{"id":4571,"date":"2019-02-28T10:24:30","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T16:24:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nafwb.org\/?p=4571"},"modified":"2019-02-28T10:24:30","modified_gmt":"2019-02-28T16:24:30","slug":"the-reforming-power-of-expository-preaching-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/the-reforming-power-of-expository-preaching-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"The Reforming Power of Expository Preaching Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Randy Sawyer<\/strong><\/p>\n

The church of the Middle Ages\u00a0was a massive and powerful\u00a0institution. The pope, as supreme authority in Christendom,\u00a0exercised a moral rule over\u00a0both ecclesiastical and political matters.\u00a0The church buildings and the services\u00a0held in them were very similar\u00a0everywhere. The universal use of\u00a0Latin facilitated communication, and\u00a0the laity as well as the clergy were\u00a0deeply devoted to the dogma that had\u00a0evolved over the previous centuries.<\/p>\n

Crumbling Foundations<\/strong><\/p>\n

In spite of the appearance of stability,\u00a0however, the very foundation\u00a0of the church was disintegrating, and\u00a0without significant reforms the\u00a0church was in danger of total collapse.\u00a0Reformation was needed both\u00a0morally and theologically.<\/p>\n

Morally the church was infected\u00a0with corruption. The papal court was\u00a0a hotbed of conspiracies, plots and\u00a0intrigues. Half the popes between\u00a01417 and 1517 fathered illegitimate\u00a0children, and the lesser clergy and\u00a0monastics were given to absenteeism,\u00a0bribery and licentiousness.<\/p>\n

The church also needed reform on\u00a0the theological level. The teachings of\u00a0the church had gone astray to the point\u00a0that it no longer resembled “the doctrine\u00a0of the apostles” and church fathers.\u00a0It was imperative that the church\u00a0return to the sources of Christianity, especially\u00a0the study of the Holy Scriptures.<\/p>\n

Courageous Reformers <\/strong><\/p>\n

Though there were significant signs\u00a0of decadence, many courageous\u00a0churchmen voiced a deep desire for reform.\u00a0These reformers sprang from divergent\u00a0backgrounds and at times held\u00a0to conflicting theological viewpoints.\u00a0But each shared the conviction that\u00a0God’s Word is supreme and they had\u00a0been chosen to proclaim that Word.<\/p>\n

In On the History of Preaching<\/em>,\u00a0John Broadus summarized the\u00a0preaching of the Reformation Age:<\/p>\n

“lt\u00a0was a revival of biblical preaching. Instead\u00a0of the long and often fabulous\u00a0stories about the saints and martyrs,\u00a0and accounts of miracles, instead of\u00a0passages from Aristotle and Seneca,\u00a0and fine-spun subtleties of the schoolmen,\u00a0these men preached the Bible.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It was indeed the recovery of expositional\u00a0preaching that served to fuel\u00a0the Reform movement. Who were\u00a0these courageous reformers? Who\u00a0were these men who tore asunder\u00a0the fabric of Roman Catholicism to\u00a0herald the dawning of a new day?<\/p>\n

The Morning Star <\/strong><\/p>\n

John Wyclif is sometimes known\u00a0as the Morning Star of the Reformation.\u00a0Born in 1330 into an English\u00a0family, Wyclif went to Oxford to study\u00a0and by 1370 had become Oxford’s\u00a0leading philosopher and theologian.\u00a0In his 40s, Wyclif became involved in\u00a0politics, siding with the government\u00a0in its disputes with the Papacy.<\/p>\n

During that time his views became\u00a0increasingly radical as he questioned\u00a0the rights of a corrupt clergy to control\u00a0church properties. Just when his beliefs\u00a0became most radical, the political\u00a0climate changed, and he lost his government\u00a0support. Shortly thereafter,\u00a0the pope condemned 18 of Wyclif\u2019s statements in a series of bulls.<\/p>\n

In 1378, with this pressure mounting\u00a0against him, Wyclif retired to a country\u00a0parish. There he continued to write\u00a0and encourage those seeking reform.<\/p>\n

Besides maintaining the inerrancy of\u00a0scripture, he claimed that the Bible contains\u00a0the whole of God’s revelation. \u00a0There is no need for any further teaching\u00a0to be supplied by church tradition, the\u00a0pope or any other source. Furthermore,\u00a0the Bible is to be made available to all\u00a0Christians, the laity as well as the clergy.<\/p>\n

Accordingly, Wyclif translated the\u00a0Bible into English and then went out to\u00a0preach God’s Word. Wyclif died of a\u00a0stroke in 1384, but his disciples, the Lollards,\u00a0continued to teach his doctrine.\u00a0They carried his ideas throughout Europe\u00a0and helped pave the way for the\u00a016th century English Reformation.<\/p>\n

Wyclif’s most significant contribution\u00a0to preaching was his use of the \u201cnaked\u00a0text,” or exposition of the gospel message\u00a0without the accumulation of tradition.\u00a0He insisted that preaching should\u00a0be based upon the biblical text alone.\u00a0He believed that a preacher must\u00a0preach only the “unsullied laws of God.”<\/p>\n

“Scripture to him was the ‘magistrum\u00a0optimum<\/em>,’ higher than reason\u00a0and tradition.” His firm adherence to\u00a0the “naked text” revived the superiority\u00a0of pulpit evangelism over mere ceremonialism,\u00a0and became the model\u00a0for other reformers.<\/p>\n

