When I met the Lord in 2009, I was part of a church that didn’t preach through Bible books; it was mostly topical preaching. As a result my understanding of the Bible was limited. I knew a handful of passages. My pastor’s favourite passages and verses became mine. Many readers will have had a similar experience. For many churches don’t preach through the Bible. Instead they preach topically and appeal to a narrow selection of biblical texts. This negatively affects believers, like myself, who end up knowing a clutch of Bible verses with no clue how the Bible fits together. Churches aren’t preaching the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27).
My aim for this article is very simple: I identify two dangers for churches where God’s word isn’t central; and then I unpack two benefits of the word being central.
Dangers in Not Preaching the Whole Counsel of God
1. Churches Don’t Know God
If believers don’t hear the word of God then how can they know him? Salvation, as Jesus puts it, is knowing God (John 17:3). God saves us through his Son, Jesus Christ. Fundamental to the Christian faith is getting to know that Son. To know God. But when all people hear Sunday after Sunday is the pastor’s favourite verses they aren’t hearing the Bible and won’t get to know God.
People will turn to various gods but won’t know the true God.
For example, the church I grew up in talked about little else than the love of God. Thus my understanding of God’s character was simply that he is only, always loving. God as judge was never taught in that church. We didn’t hear about his wrath against sin and evil. We weren’t aware of the final judgement. I had little more than John 3:16. It’s a wonderful verse. But it’s only part of God’s comprehensive self-revelation in the Bible. Even if you read what follows John 3:16 you learn that God will judge those who don’t believe in his Son. It doesn’t get much clearer than this: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36).
This isn’t about a preference for different styles or emphases in preaching. It’s about knowing God.
2. Churches Aren’t Shaped by Men, Instead of God
With overly topical preaching and little Bible comes a lot of the pastor’s opinion and thoughts. These, instead of God’s word, end up shaping the church. Thus if you asked a churchgoer on the streets of Namibia what God has been teaching them recently they’ll relay what their pastor said recently. Though it may not be on purpose, the result is that preachers are preferred over the scriptures.
Churches are shaped by their preacher’s opinions.
For example, a favourite verse where I live is Isaiah 53:5b, “with his wounds we are healed.” Focusing singularly on this verse, preachers of the prosperity gospel insist that it’s God’s will for believers to always enjoy good health. Is that what the verse teaches? No, it isn’t. The larger context of Isaiah 53 is about a suffering servant, who bears Israel’s sins and suffers God’s wrath. Within the larger storyline of the Bible we know that was a prophetic promise about salvation in Jesus Christ, God’s Son. Isaiah 53:5b doesn’t teach that sickness isn’t a Christian’s portion. It teaches something much more wonderful: the cross. There Jesus was crushed for our (Isaiah 53:4), oppressed and afflicted (Isaiah 53:7), so that his people might obtain salvation.
When cherry-picked verses are preferred over the whole counsel of God the churches are shaped by their preacher’s opinions. Whether these are well-meaning or intentionally misleading they aren’t God’s thoughts or directives.
Benefits of Hearing the Whole Counsel of God
1. Churches Know Their God
God revealed himself through his Son, the Word of God (John 1:1, 18). He is God’s speech, revealing God and redeeming sinners. This is why Hebrews opens with: in these last days God has spoken to us in his Son (Hebrews 1:1-2). The Son is where we meet God; this is how we get to know him and enjoy eternal life (John 17:3). Faithfully preaching the whole counsel of God helps people to know him. This is always what God intended; it’s why he gave us his word rather than an unrelated listicle of truths. If we desire to know God we must listen to all that he says.
Salvation is knowing God.
Consider the period of the Old Testament judges. “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). So what? Judges as a book is anticipating God’s king, the one who will lead God’s people to God. Central to that leadership was the law and fear of God (Deuteronomy 17:18-19). But throughout Judges there is no king. People lived like they don’t know God. This in part explains why the tribe of Dan fell so easily into idol worship; all it took was for them to find some religious items and they turned away from God (Judges 18:14).
Hundreds of years on from Judges and people are no different. If the word of God isn’t faithfully preached people will turn to various gods but won’t know the true God. For people to know and please God they must listen to him. They must hear his word.
2. Churches Are Shaped by God’s Word
Theology shapes how we live. If our theology is shaped by God’s word, our lives and churches will be too. This will result in the fear of God and not the fear of men.
If our theology is shaped by God’s word, our lives and churches will be too.
Can you imagine a church confronting their pastor for preaching error or distorting the truth? Imagine God’s people holding their pastor accountable, correcting him even. This isn’t unthinkable; at least, not when we consider the New Testament. Paul wrote letters to churches encouraging them to stand up for the gospel and against those who preached otherwise. For example, to one group of believers threatened by false teaching he writes, “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16). With the word dwelling richly in their hearts those believers—and us too—were able to teach and admonish one another rather than being swept back and forth by men’s opinions.
Churches shaped by God’s word will be faithful first of all to God and secondly they will faithful to one another.
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