In this session MacArthur continued where he left off as time ran out in the last one. As he discusses the value of expository preaching he is, in a sense, preaching to the choir (which is not to say there is anything wrong with that!). The crowd here has assembled to hear exactly this kind of information and receives it eagerly. Being a southern crowd, the sermons or addresses are punctuated by cries of "Amen!" and "Preach it!" and "Yes!" This is something we don't hear much of in Canada. I suppose there are some who may find it an annoyance, but I love it. And I have to think it's an encouragement to the man in the pulpit.
So here we continue with problems with failing to preach expositionally.
A failure to do expository preaching...
8. Depreciates by example the spiritual duty of personal Bible study.
9. Prevents the preacher from being the voice of God to every issue of his time.
10. Breeds a congregation that is weak and indifferent to the glory of God and Christ.
11. Robs people of their only true source of help, the Scripture.
12. Produces an attitude of indifference toward divine authority.
13. Lies to people about what they really need.
14. Strips the pulpit of power.
15. Assumes the preacher can change people by his own ability.
16. Reduces the preacher's words to the level of everyone else's words.
17. Portrays an attitude of self-love rather than loving God with all your heart, mind and soul.
18. Creates a destructive disconnect between doctrine and life.
19. Denigrates the full glory of God by omitting the attributes and the aspects of His revelation that are somehow unpalatable.
20. Reduces the preacher to the level of every rival preacher.
21. Emasculates the dominion of the pulpit over people's minds and souls.
22. Disconnects people from the legacy of the past.
23. Removes protection from error and carnality so dangerous to the church.
24. Abandons the duty to guard the truth.
25. Fails to defend threatened truths.
26. Denies de facto that all spiritual blessings flow from one's relationship with the Lord.
27. Generates selfish, shallow prayer.
28. Fails to leads people to self-denial--to true humility.
29. Cheats people of the means to truly delight in the Lord.
30. Lacks the general manliness of message and ministry.
Once again, if you wish to hear the brief explanations of each of these points, you'll need to download the audio. Later this afternoon there will be a Q&A and that will be followed by two more addresses by Steve Lawson.
Here's a winning quote from MacArthur when he was discussing a recent appearance on CNN's Headline News. They said to him "Will you come on the show and talk about yoga?" He said, "Of course! I don't care what the subject is. I know what I want to say. I know where I'm going with it." And those who have seen him on Larry King or any other show know that he always gets there.
Incidentally, MacArthur often mentioned the Emerging Church in this talk. At one point he revealed that he has begun work on a new book that will serve as a follow-up to The Truth War. Since the publication of that book people have said that the book was unloving and that he should not write such books but instead just join in the conversation. So he has decided to write a book that answers the simple question, How did Jesus deal with those who misrepresented the truth? Did Jesus tend towards conversation or condemnation? Those who have studied the gospels will know...
Comments (9) »
1. Randy
October 2, 2007
2:16 PM
Can I preorder that book too?
2. Barrett
October 2, 2007
3:02 PM
Tim,
Do you know where we can download the audio? I checked Steve Lawson’s church, where they’ve posted the event, but it might not be up yet. Do you know whether or not they will be hosting the audio themselves or offsite?
3. Tim Challies
October 2, 2007
3:06 PM
I believe the audio will be available in a day or two. It should be at his church site and at his ministry site. Keep an eye on A La Carte and I’ll post it there when it’s available.
4. Bill
October 2, 2007
4:39 PM
Did Spurgeon preach expositorially?
5. Pastor Paul Martin
October 2, 2007
4:47 PM
Here’s hoping you bring some of that “Amen-ing” back home with you!
6. dle
October 2, 2007
6:07 PM
If MacArthur is going to address opponents the way Jesus did, I pray that he takes the time to address them face-to-face, just as the Lord did. That’s the Biblical example. Anyone can write a book excoriating one’s opponents. The Christian goes the hard route and confronts face-to-face. Perhaps then he can even win his opponents over to his way of thinking.
7. Tim Challies
October 2, 2007
8:12 PM
I pray that he takes the time to address them face-to-face, just as the Lord did. That’s the Biblical example.
I don’t know that it necessarily is. When a brother wrongs a brother that is the model, but when a person harms the church in general and in a public way, don’t we then respond in a public way?
8. dle
October 2, 2007
9:04 PM
Tim,
Dr. MacArthur runs in some rarefied theological air. If he wanted to talk with Brian McLaren on the phone or over lunch, he could do it.
We can’t forget that millions of people are involved here. This isn’t just about attacking a couple Emergent leaders. Enormous damage can be done. It is one thing to confront error, but quite another to do it in a godly way that seeks to restore rather than hurt.
When you start getting to this kind of scale, it’s all too easy to go the route of maximum pain, a route that draws the boundary lines with a steamroller that mows good people down without question. And let’s be honest here: real Christians do exist in the Emerging Church ranks. Not all churches lumped in the Emerging Church ranks are heretical. It’s far too easy to write a book exposing the errors of the Emerging Church without actually having any personal contact with genuine human beings within the so-called movement. But that’s not the biblical example. If we are to confront, we do so on a personal basis because we are not afraid of the truth, and by confronting this way, we might gain some better understanding and even win someone to our side.
Several months ago, you wrote an article about a secular rock critic who was trying to understand a kind of music he didn’t get and suspected was pretty bogus. The music? Christian rock.
Instead of forming opinions based on other people’s opinions, he decided to attended Christian rock concerts himself. And this he did for several months, talking with musicians and fans alike.
In the end, he gained some insights he would not have had before about Christian rock. He even found that some of it was good, despite what he’d heard. While he may not have become a Christian through the whole thing, he gained a new respect for Christians and for Christian musicians.
He decided to see for himself. He got personal. He met with the musicians and talked with people at the concerts. His preconceptions changed because he “got dirty.”
If a secular rock critic can get out of his office and get dirty in a world he doesn’t understand, what is our problem? Why do we sit in our ivory towers and lob rocks at people in a far-off land we’ve never met, but we suspect are the worst sort of people? They may indeed be the worst sort of people, but what does it say about us if we claim to know the truth but are afraid to discuss that truth face to face with those people?
Paul was not afraid to face down the philosophers in their own arena. Nor should any of us be afraid to confront face to face those we perceive to be in error. The charge of heresy, and that IS the charge here, is a severe one. It should call for the most personal confrontation possible. Paul confronted Peter face to face over the Judaizer issue. I can only pray that Dr. MacArthir takes the same bold stand and confronts in person those he claims to be heretics before he writes a book saying they are. He owes that not only to those men and women who he thinks are heretics, but also to everyone who has been labeled as part of the Emerging Church. He owes that to his readers. Most of all, he owes that to the Lord.
In the end, where would any of us be if people directly involved in our lives hadn’t taken the time to personally confront in love in the name of Jesus us concerning problems/errors in our lives? I don’t think any of us would be reading this blog. That’s how it’s done. I think the Western Church would be in much better shape if we lived this way, don’t you?
9. DLE
October 2, 2007
10:39 PM
On a slightly different topic than my comments above, I have not listened to the audio (I have some bandwidth issues), but against what is MacArthur comparing expository preaching? Preaching topically? Preaching by narrative? Preaching by demonstration? All of those?
Some clarification might help us all understand his point more effectively.
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