The Fullness of the Word

I have become it's (the church's) servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the Word of God in its fullness - the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. Colossians 1:25-26

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah 1:5

Today, I began reading the Book of Jeremiah and the Epistle to the Colossians. While the first chapter of Jeremiah focused on Jeremiah's calling as a prophet, the first chapter of Colossians focused on Paul's commissioning as an apostle.

While these are two distinct offices, there is a similar calling in that both are called to present the Word of God in all its fullness. Not part of God's Word, but all of God's Word. Not just the parts that are easy to preach and teach, but all of God's Word. Even the parts that are difficult!

It is sometimes easy to approach God's Word cafeteria style. We take what we like, and leave behind that which we don't like as much. But I do not believe this is honoring of the Lord nor does it bring him glory. Here are a few words of caution:

1. Avoid soapbox preaching.

At Lord of Life we preach topically, using message series. This approach allows us to preach on subjects that are relevant at the time. However, with this comes the danger of soapbox preaching. It becomes easy to repeat the same themes, same illustrations, and same points not out of necessity but out of having too narrow a focus.

Many themes are repeated in the Scriptures. And we can repeat certain themes. But we need to be cautious that they are God's themes and not ours.

2. Avoid happy-feel-good preaching

God's Word is divided Law and Gospel. There are times when the Law is relevant and there are times when the Gospel is relevant. There is a time to preach to the condemnation of a sin and a time to preach to the forgiveness of a sin.

Just look at the preaching of Jesus. Jesus did not always preach happy-feel-good. Think about Jesus condemnation of the disciples for arguing who was the greatest, his condemnation of the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, and the condemnation of Peter for denying him. Keep in mind however, that Jesus was quick to forgive and to welcome the sinner back into his arms.

3. Expose yourself to all of Scripture

We all have our favorite verses and favorite books of the Bible. I have never been much into reading the prophets and the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. But I have developed a tremendous appreciation of the Psalms over the past few years.

What I really get into is the historical books of the Bible. I enjoy history and also being able to travel to historical sites. I would not have minded if the Bible was nothing more than the historical books of the Old Testament along with the Gospels and the book of Acts. But the Bible is more than just these books alone.

As preachers we need to expose ourselves to all of Scripture and not just the portions we enjoy the most.

4. Preach the Word

I remember when I was in seminary, I received as a gift a book on sermon illustrations. It made preaching seem so simple. All I had to do was go to the index of this book and look up the text I was preaching. There I could find four or five illustrations to use for my message.

Today, we have use of the Internet. If you are preaching on forgiveness, all you need to do is do a Google search and you will have more information than you could possibly want for a half hour message.

But that is not our calling. We are called to preach the Word. God's Word is more creative than anything you will ever find on the Internet. After all, it was God's Word that created everything we see.

In God's Word we have everything we have been called to say. Allow the Word of God to speak. Spend time with God's Word. The more time you spend with God's Word the more you will have that is worthwhile to say.