This Sunday, I will finish a sermon series on the book of Judges. Preaching this series has prompted me to think a lot about preaching the gospel from this book. Perhaps that notion seems preposterous or at least presumptuous! Is it really possible to preach the gospel in Judges or, for that matter, in any Old Testament story? I’m working on an article related to this topic, but I’d like to share a couple paragraphs I wrote this morning. . .
What makes a sermon from an Old Testament story gospel centered? The answer is that the preacher connects the theology of a particular narrative with the Bible’s larger story or meta-narrative. This is because the Bible’s larger story is the gospel! To use the language of The Gospel Coalition, the story of the Bible is that God providentially brings about his eternal good purposes to redeem a people for himself and restore his fallen creation, to the praise of his glorious grace. Bryan Chapell’s perspective is worth reflection:
"Even if a preacher does not specifically mention an aspect of Christ’s earthly ministry in a sermon, it can still be Christ-centered. As long as a preacher explains the ways in which God uses a text to reveal his plan, purposes, and/or reasons for redemption, the sermon leads listeners away from human-centered religiosity Exposition is Christ-centered when it discloses God’s essential nature as our Provider, Deliverer, and Sustainer whether or not Jesus is mentioned by name." (Christ-Centered Preaching, 2nd ed., p. 303).
Alright, those are my two paragraphs, or perhaps I should say “one” since the second is a quote from Bryan Chapell! My concern is that Christ-centered or gospel-centered preaching from Old Testament narrative is often reduced to sermons which simply draw lines from the narrative to the incarnate Christ. This may be appropriate at times, but it’s not enough.
I’d love to hear your thoughts or questions on this issue. In my next entry, I’ll say something about John Calvin’s approach to preaching the Old Testament. You may be surprised about his take on the issue of Christ-centered vs. God-centered sermons.
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Posted by Steve Mathewson at 4:28 PM on June 3, 2008
Comments
I like how you say, "What makes a sermon from an Old Testament story gospel centered? The answer is that the preacher connects the theology of a particular narrative with the Bible’s larger story or meta-narrative." I think this is the proper way for one to teach the Gospel from the OT, instead of reading Jesus into every passage. I've struggled with the thought of, "We can see Jesus in every verse!" But I do not actually read about Jesus in every verse.
A question that is lingering in my mind is in regards to authorial intent. If our big idea comes from the question "What was the author trying to say to his audience?" And we know that the authors of the OT were not thinking about Jesus when they wrote the text, then how do we share the gospel in a sermon when the author wasn't thinking about Jesus?
Posted by: Jeremy on June 18, 2008
I think, Jeremy, that your question has a two part answer.
1. Who is the Author? He certainly had Jesus in mind.
2. The human authors were aware of God's plans for a Messiah. They didn't know "Jesus;" but they knew God was working it out.
This may seem simplistic, but having contemplated it some, it satisfies me. We have the benefit of understanding the "fullness" of the plan. Have to admire those ancients (Hebrews 11).
Pressing on, Ed
Posted by: Ed Pomelear on June 18, 2008
Jeremy's question is a good one. Part of the answer, I think, relates to the ultimate Author of Scripture -- as Ed reminds us. There is an interconnectedness to Scripture because God is the author. I would also add that the gospel appears in the Old Testament in latent form. After all, Israel was a redeemed community. The exodus was to the 'Old Testament believer' what the cross is to a new covenant believer. When you read Deuteronomy, you can't help but be amazed at God's grace! We don't violate authorial intent when we show how the gospel comes to its full bloom in Christ.
Posted by: Steve Mathewson on June 20, 2008