Should All Preaching Center On The Cross?

[KMK]

"True Christian preaching must center on the cross of Jesus Christ. The cross is the central doctrine of the holy scriptures. All other revealed truths either find their fulfillment in the cross or are necessarily founded upon it. Therefore, no doctrine of Scripture may faithfully be set before men unless it is displayed in its relationship to the cross. The one who is called to preach, therefore, must preach Christ because there is no other message from God." Thomas F. Jones, quoted in "Christ Centered Preaching" by Bryan Chapell, pg. 271

How do you preachers feel about RH preaching? Should it be done all the time? Most of the time? Only some of the time?

 

[SolaGratia]

Should All Preaching Center On The Cross?

All Preaching Should be focus on the Glory of God.

 

[Pergamum]

Paul says that he only wants to preach Christ crucified.......

Yet, the majority of his exhortations center on Christian relationships in most of his letters.



So, it appears that we are to preach in the shadow of the cross...it need not be about the actual crucifixion every week. CHurch relationships involve a constant dying to self and Paul uses Biblical imagery even when describing husband-wife relationships (Eph 5) and about humbleness (Phil 2).



SO...yes, we are to preach the Gospel as far as the Gospel spreads it influence....ie.. into every area of our life.



P.S. I know some antinomian "sovereign grace baptists" who never preach about sancitifcation because this would get away from preaching about Christ cruficied. So, they preach great justification messages, but there is hardly anything ever said about our lateral relationships with other beleivers.

 

[Southern Presbyterian]

Paul tells us that the cross is at the center of history, [bible]Galatians 4:4[/bible]. That is, history is centered around what Christ did upon the cross. And we know, as reformed believers, that Christ is supposed to be at the center of all we do, WSC Q1. Therefore by way of application, all biblical preaching should be "centered" upon the cross.

 

[2 Tim 4:2]

Paul mentions the cross in every epistle he wrote. When reading the NT we need to understand the passage in light of the whole book. This is the reason topical preaching from week to week is inferior to preaching through books in an expository manner. The cross is always the central theme. God intended that we always remember the cross.

 

[panicbird]

Jesus said that all the Old Testament was about Him (Luke 24:44-47). Thus, if we are reading and preaching the OT (and, I would argue, the NT) rightly, then we must always end up seeing and preaching Jesus in some way. That way will not always be the same (indeed, it should not), but, if we are to take Jesus at His word, we should ever be seeing Jesus in all the Scriptures.

Of course, your question was "Should all preaching center on the cross?" That is a related, but different question. I would, however, answer it roughly the same. The center of Jesus' ministry is the cross, the point of Scripture is to point to Jesus; thus, in some way, all preaching should be preaching the cross.

As it has already been said, Paul "preached Christ and Him crucified" but showed a great variety in how he did that and what that meant. Thus, the "some way" that we preach the cross and Jesus need not be singular and without variation.

 

[RamistThomist]

While I agree that all preaching should be Christ-centered, not all passages are equally clear to be cross-centered. For example. 1 Chronicles

14And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah. Then for Zechariah his son, a wise counsellor, they cast lots; and his lot came out northward.

15To Obededom southward; and to his sons the house of Asuppim.

16To Shuppim and Hosah the lot came forth westward, with the gate Shallecheth, by the causeway of the going up, ward against ward.

17Eastward were six Levites, northward four a day, southward four a day, and toward Asuppim two and two.

18At Parbar westward, four at the causeway, and two at Parbar.

Where is the cross? I am not being ornery, but this is a question that people will ask.

 

[BobVigneault]

For me if I preach without the cross (Gospel) then it's not preaching, it's teaching. I would follow Spurgeon's advice here and say your preaching need not center on the cross but it should always lead to the Cross. I may preach on the role of the husband but I'm going to end that sermon with a call to Christ through the power of the Cross.

 

[tmckinney]

Spurgeon's anecdote here answers this question beautifully.

