by faith in a Person. My growing fear is that many people are trapped in this wrong thinking, not enamored with Christ but with the gospel as a concept. Do a bit of self-diagnosis and ask yourself these questions: how real is Christ to you today? Are you trusting in Christ’s righteousness today or your own? Did you become a Christian by trusting in Christ’s righteousness, but now you live by your own? These are hard questions, but they are ones worth asking. We must remove all traces of our own flesh from our faith. The Coming Righteous One In Old Testament times, some people rightly understood that only Jehovah could supply the required righteousness to obtain legal standing with God. Isaiah wrote of this ‘I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,’ (Isaiah 61:10). He also wrote of how the perfect servant of God would make many people to be accounted righteous ‘Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities’ (Isaiah 53:11). This servant would bear the punishment for the iniquities of others, and through the knowledge of him, many would be accounted as righteous. We must understand that we are not cleared of our guilt ONLY because Jesus was killed on a cross. Many criminals were killed on a Roman cross, yet they did not procure salvation for anyone. Post-resurrection, many people were later killed on a cross because they followed this king, and many of these people went singing hymns of praise. Our Lord, on the eve of his horrific death, was sweating blood at the agony of the thought of the cross. Why is this? The answer is simple and should be taught to our children. The agony of Gethsemane was much more than the beating, the whipping, the spitting, the thorns, and the nails; the agony our righteous King felt was the cup of cursing he was drinking from. That bitter cup full to the brim with the wrath of God that you and I deserve. It is important that we make this distinction: you and I are not saved just because Jesus was tortured and crucified. We are saved by His obedient and righteous life that He lived on our behalf then he took the cup of cursing so that we may drink the cup of blessing. The Righteous One is living and dying in our stead. He did not just die for you, Christian; he lived and is living for you! We know today that the promised King was murdered at the hands of lawless men. But this is where we need to press into something important that I fear we overlook today. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, has made and will make many to be accounted righteous, not just by his bearing of our iniquities, but by his beautifully obedient life it was made possible that he could bear those iniquities on our behalf. Let us ponder the beauty of this truth for a brief moment. While the infant Jesus lay in the arms of his sweet mother, he was fulfilling the life of obedience. When the tears of Anna and Simeon fell upon the infant Lord in their arms, he fulfilled our righteousness requirements. When the young boy Jesus stood in the temple and taught the teachers, he was fully obedient to the Father’s will. When he wiped the sweat off his brow as he toiled under the hot Galilean sun, he was loving the Lord God with all his heart, perfectly obedient to the Father’s will. From the moment of inception to the moment of crucifixion, Jesus was performing the work of redemption. He was at work on behalf of his people from beginning to end. By his death, he washed away our sins; by his life he covered us from head to foot. His death was the atonement to God, and his life was the gift to man that satisfied that righteous demand of the law: perfect obedience with all the heart and complete love of God and neighbor. This is the one you have obtained – “we shall be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:10 NKJV) Spurgeon said of Christ, “He was through his life spinning the web for making the royal garment, and in his death, he dipped that garment in his blood. In his life he was gathering together the precious gold, in his death he hammered it out to make for us a garment of gold.” Going Deeper Into Our Faith How does understanding this help us go deeper into our faith? Dear reader, let us press on a bit further, and let me help you understand something that has taken me nearly a decade to begin to fully understand. When first a sinner is led to trust in Christ for salvation, he looks more to Jesus’ work than His person. As he looks at the cross and knows Christ suffered there, the righteous for the unrighteous, he sees in that atoning death the only sufficient foundation on which he can come to God and ask for pardoning mercy. However, as time goes on and the believer seeks to grow in the Christian life, something must take place. He must learn that he doesn’t just obtain peace with God, but he obtains Christ. He begins to understand something of the union Christ has with believers. This is where we must take up arms and fight the fight of faith to believe. Once you begin to understand how inseparable righteousness and life in Christ are, contentment doesn’t come from ‘imputed righteousness’ as a robe only but as the putting on of Jesus Christ. Your righteousness is a person who has given himself to you and taken you for himself. Christ is more than a shield by which we thwart God’s plan to smash us and judge us. We have Christ! He is our life! (Colossians 3:4) As we grow, or rather to grow, we understand not just that we are pardoned but that there is union with Christ. The condescension of Christ is almost too good to believe if you know anything of your own sin; faith is required to venture down this path of understanding. The gospel is not a concept to be believed. The gospel is a person: The Lord Jesus Christ. Because we have Him, we have his righteousness. More than that, we understand that we have all the riches that are found in Him because we have Him. First, we understood only that righteousness comes through Jesus dying for sin, but as we advance, or to advance, we come to know that Jesus, the Living King, IS our righteousness – in fact, is everything – and because we have HIM, we have righteousness too. We began our Christian walk because we pursued righteousness. We came to know of our desperate need, and we gave a desperate plea – we saw our only hope was in the work of another. We sought righteousness through faith in Christ. We then continue the Christian life pursuing Christ. The banner flag that flies atop our hearts, that conquered battleground, must be a flag that carries that old promise: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. In me, there is no good thing, but Christ has been made unto us—righteousness. The beauty of the Christian life isn’t that we get to go to Heaven someday when we die. The beauty of the Christian life is that Christ has been made ours now and forever – and because we are his and he is ours – we have his righteousness.

