It is imperative that in a serious study of homiletics we do not begin the same without a superficial knowledge of preaching. Before asking: what is preaching? What does it mean ? What place should it have in the Bible program? Therefore, we must hope that we do not consider or consider preaching as just another discipline on the “curriculum” of religious formation. The same, for the divine salvific purpose, is an integral part of the plan that, in Jesus Christ, was developed so that God would enter into a historical encounter with the human being.
Preaching
The preaching is divine-human. It comes from God, through men or women, for men and women. This divine-human dichotomy is discovered throughout biblical history. God through human instruments entered and entered into dialogue with his rational creatures.
For example, the Ten Commandments were of divine origin and content, but through Moses (the human element) they reach the people. The priestly ministry is another illustration of this great biblical truth. The high priest became the great representative of men before God and of God before men. In Latin, priest says “pontifex”, which means bridge builder. The role of the priest was to serve as a bridge between God and men. In our Lord Jesus Christ we have the true “high priest” or “high priest” (Hebrews 2:17; 3: 1; 4: 4; 6:20; 7:25; 9:11). Through his sacrifice, he put us in good relationship with God (Romans 5: 1). The author of Hebrews says: “For there is only one God and one Mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ” (1 Timothy 2: 5).
In the person of Jesus Christ this divine-human principle is rediscovered. Even his own compound name: Jesus Christ integrates his earthly mission (Jesus-Savior) with his divine mission (Christ-Anointed-Messiah). The apostle John declares: “In the beginning (eternity) was the Word (Greek, Logos), and the Word (Logos) was God (Greek, Theos)” (John 1: 1). Here three eschatological truths stand out: First, the eternity of the Logos, “In the beginning was the Word. Second, divine fellowship and relationship, “and the Word was with God.” Third, divine nature and divinity, “and the Word was God.”
Then in John 1:14 we read: “And this Word (Logos) became flesh and dwelt among us (and we saw his glory, glory like that of the Only Begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.” In Jesus Christ, Theos (God) is united with the anthropos (man). God through Jesus Christ becomes tangible and visible to human beings.
The term Logos means: verb, word and thought. Jesus Christ is the Word of God made flesh. The Father through the Son communicates and enters into relationship with the world.
The Bible, the Word of God written for all, is divine-human. God inspired it, but God’s chosen men wrote it using their own literary style (2 Timothy 3:16).
Therefore, it is to be expected that the preaching will be divine-human. The God who spoke with an audible voice to Adam, Eve, Cain, Noah, Abraham, and other biblical figures, still continues to speak through preaching. God’s methods of speaking to human beings have been very varied: audible voice, thunder, lightning, winds, cloud of his glory, flame of fire, silent hiss, the prophet, dreams, visions, urim and tumín, sacred scriptures, angelic visits and many other means.
The author of Hebrews in chapter 1: 1-2 tells us in particular:
God, having spoken many times and in many ways in the past to the parents through the prophets, has spoken to us in these last days through the Son, whom he made the heir of all, and through whom he also made the universe.
So far, what I’ve meant to say is this: God uses the human element to engage humanity in conversation. Jesus was the divine Word made flesh through whom God spoke to humanity. The Bible is the inspired Word of God to holy men through which God continues to speak. Christian preaching is just a divine-human event in which God uses human beings who have been called and commissioned as instruments to convey this message to man.
Its definition
In the previous paragraphs, I discussed a bit about the purpose of Christian preaching. Now I will be more precise when defining the sermon with respect to the opinion that some colleagues have contributed to the individual. On these statements I will formulate some reflections that I know will be useful. They will help us to have a correct definition of Christian preaching.
Orlando Costas defines preaching as follows
In the same way, preaching gets its authority from God. This authority arises from the fact that it is a message rooted in what God has said. Furthermore, it is a fact that the inherent authority of the preaching is the result of the presence of God in the preaching. Preaching has authority because it is not man who preaches, but God through the preacher, so that the preached word truly becomes the word of God ”.1
In his definition, Costas, who was a great exponent of the biblical text, points out the following characteristics of preaching:
First, the authority of preaching “comes from God.” What distinguishes Christian preaching from all other discourses is that reality. The preacher does not rely on his convincing, logical or rhetorical arguments to provide an authoritative basis for the preaching. Rather, it reveals the message backed by the authority God has given you. Preaching without a divine state is empty, meaningless, just an empty speech or a homiletical exercise.
This authority is not accepted by homiletical discipline. It must come directly from God. The preachers who have been used to start spiritual revolutions have been those who have served in the authority of the Lord.
Second, according to Costas, “that authority stems from the fact that it is a message rooted in what God has said.” Preaching is nothing more than giving a message from God. That is at least what is expected of a preacher. The preacher is a messenger who has the task of giving others the message that God has given him. The greatest danger and worst assumption is giving our message and not God’s message. When the messenger preaches himself, speaks of his works and experiences at the expense of God’s works and words, he is in grave danger of preaching his own gospel.