A young man had been preaching in the presence of a venerable divine, and after he had done he went to the old minister, and said, "What do you think of my sermon?" "A very poor sermon indeed," said he. "A poor sermon?" said the young man, "it took me a long time to study it." "Ay, no doubt of it." "Why, did you not think my explanation of the text a very good one?" "Oh, yes," said the old preacher, "very good indeed." "Well, then, why do you say it is a poor sermon? Didn't you think the metaphors were appropriate and the arguments conclusive?" "Yes, they were very good as far as that goes, but still it was a very poor sermon." "Will you tell me why you think it a poor sermon?" "Because," said he, "there was no Christ in it." "Well," said the young man, "Christ was not in the text; we are not to be preaching Christ always, we must preach what is in the text." So the old man said, "Don't you know young man that from every town, and every village, and every little hamlet in England, wherever it may be, there is a road to London?" "Yes," said the young man. "Ah!" said the old divine "and so form every text in Scripture, there is a road to the metropolis of the Scriptures, that is Christ. And my dear brother, your business in when you get to a text, to say, 'Now what is the road to Christ?' and then preach a sermon, running along the road towards the great metropolis—Christ. And," said he, "I have never yet found a text that had not got a road to Christ in it, and if I ever do find one that has not a road to Christ in it, I will make one; I will go over hedge and ditch but I would get at my Master, for the sermon cannot do any good unless there is a savour of Christ in it." (The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon 242)

 

[Ruben100]

Him We Proclaim

Westminster Seminary California Bookstore

Dennis Johnson

 

[Larry Hughes]

Dennis Johnson, excellent!!!

If all preaching is not centering there, flee with all due speed! It’s also one of the reasons Christ is not seen in the OT by Churches today 2000+ years removed. John 5 is a stunning accusation and danger because it speaks not of another religious book but Scripture:

John 5:38-40, “nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”

God’s glory is revealed and summed up in Christ and the glory of the Law and the Gospel blaze forth at the Cross like no where else:

Hebrews 1:1-4, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.”

Revelation 21:22-24, “I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.”

These can easily be multiplied endlessly,

Blessings,

L

 

[RamistThomist]

While I agree that all preaching should be Christ-centered, not all passages are equally clear to be cross-centered. For example. 1 Chronicles

14And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah. Then for Zechariah his son, a wise counsellor, they cast lots; and his lot came out northward.

15To Obededom southward; and to his sons the house of Asuppim.

16To Shuppim and Hosah the lot came forth westward, with the gate Shallecheth, by the causeway of the going up, ward against ward.

17Eastward were six Levites, northward four a day, southward four a day, and toward Asuppim two and two.

18At Parbar westward, four at the causeway, and two at Parbar.

Where is the cross? I am not being ornery, but this is a question that people will ask.

*bump*

 

[Ezekiel3626]

While I agree that all preaching should be Christ-centered, not all passages are equally clear to be cross-centered. For example. 1 Chronicles

14And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah. Then for Zechariah his son, a wise counsellor, they cast lots; and his lot came out northward.

15To Obededom southward; and to his sons the house of Asuppim.

16To Shuppim and Hosah the lot came forth westward, with the gate Shallecheth, by the causeway of the going up, ward against ward.

17Eastward were six Levites, northward four a day, southward four a day, and toward Asuppim two and two.

18At Parbar westward, four at the causeway, and two at Parbar.

Where is the cross? I am not being ornery, but this is a question that people will ask.

*bump*

Usually my first response is to direct them to the words of the Lord Jesus Christ himself, on the road to Emmaus, Luke 24:25,26. After speaking of Christ "having suffered these things, and to enter into his glory", the Bible says that "beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." Now, I readily admit that if someone used the verses you cited, it would take more time to "make the connection". I also believe that someone who has not been regenerated or enlightened by the Holy Ghost cannot and will not understand or receive the things of Christ. MacArthur cites 3 main doctrines in 1 Chronicles; blessing, judgment, and the Davidic covenant. Anyone else want to jump in?

 

[RamistThomist]

While I agree that all preaching should be Christ-centered, not all passages are equally clear to be cross-centered. For example. 1 Chronicles



Where is the cross? I am not being ornery, but this is a question that people will ask.

*bump*

Usually my first response is to direct them to the words of the Lord Jesus Christ himself, on the road to Emmaus, Luke 24:25,26. After speaking of Christ "having suffered these things, and to enter into his glory", the Bible says that "beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." Now, I readily admit that if someone used the verses you cited, it would take more time to "make the connection". I also believe that someone who has not been regenerated or enlightened by the Holy Ghost cannot and will not understand or receive the things of Christ. MacArthur cites 3 main doctrines in 1 Chronicles; blessing, judgment, and the Davidic covenant. Anyone else want to jump in?

I am not disputing that preaching ought to be cross/Christ-centered. That is a given per the verses you quoted. My question is *how* does Parbar reflect the cross?

 

[Calvibaptist]

While I agree that all preaching should be Christ-centered, not all passages are equally clear to be cross-centered. For example. 1 Chronicles

14And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah. Then for Zechariah his son, a wise counsellor, they cast lots; and his lot came out northward.

15To Obededom southward; and to his sons the house of Asuppim.