This is the first part of a short series focusing on the riches found in Christ. I pray this series will encourage at least one dear saint. The first part of our four-part series focuses on a common theme I hear among Christians struggling to understand doctrine and theology. It is my burden that they be unburdened from anything other than dependency upon Christ, in whom are all the unsearchable riches. 1 Corinthians 1:30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption If we were to scour the entirety of the Old Testament and find every little detail that points the soul to Jesus Christ and his great work of redemption on our behalf, we would find that we need several lifetimes to mine beneath the surface of understanding. It has been said of Charles Spurgeon that his preaching was so remarkable because every bit of scripture was used to point to the redeeming work of Christ. Spurgeon’s preaching has been compared to a jeweler, who holds up a diamond to the light to inspect it for quality and finds that when light hits the jewel, light is cast forth from the diamond in every direction, bathing the room in a myriad of colors and splendor. Such was the way he preached Christ, bathing his hearers in the splendor of Christ’s majesty and beauty. If Spurgeon was still alive and preaching (he would be 190 years old), there would be no danger in that light diminishing through any fault of the jewel, for the richness of Christ and the treasures that are found in Him are limitless. Paul calls the riches of Christ ‘unsearchable’ in Ephesians 3:8, not because they are unknowable, but because they are so vast that they cannot be fully explored. Truly, we should spend our lives like cave explorers, searching through the depths of the rich caverns of Christ. When we became Christians, we knew very little of the magnitude of all that Christ is, we simply came to understand our helpless estate and desperate need of rescue. One way we know that we are maturing in Christ is that we still understand we have not arrived, but we press on toward the prize of that upward call of God in Christ Jesus. We search, we press, we pray, and we scour the pages of God’s Word, and as we do, we gain Christ. Not facts about Christ or first century life nor about moral examples to follow, we gain Christ, “who has become for us wisdom from God.” Paul writes something more astounding than just that Christ has become wisdom for us from God; he tells us before he pens those words that, “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus.” Believer, if you have placed your faith in the person of Jesus Christ, then you are “in Him.” Paul makes that abundantly clear through his letters. Union with Christ is the bedrock of all the doctrines that Paul lays out; it is the foundation upon which the house is built. Christian, in Christ you are – and in Him is wisdom. This is good news, Christian! Oh, how I love to meet a hungry soul eager to learn about Christ! Yet, what I often hear is, “My understanding is not where I want it to be,” or “I can’t understand the deep doctrines of the faith; I guess I’m just simple.” That is a fundamental misunderstanding of how we learn Christ or why we learn Christ. Read this carefully, “Of God you are in Him, who became for us wisdom.” Christ is our wisdom. You are in Christ. You have only but to abide in Him to be made a partaker of these treasures of wisdom. In Him you are – and in Him is wisdom. We are to abide in Christ, the Great Revealer, Wisdom incarnate. Our job is to abide in Christ, who is ready to communicate to us knowledge from God. Do you have a desire to grow? Feast upon Christ. Do you have a desire to know Christ? Good, He has a desire to reveal. When you abide in Jesus, God’s redeeming love, His power, and His infinite glory will – as you abide in Jesus – be revealed to us. We go wrong because we seek knowledge rather than seeking Christ. There are a thousand questions we can ask about different things in regard to our spiritual life – and these can become a burden to us, wearisome even – if we forget that we are ‘in Christ’. God has made Christ to be our wisdom. Always let our first care be to ‘abide in Him’ with an undivided heart. When the heart and life are right (rooted in Christ), knowledge will come as Christ sees fit. Believer, abide in Jesus and expect from Him, confidently, I might add, that He will reveal whatever teaching we need.  Do not think of our spiritual life as a mystery or problem we must solve – abide in Jesus. Surrender your own wisdom and depend upon Jesus for the reality of truth to be made known. Not mere facts, but the reality of truth, that is what shakes us to our core. Consider with me that beautiful tree in the garden of Eden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The tree itself was not evil in nature; there was nothing wicked about it. The tree was not the source of sin; mankind was. God gave a clear mandate to Adam and Eve to abstain from its fruit in Genesis 2:17: “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Adam disobeyed God and lost the right to eat of the Tree of Life, lost the right to eternal life. But you are no longer ‘in Adam’, you are ‘in Christ’! (1 Corinthians 15:22 NKJV) You belong to the one who said, “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:54 NKJV) Believer, your job is to abide, Christ’s job is to provide, and oh, what a provider we have. Does He not richly bless us with Himself? Is He stingy with His treasure? To draw upon Spurgeon, that Christ-centered preacher, we began with, “Oh, how richly you are fed! The flesh of God’s own Son is the spiritual food of every heir of heaven. Hungry souls, come to Jesus if you would be fed.” Go to the Word of God hungry, dear saint, and the promise is you will not leave hungry. In Him you are – and in Him is wisdom.

I recently found an old and faded picture of my late mother being baptized in a shallow river when she was in her early teens. She was standing next to a man that I presume to be the pastor. The man was waist-deep in the dirty water, wearing slacks and a white dress shirt. The witnesses stood at the water’s edge with hands clasped in joy and smiles on their faces. There is something beautiful about baptizing a new believer outside in a river or creek while the church watches from the bank. There is something beautiful about a man wearing his Sunday best and wading into a river to baptize one little girl. My guess is that the rejoicing over the soul outweighed the care of the nice white dress shirt. Christian, if you would see conversions, you must care about souls more than your comfort. John the Baptizer certainly cared more about the souls of a nation over his own comfort. The great prophet lived in the uncomfortable wilderness and donned clothes to match his surroundings. John was a living illustration of the spiritual state of the nation. Like his prophet predecessors, God called him to be a living testimony of how God saw His people’s spiritual state. The nation was spiritually impoverished and living in the wilderness. John’s message was equally uncomfortable; it was a call to die. To come and plunge themselves beneath the waters of the river Jordan signified the ancient path the Israelites had taken, a path from death to life. John’s call was to a nation of impoverished souls, urging them to enter the water and pronounce judgment on themselves. The offense of the message to the self-righteous was high, as was the cost John ultimately paid. John gave up his comfort, his popularity, and ultimately his life because he refused to conform to the message of the world but harkened the world to conform to God’s message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:2). If we would see souls saved, our message must be of the same nature. A missing ingredient in our evangelistic call today is leading to either false or no conversions. Consider John’s message in place of one we often hear today. John’s preaching urged total surrender through baptism. To be baptized by John was an acceptance of one’s own undoing in light of the holiness of God. It was a call to judge oneself a sinner through and through, from toe to soul. Today, the evangelical call is often this, “Lay all your burdens, all your sin, and all your shame at the cross.” That is a true statement, but it misses the mark in one aspect—most people do not understand their total ruin. Sin has been reduced to only the bad things a person does. What about the good things? What must we do with those? They must go to the cross as well. John didn’t stand on the riverbank and make the clarion call, “Come and lay down your troubles, your anxieties, and all the bad things you have done.” John’s call was one of complete death to self-righteousness. I come across many people today struggling with assurance of salvation. After a little conversation, it is almost always diagnosed as a misunderstanding of their sin. I will usually ask something like