Paul, the great theologian of the Christian Church, said something related to the point under consideration: “But I, brothers, let you know that the gospel that I preached is not according to man; for I have not received it nor have I learned it from anyone, except by revelation of Jesus Christ ”(Galatians 1: 11-12).
God’s message must come through divine revelation. It does not occur in the mind with human reasoning. God must give it to him. The apostle does not want in his words to downplay the homiletical preparation in the preaching event. But it goes without saying that the message being preached must come from above.
Homiletics is not a channel or a recipient to receive the divine message. Rather, it is a process, a tool, a medium, or a way of conveying the divine message to people. It is not a goal, but a means to an end.
The empty sermon of God’s message leads to the proclamation of “another gospel” (Galatians 1: 6), or the proclamation of “another gospel” (Galatians 1: 8). What someone has called “the gospel according to me.”
Many preachers base their arguments on what Barth, Burtlman, Calvin, Luther, Wesley, Tillich, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and other theologians in general have said. The highest authority of the gospel preacher is not the philosophical school of contemporary thought or the theological school of thought, nor is it the creed of the Church or dogmatic and traditional principles. The authority of the Christian messenger rests “on what God has said.” That is, in the written word: the Bible. Preaching without being rooted in the revelation of Scripture is a voice of God and not of man! (Acts 12:22).
Third, the preacher is a means, “the preacher is not the preacher, but God through the preacher.” When the preachers realized that it was not their sermon, but the Lord’s sermon …
On one occasion someone said to Juan Bunyan: “He gave a good sermon.” His disturbing response was: “The devil told me when he came down from the pulpit.”
The famous preacher Spurgeon said:
“God’s message deserves all my ability; and when I transmit it, my whole being must be there; no part should be lost or slept. Some, when they go to the pulpit, they are not there.
Many return home frustrated and discouraged after a preaching work. They expected different results. Perhaps there were sinners who did not accept the invitation to salvation. Although sick believers heard the call for divine healing, they ignored it. No one congratulated them on the sermon.
The preacher needs to remember that the message is from God. Therefore, the results of the preaching belong to Him. All the psychology of the altars, which is full of the skill of the preacher, is not the true work of the gospel. I know from many preachers that if the altar is not filled after their sermon, they use any means to satisfy their own ego. God doesn’t like that. He is God and will know how and when to work.
Fourth, the purpose is that the preached word and the word of God are the same. Costas affirmed: “so that the preached word truly becomes the word of God.” When does God speak in your sermon or in a sermon? It is a very difficult question to answer. The preacher often does not know what God is doing or saying. At other times, ministers are aware of what God is saying and doing. But in the case of preaching, much of what the preacher expresses is really the word of God. That is, God speaks directly with the voice of the preacher.
José M. Martínez defines preaching
“It is the delivery of the divine message recorded in the Scriptures in the form of oral discourse with the power of the Holy Spirit and by a person suitable to meet the spiritual needs of an audience.”
First: Martínez sees preaching as “communication in the form of oral discourse.” The preacher does not write for the people, but proclaims it orally to the people. The main task of preaching is speaking, not writing. Although we do not deny the efficacy of written sermons intended to be read. But we are aware that the spoken anointing has more profound effects than the written one. For this reason, I do not agree with preachers who write their sermons to read in front of an audience. The sermon or sermon must be given before a real and concrete situation. I do not deny that in other situations, such as on the radio, the written sermon is more effective and understandable, but the voice element still adds a special touch. When a preacher stands before an immediate and visible audience,
Since preaching is communication, every preacher needs to learn the various communication techniques. Communication is both natural (using the communicator’s personality and voice) and mechanical (equipment and media).
Second: Martínez sees the sermon as the oral transmission of the “divine message deposited in the Holy Scriptures.” The sermon should be bibliocentric. The Bible not only gives content to the sermon, it also gives it authority. In the Bible, the preacher relies on the interpretation of the gospel. To be biblical, a sermon does not necessarily have to be based on the interpretation of a particular passage in the Bible, but on a biblical revelation.
But even when using the Bible, the preacher must know how to understand the meaning of the text. Many sermons are nothing more than a “text salad” or a “homiletical sancocho.” The preacher connects the dots with the verses of the Bible. It jumps from one passage in the Bible to another to another like spiritual tendrils. After all, he leaves his audience in the air. It is better for the preacher to invite his audience through the door of the revelation of one biblical text than to look through the windows of many biblical texts. Biblical texts should not be removed with a “spiritual scalpel” and then misused and misused. A good preacher knows how to get the text written without rolling.