16To Shuppim and Hosah the lot came forth westward, with the gate Shallecheth, by the causeway of the going up, ward against ward.

17Eastward were six Levites, northward four a day, southward four a day, and toward Asuppim two and two.

18At Parbar westward, four at the causeway, and two at Parbar.

Where is the cross? I am not being ornery, but this is a question that people will ask.

*bump*

It's a ridiculous question. As a preacher, I probably wouldn't preach on just these four verses. I would place them in their historical and biblical context on a sermon as I was preaching through 1 Chronicles, which details the development and preservation of the Davidic line that leads to Christ. This is an easy connection.

If I wanted to I could probably take these four verses which relate to the establishment of the sons of Korah who served as gatekeepers in the temple and I could extend it to describing how Christ is the fulfillment of that type as the true gatekeeper of the house of God.

 

[RamistThomist]

While I agree that all preaching should be Christ-centered, not all passages are equally clear to be cross-centered. For example. 1 Chronicles



Where is the cross? I am not being ornery, but this is a question that people will ask.

*bump*

It's a ridiculous question. As a preacher, I probably wouldn't preach on just these four verses. I would place them in their historical and biblical context on a sermon as I was preaching through 1 Chronicles, which details the development and preservation of the Davidic line that leads to Christ. This is an easy connection.

Ridiculous? maybe, but given Lk. 24 it is certainly a legitimate question. If all the scriptures are revelatory of the cross/Christ, then this reflects back on my example. I am not trying to throw out reductios for the sake of it. Rather, I am trying to force reflection beyond cliches to helpful application. Yes, as the other person who responded to me noted, it takes more time and reflection.

 

[Calvibaptist]

*bump*

It's a ridiculous question. As a preacher, I probably wouldn't preach on just these four verses. I would place them in their historical and biblical context on a sermon as I was preaching through 1 Chronicles, which details the development and preservation of the Davidic line that leads to Christ. This is an easy connection.

Ridiculous? maybe, but given Lk. 24 it is certainly a legitimate question. If all the scriptures are revelatory of the cross/Christ, then this reflects back on my example. I am not trying to throw out reductios for the sake of it. Rather, I am trying to force reflection beyond cliches to helpful application. Yes, as the other person who responded to me noted, it takes more time and reflection.

I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said ridiculous because the intent wasn't ridiculous. Often a question like this is similar to the "Did Adam and Eve have belly-buttons" type.

I gave two examples of how it could be done fairly easily just looking at the larger context. Like I said, as a preacher, I most likely (in the process of going through 1 Chronicles) would not just cover these 4 verses. I would probably cover them in a larger context which, most likely, would have a clear connection to Christ and the cross. If I was Charles Spurgeon, I would be able to cover one of the verses with 7 points and have a clear connection to the cross. But, Spurgeon I definitely am not.

 

[SolaScriptura]

During my time in Afghanistan I had the good pleasure of working with an old chaplain who is a very "crotchety" confessional LCMS minister. He was a blast.

As you (probably) know, Lutheran theology focuses on the Law/Gospel distinction... When that paradigm is applied to homiletics, a "whole" sermon includes BOTH Law and Gospel.

I agree.

 

[Larry Hughes]

a "whole" sermon includes BOTH Law and Gospel.

I agree.

 

[GlenThompson]

Man…this whole matter has aroused in me a great craving to preach Christ & Him crucified! I loved that Spurgeon quote…the heart of the matter!

I would go as far as to say that not only is 'All Scripture' Cross-centered; but it is all built upon Gen 3:15, which, as I see it, is centered on both the crucifixion & the resurrection of Christ! If it were merely 'crucifixion' focused then it would be false prophesy! It would then need to read; 'He shall bruise your head & you shall bruise His head'! This, of course would leave us all hopeless & with a poor dead Jesus! On the contrary, & this is our great joy, in the light of 'Easter Sunday' that which was otherwise a 'bruised head' is rightly termed a merely 'bruised heel'!

So yes, without apology, we preach the resurrected Savior Christ Jesus the Lamb of God!

Incidentally, it is only once we are graced with a riveting & awe inspiring glimpse of the sheer glory of all that is ours in Him that we will begin to make any real progress whatsoever in the whole area of 'Sanctification'! God doesn’t need our goodness...our morality! If He has us at all He has all of us!

What blessed my socks off was the ‘School of Preaching’ held in RSA recently where Ian Duguid was the speaker; He was exceptionally good & helpful in this whole matter! I would also like to recommend Robert Reymond's book on preaching, 'The God-Centered Preacher', & with that Edmond Clowney’s, ‘Preaching Christ in all of Scripture’.