this, “Have you repented of all your known sin?” To which the answer is usually, “Yes,” and a nod. But then I like to ask, “Have you repented of your righteousness?” Now, I am met with confusion, but we have found the root of the problem. They fundamentally misunderstood that even their ‘goodness’ added nothing to their salvation but rather stood in their way of completely putting on Christ Jesus and His righteousness and making NO provision for the flesh (Romans 13:14). Dear soul, you may have repented of all your awful deeds, but have you repented of your righteousness? Paul said, “Not having my own righteousness…but that which is through faith in Christ.” (Philippians 3:9). The call of John was so offensive to the Pharisees because it was a slap in the face to their goodness. They were not good people who had transgressed the Law because they did some bad things; their ruin was total! They needed to be totally saved; they needed to lay down both transgressions and self-righteousness—and so do we! Let us peek into a typical story of evangelism: We begin a relationship with an unbeliever, maybe they are agnostic or just do not think much about spiritual things. We stick with that relationship, and over time, our new friend comes to an agreement that there is a God. Good, step one is complete. The next step is usually to convince them that this God is not some far-away concept that watches at a distance, but a person that wants to be intimately involved with them. Now comes the cross, the only way to enter that relationship. The debt has been paid on their behalf by another, Jesus, the Son of God. Finally, we ask them something like this, “Would you like to lay down all the bad things you have done and accept Jesus?” I think most people would readily agree with this. What’s the drawback? Just lay down all my bad things, and I can go to Heaven when I die? That’s not very offensive; I can convince people to do that. Just let go of the bad things; check, I got that. Now take that same scenario, and the final step looks like this: “Friend, you must die to self. Even the good things you think you have done are tainted by the stain of sin. You have no righteousness of your own, not the slightest bit. You must put all your faith in another, Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave himself for us.” This creates a desperate dependency on Jesus. The good news is that God saves souls despite our imperfect witnessing. Our aim is always to point others to their need for Christ. What better way than to preach the peace that comes from letting go of even our good deeds and laying them at the cross? Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee; let the water and the blood, from thy wounded side which flowed, be of sin the double cure; save from wrath and make me pure. Not the labors of my hands can fulfill thy law's demands; could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow, all for sin could not atone; thou must save, and thou alone. Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling; naked, come to thee for dress; helpless, look to thee for grace; foul, I to the fountain fly; wash me, Savior, or I die. While I draw this fleeting breath, when mine eyes shall close in death, when I soar to worlds unknown, see thee on thy judgment throne, Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee.

"With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. He did not speak to them without a parable." (Mark 4:33-34a ESV) There was once a small village just off the coast of a beautiful sea. The population consisted of farmers who worked the fertile soil; others made a living raising sheep that grazed on the lush grasslands, while most of them carved out a living fishing from the nearby sea. The villagers lived a quiet life amongst themselves; they toiled hard at their jobs and lived off the sweat of their brows. One evening, as the workers were coming in from their various labors, there was a chariot parked right in the middle of their humble little village. Against the backdrop of thatch roofs, mud, and brick walls, the gleaming chariot stood out rather starkly in its bright red color and gilded sides. A noble-looking man was drinking deeply from the village well, clearly the owner of the fine- looking chariot. Unsure of what this abrupt encounter could mean, the villagers drew cautiously near the man in purple robes. The man was important as there was a small crowd of servants nearby, many of them with swords, waiting to serve the man if needed. When the people had gathered, the man began to address the villagers – he spoke like a lord, a little stiff but elegant. He began to explain to them the excellencies of the new king, Caesar Augustus. They were to worship him as Lord, as well as whatever other gods they chose. The man continued to pour forth the praise of Caesar in speech too lofty for these simple Galilean farmers to follow; he told of heroic deeds and exploits, nearly all lost on them as the man spoke in refined Greek while the commoners here spoke a plain Galilean dialect. The man regaled them with stories of victorious wars and the expansion of culture. They listened patiently, waited for him to leave, and shrugged their shoulders before returning home to rest. Fast forward about 90 years. Same village, the grandsons and granddaughters of the same villagers, and the same simple life of agriculture and fishing. The workers, as they have done for the same six days every week, come home at twilight to gather around the well as the sun is setting over the Galilean Sea. There waits another stranger, resting on the edge of the village well, which the workers come to that they may quench their thirst and wash away the day’s grime. This man looks as if he knows hard labor and hard travel. With him is a small group of men and women resting in the dirt, exhausted looks on their faces and tiredness in their eyes. Yet, as the villagers draw near, the countenance on the faces of those sitting in the dirt changes. Joy replaces tiredness. Warm smiles replace grimaces. The man these tired travelers call ‘Lord’ asks permission to share a drink with the tired workers. He then begins to speak to them about the Kingdom of God using farming and shepherding stories. He speaks with warmth, with simple language, and with authority. The villagers call forth their families, though tired as well, to come and draw near to this man who speaks with such tenderness about the Lord God. He plucked a grain of wheat off the sleeve of a tired farmer and used it to illustrate truths about the Kingdom of Heaven they had never considered. His calloused hands borrowed a fish from the stringer of a young boy, and he used it to explain his purpose for souls. The dirt on his cheeks was tear-streaked as he lovingly grasped one of the shepherds' crooks. He spoke to them in their native tongue of Galilee and yet appeared far more noble than Roman officials who occasionally passed their way. They had never heard such speech before. This was the way of our Master. He was considered vulgar by the ruling religious party of his day. Let me explain what I mean by ‘vulgar.’ I met a wise old preacher at a conference just a couple of weeks ago, and he asked me, “What is the focus of your ministry?” I didn’t even have to give it much thought. I am a preacher, so of course, it is preaching, but I shared with him my main goal in preaching. “I desire to make biblical spirituality and theology accessible to everyone.” The preacher smiled and, in his British accent, said, “Ah, another vulgar preacher!” Seeing my look of puzzlement, he explained to me that in his country, to be vulgar was not to be crass and crude but rather to speak commonly and plainly. Without sophistication and lacking in refinement. Paul, though a towering intellect, was a vulgar preacher as well. “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1 Cor 2:1-2 ESV) Paul could debate with the greatest philosophers of his day, yet he toiled alongside everyday workers, sharing the gospel with them while he lived it out. Jesus and all his followers, except Judas Iscariot, were all from Galilee, far north of Jerusalem. Most of us do not know much about the geopolitical landscape of first-century Judea, but I can sum it up briefly and succinctly. Galilee was full of rich farming land comprising about twenty towns and villages. This is where Nazareth was, where Jesus spent his life growing up. It was the place where Jesus performed most of his ministry and miracles, even using Capernaum (Peter’s hometown) as a place from which to base his missions. Galileans, who spoke a distinct dialect, were sub-par Israelites who lived far from the religious epicenter, the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus, being raised in Nazareth (and what good could come from there!), would have spoken with a distinctly Galilean accent. If you remember, Peter was betrayed by his accent the night our Lord was