Is God's Word minimized and marginalized in preaching and teaching if the listener does not accept the Bible’s authority? Maybe said another way... should teachers and preachers “buffer” the Word of God to make it more universally appealing and acceptable to all people?
We must consider what we’re dealing with when using God’s Word to teach His concepts and principles. First... it’s supernatural. We make a serious mistake if we think God's Word doesn’t have authority until the hearer decides to accept its authority. The Bible says of itself... that it is sharper than any two-edged sword; that it’s ideals pierce; that it cuts to the heart; that it separates joints and marrow; that it discerns the thoughts and intents of the human heart. It does these dramatic things whether one accepts its truths or not.
The Bible is like a mirror. When you proclaim it without apology, with authority, you are holding up a mirror and piercing people through with a sword of TRUTH and they're going to have an encounter with God Himself. The encounter is embodied in the evident conflicts we have with His way verses our way and desires. That transcends cultural acceptance, cultural awareness and all the other kind of things that leaders of the Church worry about these days when trying to hold the interest of people. Don’t for a moment think God needs our help or His Word needs to be softened. The Bible is like a lion. Let it out of the cage... it will take care of itself.
The most common thing people would have said about the teachings of Christ, after they had listened to Him, was that He taught as one who had authority. Of course, His teachings were filled with Old Testament quotes, and He is the Word of God, so every Word that proceeds from His mouth was the unbuffered Word of God.
The disciples on the road to Emmaus said, "Did not our hearts burn within us as he walked on the road with us and expounded to us from the Scriptures all the things concerning himself?" So Jesus was a Bible teacher. He had great authority because He didn't apologize for God's Word. He didn't back down from anything that God's Word said.
Take for example a tough chunk of Scripture... Revelation chapter 6. The message makes one clear point: Repent... the wrath is coming. That's not very seeker-friendly, and might turn many folks away. But then you really don’t know the hearts of the people your teaching or preaching to. People are hungry for truth unvarnished. Truth must be openly expressed without reservation or prevarication. The apostle Paul said, "By the open statement of the truth... we commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God." Do you believe that?
Paul also said, "My preaching was not with persuasive words of human wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." A lot of teaching today leaves people with a faith born in, of and by the wisdom of men. Teaching with authority the Word of God is not meant to glorify the messenger. Instead, we must say what God wants said and get out of the way, and let the Word hit folks in the head [right between the eyes] and the heart. No buffering... no sugar coating.. no softening the message. That’s how a teacher of God’s Word glorifies the message and the source of the message, which is, of course, God himself.
Teachers of God’s Word can and do get frustrated when trying to get the Word into the hearts of their listeners and it doesn’t happen, at least not when we would like it to. Teachers want to see results... growth, commitment, passion for God.
Two elements of authority are urgency and clarity. First Corinthians says, "If the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for battle?" Clarity brings power and authority. Urgency—this matters, decide for yourself today—that brings authority.
God’s Word is not about keeping people’s interest, or relevancy or timeliness. The Bible is capable of keeping a person’s interest and it’s universally relevant and always timeless. Teaching the Word of God is about shaping a person's view of Scripture. The Bible is spiritual life to a person. It's nourishment, it's the foundation and fuel of our faith, it's a blueprint for victory over sin. It's grace and strength. The Bible is our lifeline... literally.
So... if God’s Word cuts like a sword... pierces; cuts to the heart; separates joints and marrow; discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart, then any teacher of God’s Holy Word should never do anything to marginalize or buffer the message.
What is God doing with His Word? The Bible says that the Spirit of God was sent into the world to convict. His Word builds conviction in the hearer. What does it mean to be convicted? It means that you are overcome in your spirit with a sense of the “gap” between the life you're living and the life God wants you to live.
Scripture says that the Spirit of God was sent into the world to convict us of sin and of righteousness and of the judgment to come. Sin is the wrong in us, righteousness is its opposite in us—sin the problem, righteousness the solution—and the judgment to come is the consequence of rejecting what the Spirit convicts in you with regard to sin and righteousness.
Sin is where you are, righteousness is where you need to be, and the judgment to come is the sense that you can't continue your life in its present condition indefinitely. That's what the Spirit is trying to produce in people through the Word of God. Conviction leads to a heartfelt desire to change, to take decisive action to align yourself with God’s Will.
It's the proclamation of the Word that brings conviction, and there's nothing else that can do that. When we proclaim the authority of God's Word without apology, we give the Spirit of God something to work with.
What the Spirit of God does is grip a person’s heart with the unvarnished message. It’s TRUTH coming through loud and clear, hopefully bringing people to a decision to commit their life to Christ... to be baptized into Christ and begin experiencing the power of Godly living.
Preach and teach the Word with the authority and urgency of Christ. Maybe that’s the answer to helping fence-sitters who linger in the shadows of making their commitment to truly be in Christ.