God bless you all

Glen Thompson

 

[Amazing Grace]

*bump*

Usually my first response is to direct them to the words of the Lord Jesus Christ himself, on the road to Emmaus, Luke 24:25,26. After speaking of Christ "having suffered these things, and to enter into his glory", the Bible says that "beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." Now, I readily admit that if someone used the verses you cited, it would take more time to "make the connection". I also believe that someone who has not been regenerated or enlightened by the Holy Ghost cannot and will not understand or receive the things of Christ. MacArthur cites 3 main doctrines in 1 Chronicles; blessing, judgment, and the Davidic covenant. Anyone else want to jump in?

I am not disputing that preaching ought to be cross/Christ-centered. That is a given per the verses you quoted. My question is *how* does Parbar reflect the cross?

I dont believe it does. Christ centered/Cross centered obviously has to be done with care in regards to the text one preaches from. We must be careful not to over spiritualize every verse to mean something that it never intended to teach.

All the scriptures are not revelatory to the cross of Christ per se'. If you notice Christs words on the road to Emmauss, He states, "All the scriptures that pertained to Him" Not all the verses pertained to Him.

 

[KMK]

All the scriptures are not revelatory to the cross of Christ per se'. If you notice Christs words on the road to Emmauss, He states, "All the scriptures that pertained to Him" Not all the verses pertained to Him.

In my Bible it says, "He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself." However, one wonders if the Lord had enough time on just one walk to expound 'all' scripture including 1 Chronicles.

But He does say in John 5:39, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they whcih testify of Me."

"In its context, every passage possesses one or more of four redemptive foci. Every text is predictive of the work of Christ, preparatory for the work of Christ, reflective of the work of Christ, and/or resultant of the work of Christ." Bryan Chapell, "Christ Centered Preaching", Pg 275 (bold mine)

 

[Amazing Grace]

All the scriptures are not revelatory to the cross of Christ per se'. If you notice Christs words on the road to Emmauss, He states, "All the scriptures that pertained to Him" Not all the verses pertained to Him.

In my Bible it says, "He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself." However, one wonders if the Lord had enough time on just one walk to expound 'all' scripture including 1 Chronicles.

But He does say in John 5:39, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they whcih testify of Me."

"In its context, every passage possesses one or more of four redemptive foci. Every text is predictive of the work of Christ, preparatory for the work of Christ, reflective of the work of Christ, and/or resultant of the work of Christ." Bryan Chapell, "Christ Centered Preaching", Pg 275 (bold mine)

That was my point. Notice the 2 words. Concerning Himself...... I do not know if I agree with Chapell for practical reasons. The road is a long long winding road if we look at every passage equalling ever word/verse. I have seen many roman catholics overspiritualize scriptures. We can all make them a nose of wax to say whatever we want them to say. Moses and the prophets are the concern for Jews. David, Isaiah and Daniel. I asked a cantor at our synogogue where I live, he told me that to a jew, this would not have been understood as anything other than prophecy specifically speaking of the 'One who Comes' ie the Messiah. It would never have been understood to mean every single verse in the OT. And specifically about His sufferings,death and resurrection.

 

[KMK]

Spurgeon:

The grand object of the Christian ministry is the glory of God. Whether souls are converted or not, if Jesus Christ be faithfully preached, the minister has not laboured in vain, for he is a sweet savour unto God as well in them that perish as in them that are saved. Yet, as a rule, God has sent us to preach in order that through the gospel of Jesus Christ the sons of men may be reconciled to Him. Here and there a preacher of righteousness, like Noah, may labour on and bring none beyond his own family circle into the ark of salvation; and another, like Jeremiah, may weep in vain over an impenitent nation; but, for the most part, the work of preaching is intended to save the hearers. It is ours to sow even in stony places, where no fruit rewards our toil; but still we are bound to look for a harvest, and mourn if it does not appear in due time...Our great object of glorifying God is, however, to be mainly achieved by the winning of souls. We must see souls born unto God. If we do not, our cry should be that of Rachel, "Give me children, or I die." If we do not win souls, we should mourn as the husbandman who sees no harvest, as the fisherman who returns to his cottage with an empty net, or as the huntsman who has in vain roamed over hill and dale. Ours should be Isaiah's language uttered with many a sigh and groan—"Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?" The ambassadors of peace should not cease to weep bitterly until sinners weep for their sins...This being fully admitted, what else would be done if we hope to see conversions? Assuredly we should be careful to preach most prominently those truths which are likely to lead to this end. What truths are those? I answer, we should first and foremost preach Christ, and Him crucified. Where Jesus is exalted souls are attracted—"I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me." The preaching of the cross is to them that are saved the wisdom of God and the power of God. From "Lectures To My Students" Chapter 23

Then he goes on to outline the preaching process:

Preach the evil of sin...
Preach the depravity of human nature...
Preach the necessity of the Holy Spirit's divine operations...
Preach the certainty that every transgression will be punished...
Preach atonement...
Preach justification by faith...
Preach the love of God in Christ Jesus...