betrayed. “Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl approached him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” (Matt 26:69-70 ESV) Peter may have even changed clothes to blend in, but he couldn’t change his accent. Imagine someone with a Cajun dialect trying to blend into a crowd of people with a Boston accent. It didn’t work so well for Peter; someone comes up to Peter and says, “Certainly you are one of them, for your accent betrays you.” (Matt 26:73 ESV) When you begin to read through the gospels and take notice of the deep disdain the Jews of Jerusalem had for this carpenter from Nazareth and his rag-tag band of Galileans, you will begin to develop a better appreciation for the condescension of the Son of God. The very way that Jesus spoke to sinners enraged the self-righteous religious parties. The Simplicity of the King of Preachers The old reformer Martin Luther would instruct would-be preachers of the gospel in his day too “Put eyes into the ears of your listeners.” If you consider the preaching of Jesus of Nazareth, Wisdom in the flesh, the only human ever to have perfect doctrine, the best preacher that has or will ever live, you will find that all his sermons were full of illustrations to put “eyes onto ears.” He spoke to farmers about seeds and crops, and he spoke to fishermen using fishing illustrations. When he preached in the presence of Pharisees (the elder brother), he told a story of the Father’s forgiveness to the dirty sinner that was scandalous to them. May we all follow the way of the simplicity of our Lord while we walk this earth. We are to meet people where they are. Yes, preachers of the gospel, please make your people strain and stretch so they grow and mature. But we forget that most people sitting in the pews beside us have not read, nor will ever read ‘Calvin’s Institutes.’ If you know much about proper doctrine, make those doctrines lovely by way of illustration, and what better way of illustration than having the tenderness of Christ upon us? I remember asking an elder I admire from a church I admire, “How did you come to be at this church?” His response was lovely. He said, “You know, I was going to a very superficial church. I had a great life and family and led a group of young adults. But a friend approached me and said, ‘I have someone you need to meet.’ It was my friend Mack Tomlinson. So, I began to eat lunches with Mack, and I came to know him more and more. Mack never once spoke ill of the church I was attending, but there was something about him that drew me in. The way that Mack spoke of the Lord with such familiarity was refreshing. Mack spoke of the Lord and his church in a way I knew I was missing.” He eventually joined the same church as Mack and now faithfully serves as an elder there. I have used that illustration repeatedly to illustrate a point: people need to see us speaking with a familiarity about our Lord. Doctrine is essential; we cannot worship a God we do not know (Acts 17). But doctrine that is not made alive so that it leads to spiritual understanding profits nothing. May we all, like our Lord, become vulgar in our speech and pure in our conduct.

“It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.” Ecclesiastes 7:2 If you have ever sat with a loved one before they passed, you know that in that moment, to talk about idle chatter would be a waste of precious time. Talk of the weather and sports teams isn’t even a thought. Fears, regrets, great loves, and goodbyes are spoken in that moment. There is much wisdom in listening to the words of a dying man, much more when the dead speak beyond the grave. This past week, we heard from a friend of ours as we celebrated his life. He wrote a letter as he was home in hospice that he wanted read to loved ones. In part of his letter, he wrote, “I’ve had such peace about walking through these last weeks. My concerns are those I’ll leave behind, those I’ll not see again unless God reveals Himself to you and saves you.” These are the words of Scott Owen, a friend of Michael Durham and I, who went to be with the Lord. My last conversation with this gentle soul involved him voicing his concern about the health of his dear friend and pastor. Little did we know that Scott himself would have his health and vitality degrade so rapidly within a couple of months. Scott didn’t suffer long with his cancer, for which I am grateful. But I am even more grateful for the way Scott Owen faced his death. The funeral for this departed saint will be forever etched in my mind, and for that, I am also deeply thankful. Scott’s and his wife’s wishes were for friends and family to experience a Christ-centered memorial, and they most certainly did. The impact it had on me will last a lifetime. I had never been to a Christian funeral quite like Scott’s, and it is my guess that many others haven’t either, so I wanted to share what was laid into my heart that day. First, death separates mankind from all other living things. We know that everything that lives eventually dies, but mankind alone has the ability to ponder the mystery surrounding death. We may like to forget that we will all finally end our time here on this earth, but the writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us that it is deeply wise for us to stamp this truth upon our hearts. We don’t always like to dwell on our own mortality, though. Blaise Pascal told an evangelistic story in an imaginative way to illustrate how most people view death. He said, “It is like we are all dinner guests at one large formal party. Some are chatting and enjoying their food and drink while others are dancing with their loved ones when suddenly, the doors burst wide open. The music abruptly stops, and forks are held in mid-air as a ghastly monster comes in and drags out one of the partygoers. There is much kicking and screaming, but there is no overpowering the beast. When the door finally slams shut behind them, the echoes of the panicked screams eventually fade. There is an icy silence for a while as everyone sits in stunned horror. Finally, there is a little chatter among the remaining guests about the abruptness of it all; fear-riddled faces continue in idle, nervous talk. Eventually, the music starts back up, and soon, people are dancing, and the sound of clanging silverware on dinner plates is heard once again. With thoughts of the horrific scene thrust from their mind, life goes on, and the party continues.” The way of the world is to escape the reality of our mortality, yet the Bible repeatedly urges us to remember our end, to ‘lay it to heart,’ to remember that we are but like the morning mist that the sun burns off. The way my friend died, though, he wasn’t carried off kicking and screaming like the person in our story. He had already died to the ways of this world, and he knew that his life was hidden with Christ. Scott was ready; the enemy had lost its sting. More life awaited him beyond this one, and he died like he believed it. Scott’s worship-centered celebration of life reminded me that although pondering death separates us from other living creatures, death does not fully separate us from those we love. We leave behind a legacy to our loved ones. We should all strive to leave others with a lasting imprint of our love for the Lord the way my friend did. During his remaining time on this earth, Scott chose to spend it praying for the salvation of friends and family, worshipping with his church, and reading the blessed words of our Lord. I want to bear witness in a brief synopsis of what took place at Scott’s memorial from my perspective. His dear friend Tom took the pulpit first. Tom is small in stature and seems uncomfortable speaking in a room full of people, but then Tom begins to pray. Goosebumps crawled up my arms as Tom began pleading with the Lord to meet us there. The meeting started with a heartfelt and heart-revealing prayer. Then, his friend and pastor preached the gospel and bore witness to how Scott died, and Scott died well. He died with a confident assurance that his elder brother Jesus was with him in life and death and that God is the God of the living. Scott knew he was leaving his tent behind, but his soul would live on. Then Michael Durham gave testimony to his friendship with Scott and preached the gospel again with clarity and authority. Then Scott himself, from beyond the grave, preached the gospel of Jesus. His handwritten note reflected the heart of our Lord in wanting everyone he knew to be with the Father as he was going to be with the Father. Words can not express how deeply I desired so many friends and family to be at Scott’s service with me as the gospel was declared through song, prayer, and preaching. Those of us who are not asleep yet, it is a reminder of the urgency of the call of the gospel. May we all, like the Puritans of old, always ‘remember death’, memento mori, that we may be fully alive in Christ until the day he calls us home. Below is a link to Scott’s letter.

