Monday, October 20, 2008

Phillip Jensen on the Word of God and Preaching

Some helpful bits and pieces from Phillip Jensen on the word of God and preaching:

The gospel proclamation falls into the category of true or false, not opinion and interpretation. Our preaching of it is faithful and accurate or faithless and inaccurate. Effectiveness is not the only criterion of judgment--false prophets can be effective. Truthfulness is more important than effectiveness.
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Unlike reading a fellow human's writings, we are reading the writings of our Creator, Ruler, Judge, and God. The right framework for Bible reading is obedience. The right posture for Bible reading is on one's knees. The right context for Bible reading is amongst the family of those who live according to its message.
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The preacher must learn to trust the interpretive power of the Bible. We do not need to be clever or scholarly but faithful to what the Bible is saying. God can be trusted to make himself clear to the hearers. His Word will deal more wisely with them than any cleverness we may devise.


Phillip Jensen, "Preaching the Word Today," in Ryken and Wilson (eds.), Preach the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway), pp. 168, 169

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