 

[Archlute]

Paul says that he only wants to preach Christ crucified.......

Yet, the majority of his exhortations center on Christian relationships in most of his letters.



So, it appears that we are to preach in the shadow of the cross...it need not be about the actual crucifixion every week. Church relationships involve a constant dying to self and Paul uses Biblical imagery even when describing husband-wife relationships (Eph 5) and about humbleness (Phil 2).





SO...yes, we are to preach the Gospel as far as the Gospel spreads it influence....ie.. into every area of our life.



P.S. I know some antinomian "sovereign grace baptists" who never preach about sanctification because this would get away from preaching about Christ crucified. So, they preach great justification messages, but there is hardly anything ever said about our lateral relationships with other believers.

You answered your own question here - epistles are not sermons. If one studies the sermons that are actually recorded in Acts (most assuredly in abbreviated form), and the "epistle" to the Hebrews (which Dr. Johnson argues is actually a sermon) he will see that, indeed, Christ is the center of all true preaching. Not the just the crucification itself, but the fullness of Christ's person and work. Within our sermons there will be application and doctrine, but always flowing from the reality of Christ and his work (see again, Acts and Hebrews).

For what it's worth, when I hear sermons that are merely doctrinal or practical I really get irritated with the preacher for failing his duties. Luther's sermons are some of the best for seeing the richness of Christ in preaching - and he does not do this at the expense of doctrine or application either, but even the doctrine/application centers on Him.

 

[Archlute]

*bump*

It's a ridiculous question. As a preacher, I probably wouldn't preach on just these four verses. I would place them in their historical and biblical context on a sermon as I was preaching through 1 Chronicles, which details the development and preservation of the Davidic line that leads to Christ. This is an easy connection.

Ridiculous? maybe, but given Lk. 24 it is certainly a legitimate question. If all the scriptures are revelatory of the cross/Christ, then this reflects back on my example. I am not trying to throw out reductios for the sake of it. Rather, I am trying to force reflection beyond clichés to helpful application. Yes, as the other person who responded to me noted, it takes more time and reflection.

Ha, ha! I love you, brother, but this is pretty ridiculous! The preaching unit as a whole must be coherent, and the unit that you threw out there is arguably incoherent for any style of meaningful preaching. When Christ spoke of himself in relationship to the Holy Scriptures, he certainly meant as a whole, in meaningful units. I mean, if you took your argument further you could ask if every Greek word, and how it is parsed, speaks of Christ (which in a different manner it does, as he is Lord and creator even of our languages!), an argument that nobody would sanely press. Certainly the larger context, which would be required for any meaningful sermon, indeed speaks of Christ.

But while we are at it, the apostolic practice seemed to find Christ in ways and places that would make the post-enlightenment Christian quite squeamish. Take for example Paul's use of the Septuagintal text of Deut. 30:12-14 in his argument in Romans 10:6ff, or his use of Hagar and Sarah in Galatians 4, and the accompanying citation from Isa. 54:1 - most of you would flip if your ministers preached like this on a Sunday morning, but that raises exactly the right question, doesn't it? Are we preaching according the example of the apostles (as preachers who seek to be Reformed in our homiletic according the Word), or are we submerged in an Enlightenment influenced view of biblical hermeneutics?

These are exactly the kinds of questions that Johnson and Beale ask in their works. Too often we hear charges of allegory by Christians who were raised on Bernard Ramm's hermeneutics primer (or something similar) that stressed the "historical-grammatical" approach so much, that Christ and Christan dogma (with which post-Enlightenment minds have a difficult time dealing) are altogether omitted, much less made secondary in importance. The more that I read the preaching of the Fathers, Luther, and even some of the Puritans, the more that I am convinced that preaching has become so impoverished, because it has strayed so far from a richly Christ-centered approach to interpretation and preaching, and has nothing left to give the contemporary world. Our preaching is not otherworldly, and if one's does so become, the rest of us usually get a bit nervous.

For those of you still worried about falling into allegory - read Johnson's work. He deals with those issues as well.