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The Benefit Obtained By Preaching
- 11/07/06
- 18
As I read Marsden’s biography of Jonthan Edwards last week, I was stopped short several times by Edwards’ wisdom. Constantly surrounded by conflict, and often facing people who sought to undermine his ministry, Edwards had every opportunity to reflect on the task of a minister. During his ministry, one conflict involved whether sermons should primarily enlighten the mind or whether they should primarily stir the affections. Charles Chauncy, his opponent in this debate, believed that “an enlightened mind, and not raised affections, ought always be the guide of those who call themselves men; and this, in the affairs of religion, as well as other things.” Chauncy, as with many men of his day, believed that the affections were closely related to the passions of one’s animal nature and needed to be restrained by the higher faculty of reason.
Edwards disagreed, teaching that one could not neatly separate the affections from the will. Both the intellect and affections are fallible and unreliable, but both are given by God and ought to be exercised.
And then Marsden points out an application of this. “Critics of the awakenings alleged that when people heard many sermons in one week they would not be able to remember much of what they had heard. Edwards countered, ‘The main benefit that is obtained by preaching is by impression made upon the mind in the time of it, and not by the effect that arises afterwards by a remembrance of what was delivered.’” Marsden concludes, “Preaching, in other words, must first of all touch the affections” (Page 282).
I found this a great encouragement. Like every other Christian, I have often sat enraptured in church, having my mind filled and my affections stirred. But sometimes after arriving home I can barely remember a word that was said. The same is sometimes true of books, Bible studies and conferences. What was so meaningful at the time may be nearly forgotten only a short time later, leaving me to question if it was really so important in the first place. This is not to say that nothing sticks in my mind. Certainly I do remember a lot of what I hear and what I read. But when I consider a 500-page book or a series of 8 speeches and compare what I read or what I heard to what I now remember, it can be awfully frustrating. It can be discouraging.
But, according to Edwards, if I were to worry in this way I would be placing too great an emphasis on intellect and downplaying the importance of affections. I independently reached a similar conclusion to this not so long ago, though unlike Edwards, my conclusions were based on necessity rather than being argued from Scripture. With the amount of conferences I attend and the number of books I read, I have had to have faith that God is working through them, even if I cannot remember the intimate details of a book or conference even only three short weeks after the fact. I’ve had to trust that the effort is not wasted, even if so much seems to fade away so quickly. I’ve had to trust that the Holy Spirit is at work behind the scenes, doing His work, even when I cannot easily measure any benefit. I’ve had to trust, and this has been a useful exercise to me.
The words of Edwards gave me confidence that the benefit of a book cannot be measured simply by how much I remember a week or two weeks or a month after reading it. The benefit of a sermon may be greater during the hearing of it than in the later reflections upon it. The benefit of a conference may be more in the hearing than in the recounting of it. God uses books, Bible studies, conferences and sermons not just to fill my mind, but also (and perhaps even primarily) to stir my affections, even if a frustrating amount of the benefit seems to fade away far too quickly.
I ran Edwards’ quote through Google and found that others have discussed these words as well. I found one article particularly beneficial. Paul at Expository Thoughts applies them to taking notes during church. He also quotes Martyn Lloyd-Jones who wrote of Edwards, “The first and primary object of preaching is not only to give information. It is, as Edwards says, to produce an impression. It is the impression at the time that matters, even more than what you can remember subsequently…. It is not primarily to impart information; and while you are writing your notes you may be missing something of the impact of the Spirit.”
God was good to allow me to encounter these words. I trust that, at the very least, they will continue to resound in my heart so I may have confidence that the Spirit is at work when my affections are stirred and my heart longs for Him.
I am a follower of Jesus Christ, a husband to Aileen and a father to three young children. I worship and serve as a pastor at 
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Comments (18)
Thank you Ti, Good stuff. There are 3 phases of learning. Knowledge, Understanding, Wisdom. Books, sermons, conferences, blogs, etc. all reinforce our knowledge. Understanding what we take in is crucial as we filter what we hear through the prism of Scripture.Wisdom gained from such exercises is seen in men such as yourself when you apply all of what you have heard preached, taught, read etc. in the writing of posts such as your previous one on Haggard.
