Lesson Goal
Introduce some basic elements of balanced preaching.
Lesson Intro
In Acts 20:27 Paul informs the the church of God in Ephesus that he had preached to them the whole counsel of God. Most preachers that do not have a structured annual preaching plan are guilty of over-preaching their hobby horses. However, there are some techniques for overcoming this tendency so that we can preach the whole council of God.
Lesson Plan
We will look at the idea of preaching the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27), rather than just our favorite subjects, or a narrow and bigoted view on doctrines. We will also look at the quest for balance in style and a balance between the positive and negative.
Lesson Body
1. Balanced in Bible Use
While a lectionary plan does give some balance to our preaching by covering about 75% of the Bible over a three year period, not every preacher uses one, and even those that do, do not necessarily use it to teach from during the sermon, and even those that do, do not necessarily preach all 3 or 4 pericopes in one sermon. How then can we bring balance to our preaching?
One way is to not just preach from the Gospels every single week. Some preachers do, but that is not the whole counsel of God. Some preachers favor the epistles of Paul; others favor certain Old Testament passages such as Psalms and Proverbs. The lectionary gives us some example on how to be balanced between different sections of the Bible. It usually contains a central gospel reading, an epistle, a Psalm and another Old Testament reading. We could ask ourselves if our preaching is about 20% from each of these four areas, and that leaves another 20% for miscellaneous topics, seasonal preaching, and other books of the Bible and so on.
If my favorite Old Testament books to preach from were Proverbs and Psalms, people might get the idea that, things always work out for good that God's word is all about health and wealth. However, if I maintain equilibrium by also preaching from two books with the opposite perspective, Ecclesiastes and Job, then people will get a more balanced approach to understanding the mind of God.
Teachers who teach a semester in school or university plan a curriculum for their subjects. Why should the weekly sermon be an unplanned, disorganized Saturday night special? Some may object that they ask God to inspire their sermons and therefore they don't need to plan. That is a lame excuse. God is not the author of confusion, and usually such a supposedly inspired non-plan turns out to be more human whim than divine order. God set Adam and Eve in the garden to dress it and keep it, not to just give the pathetic justification that however God wants the plants to grow they will grow. The same is true in the annual sermon garden. It needs careful planting, pruning, and weeding.
How would a balanced sermon plan look? A preacher might take a blank annual calendar with all 52 weeks on one large page. With pencil, 52 different topics, scriptures, styles, seasons, parts of scripture, could be written down. If you preach twice a week, do you preach the same sermon each time because they are two different crowds, or do you preach two different sermons, because they are basically the same people? That brings you to 104 different sermons. What about the mid-week study, sermon, or whatever else you may call it? If you do something different there, that brings it to 156 different messages.
Who is going to preach all those messages? If you are on vacation for some of that time, do you have trained replacements? If not, why not? If it is not possible to get someone from a neighboring church, can you train some people locally? Frankly, I would prefer to train someone locally, but that is my style. I train leaders. It may not be your style or gift and that is okay too.
Now what about other teaching/preaching slots such as the Sunday school, small groups, women's tea, men's breakfast, youth Bible Study, family campout, leadership retreat, elders meeting, deacons meeting, women's auxiliary, service team meeting, music ministry team meeting and other opportunities to give a small word from God? All these occasions are important times that need planning. If we fail to plan, we plan to fail, and our opportunities to give a word in season will be lost.
2. Balanced in Doctrine
Most of the major doctrines are those areas of Christian teaching where the churches are in general agreement. Most churches agree that the words of Jesus ought to have high priority in the life of the church. Most churches believe in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Most churches believe in the angels, the fall of humankind, the Bible, salvation, the church and that Jesus will return.
Then we get to the denominational doctrines. Take for instance, immersion baptism. I personally prefer immersion baptism. However, it is biblically and theologically unbalanced to teach that any other mode makes you a non-Christian. You might laugh, but I heard that preached by a leading Baptist preacher in recent years. It is best to preach the whole council of God on baptism and any other subject, thereby diminishing bigotry. How do we preach the whole counsel of God on the topic of baptism for example? This may be strong meat for some. I hope you don't choke on it. It may certainly not be suitable to preach in every church, especially those only able to swallow the milk of the word, or are so deeply steeped in prejudice that they cannot be moved.
Example Sermon
Here is an example of how to preach baptism with balance, in a church that is ready for it:
Title: "Baptism Bigotry Busting"
Goal
Teach a balanced approach to the doctrine of baptism.
Intro
Why do some Christians insist on taking baptism literally, yet wine figuratively by substituting grape juice? This is one of the riddles of Christianity. The mode of and the right age for baptism are divisive issues in the Christian Church. This is a brief introduction to the main causes of division regarding how and when baptism ought to be performed and how to overcome the bigotry.
