Thoughts from The Bible

Thoughts from the Bible

Wednesday, 22 January 2025 08:54

A Pulpit in Need of Repair

by Joey Carroll Corinth Missionary Baptist Church

If you read last week, I made the case that the first century culture surrounding the church at Corinth was mesmerized by the way men spoke. Philosophy had taken off, and the rhetorical skills of men were advancing. Unfortunately, it seems as though some men carried this new style into the pulpit. Paul uses a couple of different phrases to describe what was going on… “cleverness of speech” (1:17, NASB) and “superiority of speech” (2:1, NASB). And so Paul seeks to restore the pulpit at Corinth to a faithful way of handling the Word of God.
I am quite sure that the overwhelming majority of preachers would argue that their style of preaching is the “right way.” Each preacher should be thoroughly convinced of that because each and every one of us will be held accountable for our labors from behind the pulpit. But that being said, we know that not everyone is faithful in their ministry of the Word. How can everyone be faithful when we find so many different and contradictory things being said, as well as varying methods being used to say it? Now there is certainly no shortage of books and seminars on the subject of preaching, but sadly most of them are written from a pragmatic perspective, i.e… “if the pews are filling up, then we must be doing it right.” Right? The people at Corinth were certainly enjoying what was going on, but Paul was far less impressed.

I am amazed at how clear the Bible is on the subject of preaching. Not only do we have an incredible number of examples for us in the Bible, but we also have Paul clearly describing faithful preaching in 1 Corinthians. One of my favorite Bible verses is found in 1 Corinthians 2:2, “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified,” (NASB). It’s so special to me in fact that a friend of mine inscribed it on a wooden plaque which I have placed on the Lord’s Table just below the pulpit. I intentionally notice it every Sunday walking to the pulpit to preach. It clearly describes the content of all faithful preaching. Some would argue that this is a firm determination that Paul only held to in the city of Corinth, but I would disagree. The content of every sermon, as well as every letter Paul wrote to the churches, was Jesus Christ. If you remember, Paul begins 1 Corinthians with 11 references to our Lord in the first 10 verses.

Now not every verse in the Bible points to Jesus, but if you back away and understand all the smaller stories, each of those either points to the person of Jesus or the need for Him as the Savior. That’s not to mention that the goal of the entire Bible is to magnify the glory of God through the person of the Son, Jesus Christ. That being said, the goal of every sermon should point to the person and work of the Christ.

A sermon that faithfully proclaims Jesus Christ and Him crucified is the only message that can save a man from his sins. But that sermon must be met by that man’s personal faith in who Jesus is and what He has done on the cross. This is the reason for Paul saying, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18, NASB).

But the message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified is not just the message for sinners in need of a Savior. It is also the only faithful content for the saved who are in need of being made more like Christ everyday. Some commentators refer to the Christian life as “cruciform living.” The way in which our Lord lived can faithfully be described as cruciform. His humble obedience to the Father led Him in a life of self-denial and sacrificial love, as well as humble service to others. And as followers of Jesus, we should walk in the same manner. In fact, Jesus will say “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23, NASB). That verse is nothing more than a faithful expression of Jesus Christ and Him crucified.