We are looking into the once-vibrant figure—the evangelist, the revivalist, that is facing near extinction in the modern era of congregational life. Why is this happening? How do we understand why it is that a biblical office of ministry can be almost eliminated? In this article, we seek to understand why churches have ceased to call upon the evangelist and, even more perplexingly, why Reformed churches, with a legacy steeped in reverence for historical evangelists, now seem to turn a blind eye to those bearing the gifts of awakening. Reasons for the Diminishing of the Evangelist-Revivalist In the fury of modern church life, priorities have shifted. The church's gaze has shifted from the transformative power of revival to more pragmatic concerns, programs, administrative duties, and a focus on numerical growth, and the result is that the evangelist's role has become increasingly marginalized. One factor is that the revivalist/evangelist, with his fervent preaching and emphasis on personal conversion, can stir controversy within congregations. Some who are considered pillars of the church could come under conviction and prove to have never been truly converted. Weak Christians may struggle with assurance under the strong and searching word. Churches that believe tranquility is better than any disturbance of the sleeping and the dead see the potentially divisive nature of revivalistic messages and shy away from inviting these forceful messengers. Another similar contributing factor is the fear of the unpredictable. The itinerant nature of the evangelist and the unknown outcomes of revival meetings may clash with the desire for predictable, controlled environments within the church. Pastors and church leaders, often immersed in the routine, may hesitate to invite the uncertainty that the revivalist/evangelist might bring. But perhaps the greatest contribution to the demise of the evangelist is the disappearance of the special meeting. Once upon a time, churches eagerly called upon evangelists to hold special meetings, breathing life and fervor into their congregations. But today, church schedules are too packed with self-care, self-entertainment, and self-advancement. The family is whipped to and fro by the children’s extra-curricular schedules, which leaves little time for all that the church has on the calendar. Pastors are reluctant to make time for a solemn, soulful searching of the hearts of the people because they fear few will attend. They don’t seem to realize that the Lord seldom works with large numbers and that the few who meet with God in the meeting could have more impact on the church than ten evangelists. This leads to another consideration, which is the financial concern. Hosting evangelistic events can come with financial implications. The costs associated with organizing special meetings may dissuade churches from extending invitations to revivalists/evangelists. Reformed Churches and the Paradox of Neglect The paradox of Reformed churches neglecting evangelists with awakening gifts is distressing as well as perplexing. The very tradition that reveres the evangelists of church history now seems to distance itself from those embodying similar gifts. The reasons for this are very similar to the above motives given. However, there are some factors that are unique to reformed churches. The first concern is the theological caution that is preeminent in the reformed world. Reformed theology, while rich and doctrinally sound, can sometimes breed a cautious approach to practices perceived as too emotional or experiential. Evangelists with awakening gifts, often characterized by passionate appeals and emotionally charged messages, may find themselves at odds with the theological temperance of some Reformed congregations. Some Reformed churches, despite their rich revival history, have settled into a doctrinal rigidity that creates an aversion to practices that are perceived as more emotional or experiential. Indeed, the soul-stirring preaching of the evangelist presses the mind and conscience for decision and action. It is this spiritual pressure that seems to be the very thing unwanted. The awakening gifts of the evangelist, once celebrated, now find themselves in the crosshairs of theological caution. The reformed movement, in general, has become very averse to any kind of emotions, wrongly conflating them with unbiblical modern charismatics. They fail to distinguish between biblical emotions that result from the truth of Scripture and the work of the Holy Spirit and an emotionalism that is carnal at best and demonic at worst. We have opted to do without genuine Spirit-wrought emotion for fear of some unscriptural experience. All experience is shunned to avoid any abuse. As a result, many Christians are forced to live in the shallows of Christian experience and reality. Christianity is reduced to mere intellectualism. How wise is this? Another unspoken concern is the security that exists in tradition. Reformed churches may find refuge in the established order and regularity of their worship services. The spontaneity and unpredictability associated with revivalists or evangelists may be perceived as a departure from cherished traditions, fostering hesitancy rather than openness. The Fallout What are the sad consequences of neglecting the protracted meeting and the evangelist/revivalist? First, I would say it is the loss of emphasis on personal conversion. Many of our churches see little to no conversions. In the course of a year, the baptistry lies quiet and empty. Some have not seen any professions of faith in years. Another question that must not be avoided is how many on the church’s role are not truly converted? And without the gifted ability to biblically search the heart with the probe of divine conviction, these poor souls will remain secure in their false profession. They will endure confirmed in their self-righteousness. Another consequence of the loss of the evangelist/revivalist is that churches have increasingly turned their focus to a status quo that is lacking spiritual renewal. The Christian life is thought of as mere plodding in mundaneness and mediocrity. The concept of spiritual vitality and power is almost lost. We have excused our lukewarmness until lukewarm is the preferred temperature of the church.  We know nothing else. There is no recognition of spiritual loss and declension. In fact, the concept of revival has been relegated to the realm of God’s sovereignty, that to encourage saints to seek revival is akin to blaspheming God’s providence. In our next article, I want to explore what genuine revival is and if the preaching of an evangelist/revivalist can be used by the Lord to bring revival. A Plea for Resurgence and Reconciliation We find ourselves standing at a crossroads—a juncture where tradition, theology, and modernity intersect. The evangelist, once celebrated and sought after, now stands on the periphery, awaiting a revival of his own. Perhaps it is time for churches, regardless of denomination, to rediscover the treasure trove that the evangelist brings—a unique blend of passion, conviction, and a divine calling to stir the embers of revival. Let the church once again become a haven for the evangelist-revivalist, welcoming their gifts, embracing unpredictability, and daring to believe that the revival fires, though dim, can blaze anew. In this plea for resurgence and reconciliation, may the church rekindle its appreciation for the evangelist, recognizing their role as carriers of a timeless flame—a flame that has the power to ignite hearts, transform lives, and usher in seasons of unprecedented spiritual awakening.