At the Council of Constance, the\u00a0works of Wyclif were condemned.\u00a0Thirteen years later in 1428, Wyclif’s\u00a0bones were dug up and burned.<\/p>\n

A biographer commented, “They\u00a0burnt his bones to ashes and cast\u00a0them into the Swift, a neighboring\u00a0brook. Thus the brook conveyed his\u00a0ashes into the Avon, the Avon into\u00a0the Severn, the Severn into the narrow\u00a0seas and they into the main\u00a0ocean. And so the ashes of Wyclif are\u00a0symbolic of his doctrine, which is\u00a0now spread throughout the world.”<\/p>\n

The Bohemian Reformer <\/strong><\/p>\n

Wyclif’s teachings greatly influenced\u00a0the Bohemian reformer, John\u00a0Huss. Wyclif writings were already\u00a0known in Bohemia in the 14th century,\u00a0but in 1401 Jerome of Prague brought\u00a0from England copies of his more radical\u00a0theological works. As early as 1402,\u00a0Huss was regarded as the chief exponent of Wyclif\u2019s views. From his strategic\u00a0position as rector and preacher Bethlehem Chapel in Prague, Huss\u00a0sought to preach only the “naked text.”<\/p>\n

In preaching on I Corinthians he\u00a0said, “l would remind you how I\u00a0preached to you the gospel.” Then exhorting\u00a0the priests of his day, he continued,\u00a0“Preach the gospel, not some entertainment\u00a0or fables, or plundering\u00a0lies, so that the people with attentive\u00a0minds will accept the gospel and both\u00a0the preacher and the hearer will be\u00a0grounded by the faith in the gospel.”<\/p>\n

Huss often preached a series of sermons\u00a0consisting of a running commentary\u00a0on a whole scripture passage.\u00a0In so doing, he gathered numerous\u00a0quotations from widely scattered\u00a0sources to add credibility to his proposition. Huss did not employ expository\u00a0preaching as the modem definition\u00a0would suggest, but his sermons were a\u00a0departure from the tedious traditions of\u00a0his day and were thoroughly scriptural.<\/p>\n

The greatest aspect of Huss’ preaching,\u00a0however, was his passion. Charles\u00a0Dargan said, “ln his preaching Huss\u00a0carried more weight by the strength\u00a0and sincerity of his convictions than by\u00a0those more pleasing and impressive\u00a0talents which we call eloquence.” People loved to hear him preach because\u00a0of the zeal they saw in him.<\/p>\n

John Broadus wrote: \u201cJohn Huss\u00a0was an eloquent and scholarly man\u00a0and his \u201cfervid\u201d sermons in favor of\u00a0moral and ecclesiastical reformation\u00a0long made a great impression.”<\/p>\n

Though his voice was silenced at\u00a0the stake at Constance in 1415, the\u00a0fires of reform ignited by his biblical\u00a0preaching set ablaze the hearts of his\u00a0countrymen. Today, in the center of\u00a0Old Town Square, Prague, stands a\u00a0memorial to the Czech Reformer. So\u00a0great was influence over his native\u00a0land that Prague became known preeminently\u00a0as the home of Huss.<\/p>\n

The Naked Text<\/strong><\/p>\n

Both Wyclif and Huss were committed\u00a0to preaching the “naked text” and\u00a0in an era when church tradition and papal\u00a0commentary ranked on par with\u00a0Scripture, these men courageously held\u00a0to the sufficiency of the Word. Their\u00a0work demonstrates clearly theReforming Power of Expository Preaching<\/em>(Part 2 will show how this principle\u00a0is demonstrated in the preaching\u00a0of Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin.)<\/p>\n

Article adapted from Contact <\/em>magazine, July 2001.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Randy Sawyer The church of the Middle Ages\u00a0was a massive and powerful\u00a0institution. The pope, as supreme authority in Christendom,\u00a0exercised a moral rule over\u00a0both ecclesiastical and political matters.\u00a0The church buildings and the services\u00a0held in them were very similar\u00a0everywhere. The universal use of\u00a0Latin facilitated communication, and\u00a0the laity as well as the clergy were\u00a0deeply devoted to the dogma that had\u00a0evolved over the previous centuries. Crumbling Foundations In spite of the appearance of stability,\u00a0however, the very foundation\u00a0of the church was disintegrating, and\u00a0without significant reforms the\u00a0church was in danger of total collapse.\u00a0Reformation was needed both\u00a0morally and theologically. Morally the church was infected\u00a0with corruption. The papal court was\u00a0a hotbed of conspiracies, plots and\u00a0intrigues. Half the popes between\u00a01417 and 1517 fathered illegitimate\u00a0children, and the lesser clergy and\u00a0monastics were given to absenteeism,\u00a0bribery and licentiousness. The church also needed reform on\u00a0the theological level. The teachings of\u00a0the church had gone astray to the point\u00a0that it no longer resembled “the doctrine\u00a0of the apostles” and church fathers.\u00a0It was imperative that the church\u00a0return to the sources of Christianity, especially\u00a0the study of the Holy Scriptures. Courageous Reformers Though there were significant signs\u00a0of decadence, many courageous\u00a0churchmen voiced a deep desire for reform.\u00a0These reformers sprang from divergent\u00a0backgrounds and at times held\u00a0to conflicting theological viewpoints.\u00a0But each […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pastors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4571"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4571\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4572,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4571\/revisions\/4572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}