That can be an encouragement to many pastors. It can be discouraging to give a sermon only to find that there is not much remembrance of it when the church service is over.
I wonder if there is anything we can do to better engage our minds and affections in the worship of God.
Nice post. A pastor, much wiser then I recounts the story of a minister who confided in a friend about his disillusionment in all the hard work in preparing sermons. He wondered if it was worth it as he had to admit he couldn’t remember most of his own words.
His friend responded. “I’ve eaten my wife’s cooking for 60 years. I can’t remember most of the meals, but they nourished me day after day and week after week.”
It’s not all about remembrance, but in the regular nourishment of one’s soul.
-j
Your article was especially timely for me. My husband and I attended this past weekend’s RC Sproul conference in Lexington, KY and loved every minute of it. On our way home Sunday evening we stopped in at our dd and sil’s house and when our son-in-law asked what the conference was about we both just stood there like idiots and couldn’t think of a thing!! Of course, we were both bone tired after a nine hour drive, but still…… It wasn’t much of a witness to our son-in-law who greatly disapproves of our conversion to the Reformed faith.
I took copious notes at the conference and made two copies of them yesterday - one for us and one for dsil. I highly recommend note-taking at such events, even a regular Sunday sermon, to aid memory. Of course, the best aid is the availability of a recording - hopefully, the Ligonier folks will provide that resource!
I’m going to try to remember what you wrote. ;-)
Hmmmm…I’ve read this before, perhaps in Murray’s book, about Edwards and the affections.
Using Jakebrakes’ example; I too, have eaten hundreds of my wifes meals and can’t remember them but I can say the same thing about potato chips. The difference is that my wife’s meals were nourishing but the chips were not. So, our ability to remember the content of a sermon doesn’t endorse or condemn the sermon itself. It may have been good or it may have been bad.
Ultimately, the sermons that have most affected me were the ones that made an impact on my thinking. Like the first sermon I heard concerning God’s Sovereignty and the doctrines of grace.
I think I might have to disagree with Edwards on this one.
Tim,
Thanks for the analysis of this interesting subject.
I hope this is an encouragement to pastors who sometimes feel a burden to help their congregation understand (and remember) everything in a sermon.
My favorite lectures in college were those that I did not understand or were very difficult to remember—but at the end of the semeseter I could look back and see the progression of understanding.
As far as books, a technique that I employ is “phrase summarizing.” I used to underline sentences in a book thinking that it magically helped me to remember what I underlined—it did not (I underline for different purposes now).
But if I come across a point in a book I certainly want to remember I jot in the margin a “phrase summary”; that way it forces me to summarize the point in my own brief words (I can remember points from books I read last year—and I don’t have a great memory).
As far as sermons, I loathe taking notes during this time because I truly believe the holy spirit is doing a special work, and for me, note-taking disrupts my attention. If I want to take notes I will listen to the audio recording, or ask the pastor for his notes. And as Edwards rightly believed, the sermon should primarily leave an impression (conform us to Christ).
Now that I forgot what I just wrote in this comment, I will quit ;-)
Thanks,Alan
*sigh*
I see no need whatever to forego the benefits of either the emotional impact of a sermon or book or whatever or these things’/events’ impact upon my thinking.
Nor do you have to rely entirely upon an untrained and fallible memory of such things to retain their message content.
Take notes, for heaven’s sake! Then, at earliest opportunity, to review those notes and take specific action based on what you learned.
As my favorite uncle was fond of reminding me, “What I hear, I forget; what I see, I remember; what I do I learn.”
There is one further benefit to a great sermon. It can be formative in how we think about everyday life. Something that we could not necessarily remember could pop out at us given the right situation. Of course, people could take notes to help them remember. They could also discuss the sermon in the home, especially considering in what ways they could apply that sermon to their everyday life.