In the ever-evolving landscape of modern Christianity, a specific figure seems to be fading off into the setting sun. Historically, the evangelist/revivalist has been integral to the Church's life. When the Lord ordained seasons of awakening and revival, the evangelist was often at the center of God’s renewing activity. But today, for reasons to be enumerated, these bold men who call the people of God to repentance and sinners to faith are dwindling in numbers and influence. My purpose for writing these articles is to show the reasons behind the decline of the evangelist, demonstrate their historical significance, and hopefully make a compelling case for the resurgence of this most important gift to the Church. The Decline of the Evangelist In the ever-changing emphases of contemporary church life, it's easy to overlook the dwindling presence of the evangelist. Some argue that the need for these itinerant preachers is no longer necessary. When America was younger, with westward expansion at its height, these fervent preachers needed to travel from town to town, proclaiming the Gospel in communities with little Christian influence. With the coming of the 20th century, the role of the evangelist became more of a revivalist, stirring up lethargic congregations. Today, the focus has shifted towards more localized, community-oriented ministries, where pastors are chief executives with pastoral staff to keep the church active and busy. However, most of the activity is self-directed, promoting allegiance to a church system that leaves participants thinking they are engaged in biblical church life. This has left the itinerant evangelist outside in the cold, unwanted and neglected. The present thinking is that such gifts are not necessary. We don’t need the pietistic pulpiteer reminding us where we have fallen. We have improved and advanced to a maturity that it need not be said of us, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love” (Revelation 2:4). But what may seem like progress is a decline that comes at a significant cost. With their passion for spreading the Good News and reaching the lost and a burden for the lukewarm saint, the evangelist brings a unique and much-needed perspective to the Church. Though seemingly outdated, their role remains a timeless value God can use to breathe new life into congregations searching for a renewed sense of purpose and mission. The Historical Significance of the Evangelist To truly understand the essence of the evangelist, we must delve into the annals of church history. Let's step back when evangelists were not relics but flaming leaders of revival. We must remember the apostles in the Book of Acts traversing the known world with the Good News. The exemplary evangelist Paul crossed continents, planting churches with his converts.  Think of Philip and Timothy, commissioned to carry the Gospel to the unreached. Let us remember the Great Awakenings. There, too, were the evangelists, the heroes of those transformative seasons. George Whitefield, a dominant figure in the First Great Awakening, drew thousands, generating a hunger for God among the godless and the religious. Asahel Nettleton fanned the flames of the Second Great Awakening, championing personal conversion and the need for a vibrant, experiential faith. These aren’t just faded memories of a forgotten era but proof that the evangelist served as a catalyst for revival, awakening, and advancing God's Kingdom. The Role of the Evangelist Today If ever we needed the heart and word of the evangelist, it is now in this contemporary church context. That ministry gift remains as relevant as ever, but unlike before, it is disregarded by pastors and churches. Fewer and fewer churches will invite the man gifted to stir the heart towards God. Conviction of sin presents too many problems and too much work for pastors who prefer a 9 to 5 schedule. They make no time for a season of solemnity and examination. Most would not know what to do should God bring His presence to bear on a congregation, and a holy hush fell on the crowd. I cannot tell of how many times that has happened while I am preaching, and afterward, the leadership says, “I’ve never seen anything like that,” or, “I’ve never been in a service when that happened.” And it isn’t just the younger men who confess that. I have had men my age say that they have been in church all their lives and never witnessed the glory of God come upon a congregation. Increasingly, if special meetings are put on the church’s calendar, it is concerts, training seminars, or conferences. And concerning conferences, pastors are usually chosen for the speakers’ roster. I’m not against this, nor is this a grip session where I am trying to soothe my soul. I am persuaded that the gifts of the evangelist/revivalist are being ignored, and the Church is suffering as a consequence. Even if a church still has the annual revival meeting, with few exceptions, the invited preacher is often a pastor friend in the region. It is no wonder that the revival meeting lacks revival, and the conferences may create temporary enthusiasm but never a move of God. Pastors are, by and large, teachers. They teach the word of God to the flock of God. Many commentators and pastors interpret the office of “pastors and teachers” in Ephesians 4:11 as “teaching shepherds.”[1] It is not that teaching is not needed in the body of Christ, nor is it that the teacher's gift is not genuine. The anointed teacher is a necessity for the health and maturity of the body. Nevertheless, the teaching ministry has been elevated to the primary gift in the last 50 years and is considered the catalyst to spirituality. If you think I am speaking in hyperbole and therefore overinflating the situation, then take a tour of the most popular “preachers” today, especially those on the major conference circuit, and you will discover the vast majority are pastors, with rare exceptions. This is evidence that the evangelist is being ignored or, worse, rejected. Undoubtedly, the 1980s gave a terrible black eye to the word evangelist when several prominent men who called themselves evangelists scandalized Christianity with their public sins. Since then, many doctrinal errors have assaulted the Church by men who are itinerant ministers, as well as women who carry the title of evangelist. But such is no justification to delegitimize this office by accident or purpose and the gifts accompanying it. There are a few of us left, but what will happen when we leave the scene and go the way of the earth? Very seldom, if at all, do I hear a young man state his desire to be an itinerant preacher. The coveted position is the office of pastor almost exclusively. A good number of men still aspire to the ministry of a missionary, but almost none want to be an evangelist. Where are the voices of thunder? Why is there little to no ministry of awakening? And why are there no genuine revivals where people are humbled in brokenness and contrition before the Lord? When the office that produces that kind of ministry is shunned, along with it is shunned the God-given fruit it yields. In the following articles, I will explore in more depth current trends in conservative traditions that have contributed to the demise of the traveling preacher known as the evangelist. Please read each one with serious consideration to the arguments presented for the resurgence of the evangelist. [1] R. Kent Hughes, Ephesians: The Mystery of the Body of Christ, Preaching the Word Series, Olive Tree Bible Software, version 6.14.5, Eph. 4:11, e-book.

