Colossians 1:28-29 ( ESV )
28Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
29For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
So what does biblical preaching look like? This is a question I am constantly asking myself. Even now over thirty years later I am still learning. I think some of those answers are in what Paul brings up in the following verses.
Simple as it may sound, the first word of importance in this verse is HIM. Jesus, is to be at the forefront of all biblical preaching. I know that this sounds like an overkill statement. My problem arises in what many people call deep preaching today. We live in a day in which we hear ten illustrations for every verse. (Preaching needs illustrations. For many in our world though, they tend to make the Bible, fit their illustration.) Enough of our psycho babel preaching which feels great for the body while our souls are starving.
I believe it was Tozer who put it best when he asked, "Whatever happened to Jesus?" Our sharing of the Word should always revolve around His name. His name should be the focus. He is as earlier stated is, "the hope of glory." He alone is who will change the lepers spots and the heart of stone. Let me put it this way, Jesus is not man's greatest need, but rather our ONLY need.
The gospel is not just a feel good thing. We often have this picture of sweet baby Jesus who never gets upset. (There are also some who only see Him as a revenging tyrant.) Paul was balanced in his life. Paul would say that part of our sharing is to shout out to the world a warning.
I remember as a kid, like many of you, the emergency broadcasting signal. It was created as a warning of a possible natural disaster or an atom bomb being dropped on your head. (Just remember, Duck and Cover.) it was created to caution us about coming destruction. In preaching we are called to warn others.
We are to warn the unsaved about a coming wrath of God. We are to warn our families, friends and others about a place called Hell. Some may see this as barbaric. I do not care. This type of mindset would see a child in the middle of the road and would not yell about a coming car. Hell is coming, and we should shout out at the top of our lungs, a warning. There is an urgency to it all. If we believe Hell is real we are called to warn others.
We are also called to warn fellow believers. I am to be a caution light. Even as believers there are consequences for our choices. We are to warn everyone. Look out. Be careful. We are not to have a heart of pride but one that cries out for their friends and loved ones.
True biblical sharing involves teaching others with wisdom. I want to share the Word to where others can understand it and apply it to their lives. II Tim. 3:16-17 tells me that the Word of God will reprove or warn someone. The Word of God will instruct them in the paths of righteousness. We warn and then offer another path. The Word provides positive instruction on how we should live.
What is the end goal of biblical sharing? Mature men and women are the goal. Our goal is to see men and women of God walking daily in a Christ like fashion. Men and women who are not satisfied with just knowledge but application of the Word's principles.
Proclaiming the Gospel is not easy work. Many will stray or walk away. We will grow tired in the journey. Look at how Paul states what kind of work proclaiming the Gospel is. He uses the words toil and struggling. Toil has the idea of a work that will literally wear a person out to the point of exhaustion. Struggling has the idea of to agonize. Do I struggle or agonize over men's souls? Do I struggle or agonize over studying of the Word of God?
Proclaiming the Gospel involves work. I want to encourage you though, as we close out the chapter. We are called to the work but it is, "through His energy that works within me." I must rely upon His power and His abiding strength that lives within me. It is His work, so He will build the church. I am just called, like all of us as believers, to proclaim the Gospel.
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| The new youth building. |
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| Jars of Clay @ Lake Charles. What a blast. |
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