Tim,I think alot of times listening to a great sermon or reading a good book or going to a conference or even most mission trips is merely an act of worship. I just want to hear someone speak truth about Christ, I just want to read someone express truth about Christ, I just want to share Christ and show mercy in the name of Christ. When I hear John Piper or read Spurgeon talk about his conversion or hold an orphan in Haiti or talk to a Universalist about Christ, it is very hard to put into words what I learned.I can say this though, these things are a million times better than sports or money or drugs or anything else the world offers. Marc
Excellent post, Tim. Serve us up some Edwards often!
What is the purpose of taking notes?I struggle with that. I usually don’t take them. And if I do, I barely check them later. So in any case -to my shame- I end up forgetting the sermon almost always, especially when several verses from different books/testaments are brought to drive home a point from the pulpit.On the contrary when I hear a provocative quote short enough to punch me, it stays longer in my mind. Same thing goes for expository preaching or when I memorize and meditate Scripture on the same book of the bible.Then, I conclude that reading profits little when little commitment is made to memorize the text and especially when meditation on it is neglected.
Produce an impression. Aye.
Wonderful thoughts by a true man of God. It causes me to consider the effects of our message at all on the heart of mankind. Instead of what we say and hear, it is truly the spirit of God at work in and through us.
It’s wonderful to know that even in the midst of deaf ears, that our hearts hear the Words of God as we prepare, study, pray and thirst after Him who is our God!
Tim, thank you for your work here… even if some don’t ‘remember’ what is being said; God’s Word is forever.
James Tippins
‘The main benefit that is obtained by preaching is by impression made upon the mind in the time of it, and not by the effect that arises afterwards by a remembrance of what was delivered.’
Thanks for the post, Tim. The above is a very interesting quote. Seems to be in line with the Holy Spirit being the one that applies things to the heart. On the other hand, Edwards did say the “main benefit” not to diminish any after-effect completely. I tend to alternate between taking a few notes and just listening. Lately I’ll just have some paper handy and write something down if I really want to meditate on it later.
Something else I think worth mentioning is that what Edwards referred to as “affections” are not the same as what we call “emotions” today. He and others distinguished between affections and passions. The first basically being that which arises in the soul when it has a sight of the glory of God and the love of God is being exercised in it (I’m sure others here could give a better definition). The latter being desires arising through fleshly or worldly means. Today we seem to just lump them both into one word: emotion. This is not an attempt to judge anyone or say anything about worship styles, but moving worship & music CAN simply be an arousal of a passionate sort of emotion and not be true spiritual affection, for example. Only those who have the love of God dwelling in them can have real affection for God.
Anyway, just thought I’d make reference to that because I’m not sure that our modern condesning of things into the term “emotion” is the best thing.
“Both the intellect and the affections … ought to be exercised”.
Amen.
There are those who have the meat of the Word, but no passion.
And there are those who are full of passion, but with out any meat.
There are those babes in Christ who are passionate, and still on milk, but are growing , and are hungry for the meat of the Word.
This was an excellent post to read. And the comments as well. Good thoughts.
Tim,The ministry of the Holy Spirit is to bring to our rememberance the things that Christ has spoken to us. Whether it be the spoken word or the written word the Holy Spirit brings to our mind the things we have heard or read when it is necessary for us to have them. The impression left in our affections is a spiritual impression which is received by the indwelling Holy Spirit as He takes the things of God and discloses it to us.John 14:16-17, 26; 16:13-15. Therefore we can have confidence that God will bring to our mind what is needful from what we have heard and read.
I think it would be wrong to come to conclusion that simply because I do not rememeber specifics about a sermon or a book that it has had no lasting lasting impact on me water on a ducks back.
In graduate school about 15 years ago I read Packer’s “A Quest for Godliness”. I don’t remember any of the details of the book but I can say that it has had a profound lasting impact on me and the direction in which my thinking has progressed.
I think of it in terms of a hike up a mountain. Most of the steps I take I will not remember. Some steps I remember because I twisted my ankle. At other places I don’t remember the step but I do remember the majestic view. Yet each little step is part of the chain of steps that lead to where I am.
I believe we do ourselves a disservice if we don’t see the benefits of sermons, books, and like as being multifaceted; sometimes its simply worship, or a key point that sticks in our minds, or unseen reinforcement that undergirds us, or more likely a mixture of all these and more.
Thanks Tim.