Pastor, Preach the Word

I’m currently sitting in my office, saddened, bewildered, and, quite frankly, annoyed. I just spent the last twenty-five minutes listening to a popular pastor and author deliver a message to his large congregation. This may sound harsh, but calling what I heard a sermon would be an overstatement.

His delivery was polished. His inflection was spot on. His voice never drifted into monotony. He was, without question, a gifted orator. But he was not a preacher.

Some might ask, “What’s the difference?”

Plenty.

An orator is a skilled public speaker—eloquent, persuasive, and compelling. A preacher, on the other hand, is a herald of God’s Word. He opens the Scriptures, explains their meaning in their historical, cultural, and grammatical context, and applies them faithfully to the lives of his hearers. In doing so, he protects both the congregation and himself from the danger Paul warned Timothy about: 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 (2 Timothy 4:3–4).

That time is no longer coming. It is here.

Sadly, expositional preaching—the kind that explains and applies the actual text of Scripture—is an afterthought in many pulpits across the country. In its place, we find cleverly packaged talks filled with anecdotes, self-help advice, and motivational points that cater more to the listener’s preferences than to the glory of Christ.

In Preaching and Preachers, a book I often return to, Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote, “The preacher must be a serious man; he must never give the impression that preaching is something light or superficial or trivial.” Today, the serious, bold, and earnest preaching of God’s Word has been overtaken by superficial and trivial messages.

Instead of being grounded in the Word of God, sermons are increasingly centered on series like “Three Steps to Be a Better Parent” or “Five Habits for a New You in the New Year.” But real life doesn’t happen in tidy steps or sequential habits. It happens daily—through temptations, trials, setbacks, and sins—and, by God’s grace, through forgiveness, strength, and transformation in Jesus Christ.

The truth is, the “points” aren’t the point. Jesus is.

Tacking a single Bible verse onto a message doesn’t make it a sermon. A sermon is forged through careful study and prayer—piercing the preacher's heart and mind before he ever steps foot in the pulpit. It unearths the eternal truths of God’s Word, points to the beauty and majesty of Jesus, and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, brings conviction, encouragement, and hope to God’s people.

Again, Lloyd-Jones wrote in Preaching and Preachers, “The work of preaching is the highest and the greatest and the most glorious calling to which anyone can ever be called.” That’s because preaching is not merely speaking but declaring, confronting, comforting, and compelling. It carries eternal weight. Pastoral ministry is weighty. Paul made this plain when he spoke to the Ephesian elders: Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:26–27).

Paul wasn’t offering motivational speeches. He was preaching the whole counsel of God—without skipping, softening, or sugarcoating any part of it. Today, much of that whole counsel is being left out in favor of what’s trendy, therapeutic, or entertaining. The late Scottish pastor William Still bluntly wrote in The Work of the Pastor, “The pastor is called to feed the sheep, even if the sheep do not want to be fed. He is certainly not to become an entertainer of goats. Let goats entertain goats, and let them do it in goatland. You will certainly not turn goats into sheep pandering to their goatishness.”

Pastors are not called to entertain. They are called to feed God’s people with the Word. That “food” must come through diligent study, prayerful preparation, and Spirit-empowered proclamation—for the glory of God and the good of His Church.

Just before Paul warned of itching ears in 2 Timothy 4:3–4, he gave pastors this solemn charge: 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 (2 Timothy 4:1–2).

That charge still stands. And while it may be lofty, those who abandon their own devices and cling to Christ will find the Holy Spirit faithful. He will fill the study, empower the pulpit, and glorify the Savior through His Word.

Praying for our pastors and our pulpits.

Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Photo credit from The Martyn Lloyd-Jones Trust.