Plan
I will teach about the mode of baptism and show that the Bible supports not only my preference, immersion, but also the preference of some other denominations, sprinkling and pouring. Then I will discuss the topic of infant baptism, and show that those who practice this have just as legitimate biblically sound reasons for doing so as those who practice only adult baptism.
Body:
A. The Mode of Baptism
1. Literal Meaning is a Half Truth
Many who baptize by dunking or immersing people into water rightly point out that in the original Greek the word baptize means exactly to "immerse." However, that is only half the truth. There is more to the story. They leave the rest of the story out, probably because they have not been taught that there is anything else to learn about the word.
2. The Often Untold Other Half
Just as in our own language words are not always used in a literal sense. Even in the Bible the Greek word for baptize, ßapt??? (baptizo, pronounced bahpTEED'zo) is used in a non-literal sense and can also mean to wash (Mark 7:4; Luke 11:38). Without a more definitive biblical mandate describing immersion only, we cannot judge those who prefer a symbolic washing under poured or sprinkled water.
Amazingly too, the Bible also describes the ceremony of baptism as being like a washing (Acts 22:16), which could be accomplished by either immersion (dunking), sprinkling (aspersion) or pouring (affusion).
3. Buried with Him
Perhaps the most convincing argument for immersion is its picture of a burial (Romans 6:3-5). However, it is more specifically the burial of Jesus Christ that baptism pictures. We must be honest in admitting that Jesus' burial was not in the ground, but rather above ground in a tomb behind a vertical door blocked by a rolled stone. It would be difficult to be immersed sideways in water that magically stood vertical like the door of a tomb. So, even this argument falls short of being conclusive because it takes the analogy of a burial too far. It also ignores other pictures of baptism such as the Holy Spirit being poured out on us.
4. Holy Spirit Poured
Water baptism is also a picture of our spiritual baptism of the Holy Spirit. Christians are told they will receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit (John 1:33; 1 Corinthians 12:13). This is described in other places in terms similar to pouring water (Acts 2:17-18; 10:45). So, if we are going to argue for immersion because baptism pictures a burial, what will we do with the Holy Spirit being poured out? Should we now have baptism ceremonies where we are both immersed and water is poured on us, just so we get all the symbolism exactly? Having water poured as a mode of baptism is certainly rich in symbolism and not deficient as some might argue. However, even here, the mode is nowhere commanded in Scripture, only water is.
5. "If it was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me!"
Have you ever heard someone say, that if immersion was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me? I have. It's an old argument, but as weak as water, if you'll pardon the pun. What are people referring to when they say this? The supposed proof of Jesus' immersion points to Jesus coming "up out of the water," after his baptism. This is a misunderstanding, and a reading into the text of more than what it actually says. The Greek in Matthew 3:16 means Jesus literally came "up away from" the water. Also, if I am standing ankle deep down a river bank in the water and exit, I would come "up out of the water" even though I had never been fully immersed.
When people read of the Jordan River, they often think of a large river like those in Europe or North America. However, for much of its journey, the Jordan is only ankle deep. In fact some early church mosaics and paintings in the catacombs show Jesus standing ankle deep in the Jordan River and John the Baptist using a shell to pour water over him. If such was the case, Jesus would also come up out of the water, when he left. Jesus probably was immersed, but this verse alone is not proof of that and is perhaps even purposefully vague, because frankly God is not concerned with the method of baptism as much as he is concerned about the fact of baptism.
6. The Faith Once Delivered
"I want the original" is a similar argument to "if it was good enough for Jesus..." People often claim they are getting back to the faith once delivered (Jude 3). This is an argument used by many Protestant and Catholic reformers. The original mode of baptism was most likely immersion. However, the Church adopted other modes for convenience or necessity very quickly, believing that it was perfectly legitimate to do so.
Many who want the original mode of baptism, do not use the original wine for communion but instead use grape juice. This is patently inconsistent. If we are going to use the original as an argument, where do we stop? Upon investigation, it is not too hard to see that those who claim to have the original version of this or that usually pick and choose only certain original things, and avoid others.
Whether or not something is original is an argument that Christians may over use. Whether or not something is allowed by Christ is a more honest consideration.
7. The Baptism of Moses
Ancient Israel was baptized into Moses (1 Corinthians 10:1-4) in either the Red or Reed sea. This antecedent to Christian baptism pictures two interesting things: 1) they were not immersed, but walked through dry shod, and 2) both adults and children were baptized.
In fact early church records such as the Didache written around 70-110 AD show that the pouring of water over people for their baptism as well as immersion was allowed.
B. Infant Baptism
1. Children Baptized?
We have already seen one antecedent to Christian baptism showing whole families being baptized, but is that enough to support infant baptism? Some Christians will only baptize adults, saying an infant cannot believe (Acts 2:38). Yet, the very next verse, Acts 2:39 says it is "for you and your children." When is not mentioned. Those supporting a believers' baptism as opposed to a belief-of-the-household baptism cannot find a definitive statement demanding only adults here. Instead the possibility of children being baptized is left open.