It was a typical frigid February morning on the Lord’s Day. My family was loaded into the car, and we were headed to a preaching engagement I had at a church about an hour away. My wife, Shiloh, was reading out loud to me from the biography of Leonard Ravenhill, one of the saints who had gone before us. This newfound practice of her reading to me while we drove to preaching engagements happened accidentally; my wife was reading a biography of Susanne Spurgeon one day and simply said, “Hey, listen to this,” followed by me saying, “Wow, would you keep reading?” and thus began a new time in our life. Our travel time was now taken up with her reading out loud to me while I drove. For my preaching engagements, my wife would grab the biography on the life of Leonard Ravenhill, a preacher ablaze with zeal and love for the Lord. It was like a booster shot to the arm before I preached to hear of Ravenhill’s life, but something even more wonderful began to happen; we began to have a longing for the type of corporate prayer meetings that the author, Mack Tomlinson, wrote about. I began to pray that I would meet someone who could tell us what it was like to attend those prayer meetings, and I confided this to a friend who would meet with me in prayer. One day, my friend brought me a slip of paper with a phone number on it. He says, “Here, this is Mack Tomlinson’s phone number, and he wants to talk to you.” I was floored that not only would Mack take an anonymous phone call from a man who somehow found his number on the internet, but he would even be willing to take the time to talk to me, an unknown preacher from Oklahoma. Mack invited me and a friend to attend one of their Wednesday prayer meetings, which was modeled after Ravenhill’s weekly Friday night prayer meetings, which Mack and his wife used to attend. The very next week, a good friend and I took off on a five-hour journey south to the prayer meeting in Mack’s house. We had no clue that where we were going would change the trajectory of our lives and our families lives and would begin the forming of deep friendships, the kind that mold and shape who we are. It was at the prayer meeting that I met Michael Durham, a long-time friend of Mack and the founder of Real Truth Matters Ministries. I still remember the prayer meeting like it was yesterday. The warmth and hospitality of Mack and Linda Tomlinson. The eager smiles and handshakes of the living room full of people gathered to pray. The prayer time was wonderful; it was a blessing to see so many families gathered together; the dining room chairs had to be brought in to provide seats for everyone. There was something else, however, that occurred during the meeting that resonated with the preacher in me and only increased my desire to see true preaching fill the pulpits. I had already been growing deeply concerned and burdened at seeing the spiritually starving sheep at the churches I visited. When we would leave a place of worship, my wife and I would often lament, “I can see their bones showing,” meaning we could see the hunger in them as even a young and inexperienced preacher like myself shared a simple message about Christ and the Lord’s desire to walk in intimacy with them. It was at this time in my walk with the Lord that the Lord began to open my eyes to the shallowness of much of what I knew the church to be. At the beginning of the prayer meetings, it was normal practice for an elder to exhort those attending to really meet with the Lord in prayer by sharing a portion of scripture and expounding upon it. I can still remember sitting on the couch next to my friend, and on the other side of me was Michael, whom I had just met. Mack asked Michael to share a word of encouragement with those gathered. Michael stood up and preached. It was brief, yes, but there was more to the preaching than I was used to. Something unexplainable was happening. My inner self was smiling as my brother poured forth words in a way that really left imprints on the hearts of the listeners. I knew what real preaching was through reading old books, and I longed for it from myself, but here, I found myself drawn to someone who lived it. Here before me was a man of conviction. Someone with whom I would eventually find myself sharing my convictions and concerns for the state of many churches and who shared many of those same convictions and concerns. The Lord really knit our hearts together in a unique way after that day. From there is a long story of two brothers in Christ, Mack and Michael, who took us in, helped us plant a church, often visited us in Oklahoma, watched over us, and prayed for us. They walked with me as I navigated the journey of shepherding a church; they were patient with me as I went through all the struggles that come with pastoring a flock of Christ’s people. They were with me in my failings and my victories. It has been four years since I placed the call to an unknown brother in Texas, and in that time, the Lord has really grown Michael into a mentor for me. We formed a deep friendship and have continued to grow in the same convictions regarding our burden for the church. How we both long to see the church lay ahold of all that she is in Christ; to pursue New Testament Christianity by pursuing Jesus Christ as the Gospel. Over the course of the last year, the Lord really began to create in me a burden to help my brother Michael in his labors at Real Truth Matters. Through much prayer, the Lord made it clear to us both that the Lord had indeed called me to help Michael by joining Real Truth Matters as the first-ever Associate Evangelist for RTM. Even though I do not know the whole path, I trust the Lord enough to just walk in what he has for me. I can look back over the course of this journey of faith and see the goodness of the Lord’s hand guiding and leading my family here. I know with certainty that the Lord is still leading us on this unknown road, and we continue on in faith.

