At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, the inspired author, Matthew makes the following comments regarding the response of those who heard Jesus preach…
Matthew 7:28-29 (ESV) – 28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
What amazed Jesus’ hearers was the way in which He preached with authority. He didn’t rely upon the interpretations of other rabbis. No. He spoke authoritatively. His preaching demanded a response.
Of course, Jesus is the only begotten Son of God… very God of very God… the living Word of God (Jn 1:1-18) and in Him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form (Col 2:9.) But does this apply to Christian preachers today???
There are many voices today which are constantly telling us that authoritative preaching is outdated and ineffective… even dangerous. But, in the incarnation, our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, constantly preached with authority (Don’t believe me? Read through the Gospel of Matthew and note the tone of Jesus’ preaching…)
Shouldn’t Jesus be the model for our preaching?
Of course, He possessed authority within Himself. By contrast, our authority as preachers is a delegated authority. Our authority does not come from within ourselves… but from our interpretation and proclamation of the inspired Word of God.
Listen to Paul’s parting instructions to his protégée, Timothy…
2 Timothy 4:1-4 (ESV) – 1 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: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 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, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
Paul calls Timothy… in the presence of God the Father and Jesus Christ… to preach the inspired Scripture. And by doing so, Timothy is to “reprove, rebuke and exhort” his hearers, even if they don’t want to hear it. That sounds like authoritative preaching to me…
Not convinced? Then I would recommend that you listen to Dr. Al Mohler’s recent sermon from the 2009 Shepherd’s Conference. In this message, Dr. Mohler addresses the issue of preaching with authority in great detail. I found this message encouraging and convicting and… whether you are a preacher or not… I highly recommend it to you. You can download it from the Shepherd’s Fellowship site (located here http://www.shepherdsfellowship.org/ . You must register if you are not a member, but the message is a free download.)
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