Last week I spent most of my days discussing the history of Christian preaching. Its landscape is vast and wide. The history of Christian preaching extends from the early church to today. Throughout its rich past, preaching has been both helpful and at times extremely controversial. It was through preaching that kings and kingdoms were shaped in the Middle Ages. It was through preaching that the Reformation of the 1500s made its impact on Christendom. It is through preaching that nations went from being completely pagan to declaring themselves “Christian.” In Ireland, for instance, St Patrick ushered in Christianity converting pagans into Christian believers in his day. His impact is still felt today.

Throughout the entire week we studied the great men who came before us who left a legacy in preaching. In fact the title of one of our course books written by Dr. Dwayne Milioni and others is A Legacy of Preaching, written in two volumes. In the foreword to Volume Two, John Woodbridge writes, “In today’s spiritually starved world, the need is patent for preachers of unimpeachable integrity who preach with full confidence in the authority and power of the Word of God and who desire to witness Scripture’s ‘great and glorious fruit’ poured out.” And that is the key to preaching … the Word of God and the fruit it yields for God’s people!

As Paul neared the end of his earthly ministry he charge Timothy saying, “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” Note that the first thing he tells Timothy is, “Preach the word[!]” I added the exclamation point to highlight the fact that Paul used (for those familiar with Greek grammar) an Aorist Active Imperative verb as he charged Timothy. In other words, the charge was not simply for him to preach, but it was a command to preach the Word of God!

What was Paul trying to communicate? Mainly that Timothy’s main objective was to remain faithful to preaching the Word of God. He was to be ready at all times using God’s Word for its intended purpose to reprove, rebuke, and exhort (2 Tim 3:16). He was to be ready to teach it, not watering it down as others in his day would. The work of an evangelist and preacher is never easy because it involves telling others the truth. As as some say, “The truth hurts!” The Gospel compels us to preach with boldness against the injustices of our day, against blatant sin, rebellion, and the evils of our day. Preachers must remain both faithful and bold to the Word of God. A simple study of church history reveals that the me who made the greatest impact for God’s Kingdom were those who possessed an unwavering commitment to preach Scripture.

Paul did not instruct Timothy to use a certain methodology in his preaching. I’m sure both of them used different methods when preaching. Today, after a couple thousand years of Christian preaching, many methods have developed. Expository preaching (my preferred method), pericopal, plain speech, topical, liturgical, evangelistic, prophetic, and many other types of preaching have developed within the timeline of Christian history. Methods do play a major factor in communicating God’s message. However, one can employ a certain method without giving proper justice to God’s Word. One can be expository, but lack passion and fervor. One can be topical and simply use Scripture to support his own agenda. A preacher can be evangelistic, but never clearly present the Gospel and its implications for Christian living. A preacher can seek to simply “itch” people’s ears with feel good messages. However, the charge for the preacher is not to be the best at using a certain style of preaching. But rather, to preach the WORD! And to preach in a way that brings about transformative change to those who hear it!

Thankfully, Christian history provides us with examples of men who have preached God’s Word faithfully. Sadly, however, Christian history also contains many examples of those whose preaching simply is found lacking. We should learn from those who have gone before us. We should seek to preserve the history of Christian preaching. We should be familiar with preachers like John of Antioch, Augustine of Hippo, John Huss, Martin Luther, John Calvin, William Tyndale, William Perkins, John Wesley, Robert Murray M’Cheyne, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, John Broadus, John Stott, W. A. Criswell, and others. BUT, one thing we should seek above all in our preaching and from our preachers is that they preach the Word!

May the Lord continue to raise preachers among us, me included, who are unwavering in their commitment to preach the Word!

Written by Daniel Messina

Recommended reading on the history of preaching:

1. Dargan, Edwin Charles and Ralph G. Turnball. A History of Preaching. 2 volumes. Uland Press, 2012. 2. Fant, Clyde E. and Pinson, William M. Twenty Centuries of Great Preaching: An Encyclopedia of Preaching. 13 volumes. Word, 1971. 3. Holland, DeWitte, T. The Preaching Tradition. Abingdon, 1980.
4. Larsen, David L. The Company of the Preachers: A History of Biblical Preaching fromthe Old Testament to the Modern Era. Kregel, 1998.
5. Lischer, Richard. The Company of Preachers: Wisdom on Preaching. Eerdmans, 2002. 6. Old, Hughes Oliphant. The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church. 7 volumes. Eerdmans, 1998–2010. 7. Pattison, T. Harwood. The History of Christian Preaching. American Baptist Publication Society, 1903. 8. Stanfield, Vernon. Notes on the History of Preaching. New Orleans: New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 1963. 9. Turnbull, Ralph G. A History of Preaching, Volume 3. Baker, 1974. 10. Webber, Frederick Roth. A History of Preaching in Britain and America.Northwestern Publishing House, 1952.