Often, the Lord works in my life through the impetus of others. As a pastor of twenty-three years, most often, turning points in my ministry came at the suggestion and prodding of others. The Lord has used others to open my mind to His ways. In 1995, one of the dear sisters in our church came to me and said that my ministry need not be kept within the walls of our church. Others, she pleaded, needed to hear what I had to say. By the fall of that year, we began a daily radio program featuring my preaching that became very popular with listeners. In 2008, two men in the church came to me with the idea of an area-wide conference that would help pastors and church leaders. A website was created to promote the conference, and the name of the website and conference was Real Truth Matters. That conference began the present ministry as a volunteer-run web-based ministry. A year later, two brothers in the church came to me at separate times in a short window of time. With no knowledge of how God dealt with each other, they both stated that they believed the Lord wanted them to leave their current occupation and work for Real Truth Matters. After much prayer, RTM became a full-time ministry with two employees and myself. Our move to the great state of Texas did not originate with me either. It was something that the elders of Providence Chapel, Denton, TX, became burdened about and prayed for weeks before reaching out to me. They asked if I would prayerfully consider moving Real Truth Matters to the church and be a part of a wonderful congregation of amazing saints. Consequently, here we are grateful to God for His kind providence through the wise leadership of godly elders. And, so, this brings me to the joy of this blog, announcing a new direction for Real Truth Matters. In the spring of 2023, a pastor in Northeast Oklahoma called me and expressed his heart for my ministry. He said he felt deeply about helping me. Somehow, he wanted to lighten my load and promote the ministry so more could know about it and receive the good he had received. I thanked him for the sentiment but did not see how such was possible. A few weeks later, we talked again, but this time, my pastor friend shared ways he believed he could assist me. At this point, I began to pray; I prayed for months. Finally, after consultation, prayer, and godly counsel, I agreed that it was the will of God for this dear brother to join me in the endeavor of promoting the pursuit of New Testament Christianity by pursuing Jesus Christ as the Gospel. Therefore, I am pleased to announce Brother Nathan (Nate) Freeman as our first RTM associate evangelist. Brother Nate will serve the ministry in communications and social media. He has already proven to be a valuable part of the ministry by completely redesigning and building this new website. He will also travel with me, as much as possible, and assist in sermon recording, editing, and posting the messages I preach. He will share in the writing of blogs and podcasts. He is also available to preach at worship services, conferences, revivals, and evangelistic meetings under the banner of Real Truth Matters. With all my heart, I recommend this capable preacher, and I know the Lord will use him to carry forth this mission and ministry. In our next blog, you will hear from Nate, where he will explain the Lord’s operation in his heart to lead him to RTM. Below is a brief video introducing Brother Nathan Freeman. Please pray that Nate and I together will impact the advancement of the kingdom more than we could do individually. Neither of us has any interest in self-promotion. I would say we have a strong disgust for promoting ourselves or even the ministry. Our heart is to promote and proclaim our Lord Jesus Christ. We echo the words of one of the greatest evangelists the church has witnessed, George Whitefield, when he said, “Let my name perish, but let Christ's name endure forever."

What is biblical preaching? It is the testimony of God through a human instrument. The preaching we read in the Bible always had this unique quality. It is a heavenly event acted out on earth. When a man stands to proclaim the Word of God, he is speaking on behalf of God. So much so that God owns the sermon, and He directly communicates to the understanding of the hearers. God speaks through a man. God owns the act of preaching by being active in it. A man may stand and expound the Scripture without God’s ownership, and what the preacher says maybe every bit factual and accurate. But he is not preaching in a biblical manner. Bible preaching requires the dynamic of God in the person of the Holy Spirit to influence, inspire, and impact both preacher and listener. When this occurs, heaven is involved, God is manifested, and it is happening in a place where people have gathered. The New Testament demonstrates biblical preaching and its effects. In 1 Thessalonians 1:5, the Apostle Paul says, “because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.” In the second chapter, Paul said to the Thessalonians that it was as if God was speaking to them when Paul preached the Gospel. He said, “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13). Men are to speak with the aid of God, with His sanction, so that those listening are aware of something of another world, that there is something other-worldly about what they are hearing. This is the power of preaching. I am persuaded that this is the ultimate goal of preaching, that people are made aware of God’s glory and presence. The aim of preaching is to confront people with God through His word. God’s word is the essence of His presence and activity because God has invested Himself in His word. Therefore, when the word of God is preached in the power of the Spirit, it is God at work. His presence and activity are manifested. In addition, preaching is an exercise of the gift of exhortation. Exhortation is the spiritual gift defined as urging, admonishing, warning, or encouraging by argumentation or advice. At its core, it is what preaching does. One lexicon defined exhortation this way, “The word ‘exhortation’ comes from the Greek word which means to ‘appeal to, urge, exhort, or to encourage’ someone to take a certain action.” I know no better explanation of the task of the preacher. In Luke 3:18, it said of our Lord, “And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.” Almost all commentators agree that the Epistle to the Hebrews is written in sermonic form, which leads scholars to believe it was a sermon. In the conclusion, the author makes this appeal, “And I appeal to you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation, for I have written to you in few words” (Hebrews 13:22). Another characteristic of preaching is that preaching is authoritative. Preaching is calling people to obey God. It has a sense of the prophetic, meaning not predicting the future, but having the authority as the spokesman for God, which is what the word prophet means. If we preach God’s word by His power, there will be a sense of authority. People will recognize that if they disregard the preacher’s message, they are, in fact, rejecting God’s message. This is one of the things that characterized the Lord Jesus’ preaching and distinguished it from the speaking of the established religious order. The people were amazed at Christ’s preaching and teaching, “And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Mark 1:22). Yet, another distinctive, preaching demands a verdict. The goal of preaching is conformity to the Word of God, to act on it, and to let it transform life. The person listening to biblical preaching feels their affections stirred, their conscience pressed, and their will moved to render the decision that will produce change. When you hear true preaching, you feel that you must do something. That is the effect of preaching. Partly, this is due to the way preaching addresses, not just the intellect, but also the affections of the heart. In our day, the word affection has been confused with the emotions. They are not the same, nor should they be used as synonyms. There is indeed an emotional quality to affections, but they are more profound and fundamental to our person than emotions. Affections are the ultimate desires of your heart. Another way to say it is, affections are the loves and hates of the heart. Affections influence the will, and the will chooses based on those affections. Therefore, preaching must address the mind with the arguments of Scripture until those facts grip the mind. When that happens, the emotions will follow, and both mind and emotions bombard the will to move according to the affections or desires created by what the mind believes, and the person feels. This is what I mean by preaching demands a verdict. Lastly, preaching is declarative. It is not a debate, instruction, or commentary on a passage of Scripture. It is not a dialogue or a conversation. While the preacher may have a conversational style of speaking, there comes a moment in the sermon when the weight of the text supersedes his delivery, and he is carried along by the text that his face becomes like flint. There is no compromise. He is in the pulpit to proclaim. Preaching is the pronouncement of what God has said. Therefore, there must be an air of dogmatism about it. So, how should we define preaching? Preaching is a holy event where God acts through the proclamation to confront the hearer. It is a heavenly empowered declaration of the Word of God, persuading men by appealing to their minds and hearts to act in obedience to God’s commands. Preaching persuades what the sacred text says and demands a verdict with a specific outcome. In short, preaching is a man consumed by God, confronting people with God, and convincing them by the power of God.