2. Three Whole Households without Children?
We later read that whole households were baptized (1 Corinthians 1:16; Acts 11:13-14; 16:15, 31, 33). There is no proof whether or not there were children in these households. However, having no children in one household is probable. The statistical probability becomes less likely, when we consider that at least three households are mentioned. To expect us to believe that there were no children in all three cases may be a little unreasonable. The Bible also nowhere mentions a later baptism of a Christian child as an adult. Granted, that is also an argument from silence, but it does make one wonder.
3. Circumcision and Baptism
Yet another antecedent to baptism is circumcision (Colossians 2:11-12) and it was performed on eight-day-old children. It seems then that those who baptize children and have those children confirm it with the laying on of hands at a later age, may also in reality be practicing a "believer's baptism" except with the time order modified. Is there any precedent for modifying the time order around a person's conversion? Yes there is. The Gentiles received the Holy Spirit before they were baptized (Acts 10:47), so it does not seem that God is worried if things are in a different time order, just as long as they are completed at some time.
C. No Water at All?
Some such as Quakers and the Salvation Army prefer not to use physical things like water at all, but rather speak of only being baptized in the Spirit. However, as a Quaker professor of mine once said, in critiquing his own denomination, they have done away with the physical elements that Jesus instituted and substituted others of their own making, such as a particular style of clothing. As he further asked, which physical elements ought to be more important, ones invented by men or those instituted by Jesus?
D. Honesty Check
We must all admit that the mode of baptism is a non-essential. Baptists and other immersionists must admit that their doctrine is based upon a half-truth, a narrow and literal interpretation of the Greek word. Immersionists must also admit that there is no instruction in the Bible, other than their narrow interpretation of baptizo, which tells Christians that they may only be baptized by literal immersion. Non-immersionists must admit that the original mode of baptism was most likely immersion. Immersionists must admit that the Bible nowhere bans other modes of baptism.
Infant baptizers must admit honestly that their practice is based upon an argument from silence. Those who ban infant baptism must likewise admit that their ban is an argument from silence.
Outro
The fact of baptism is clear in Scripture, but the mode and the age of the person baptized are not. If God were so worried about this why did he not breathe more specific instructions into Scripture? Our prejudices that divide us on this issue are baseless. Many churches practice immersion, but we have no biblical reason to dishonor the faith of those who prefer otherwise. There is also no evidence that God holds back his Holy Spirit from people just because of the mode or age of their baptism. Unassailable scriptural clarity that could support such bigotry is non-existent.
There is naturally room for personal or denominational preference. The fact of baptism is a Christian essential; the mode of baptism is a non-essential. There is really no biblical room for bigotry. Some churches have exemplary declarations in their statement of beliefs. For instance, The Disciples of Christ web site one time stated that "Although [we] practice baptism by immersion, other baptism traditions are honored." I once heard a pastor in the Evangelical Free Church of America preach something similar, that although he preferred baptism by immersion, those churches which practiced another form also have sound biblical reasons for doing so. Such statements are commendable in that they not only reveal a good level of biblical understanding, but help churches overcome pointless bigotry.
— end of example sermon —
3. Preach Every Doctrine
It may take time, but eventually a pastor ought to preach every essential doctrine of the Christian faith. It may seem unimportant to preach on certain doctrines, but for a balanced overview of the plan of God, understanding of God, and to immunize the people of God against heresy, every major doctrine needs to be preached over a several year period.
4. Balanced in Style
I certainly hope that you will take up my challenge to present a variety of sermon styles. Even if you preach a pericope from the lectionary every single week, you can preach that in a different style each week. Why should the congregation get spaghetti bolognaise every week. It is good occasionally, but very boring as a constant diet.
5. Balance between Negative and Positive
Some preachers only want to preach positive messages, while others seem to only preach negativity. I remember a number of years ago being rather tired of the negative messages at one church, so I visited another for a change and got to hear quite a contrast. Both preachers were giving their New Year's message. The one preached on all the bad things that we had to watch out for in the coming year. The other preached on all the blessings we should get ready for in the coming year. Because I had only heard somewhat negative, disapproving messages for so long, I stayed at the more positive church for a while, but soon realized that my diet there was only going to be rosy, positive messages. Neither church was balanced.
When we only preach about Jesus as Savior and not also about Jesus as Lord, we are not preaching a balance of the two. Jesus loves us, but he also expects us to live a holy life. God is a good God, but he is also angry at sin every day. There is a Heaven, but there is also a Hades. There is God's grace, but there is also God's wrath.
Suggested Assignment
Write out an annual preaching calendar. Include in it not only a balanced variety of biblical passages, but also a large variety of preaching styles.
Lesson Outro
We looked at the idea of preaching the whole counsel of God, rather than just our favorite subjects, or a narrow and bigoted view on doctrines. We also looked at the quest for balance in style and a balance between the positive and negative. Let's learn to preach with balance.
