In Sola Scriptura churches, how can the illiterate and mentally or physically disabled come to be incorporated into the Body of Christ? If they can’t develop a personal relationship with Christ through reading the Bible, or they don’t understand the Bible how do they become Christian or grow in faith?
And what does a person do if he lacks confidence in his personal understanding of the Bible? If people tell him all he needs is the Bible, and he reads it but it makes no sense to him?
“It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (I Cor. 1:21). So God cannot get along without preaching, if He is to get men saved. All the Sunday school organization, all the educational and social work the church can do cannot substitute for God’s plan. “It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”
Here is the first and strongest of all requirements concerning preaching. Every preacher is to preach the Gospel, for it is the Gospel alone that saves. In Romans 1:16 Paul tells us by divine inspiration, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
And what is the Gospel? In I Corinthians 15:1–4 Paul tells us the Gospel he preached and by which his converts were saved: “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.** For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”**
Christ **died for our sins **according to the Scriptures and **was buried **and **rose again the third day **according to the Scriptures. That is the Gospel. That is the Gospel Paul received, the Gospel he preached, the Gospel by which his converts were saved. It is the same Gospel that every preacher everywhere should preach today. No preaching is Christian preaching that does not preach salvation by the atoning death of Christ.
horrible curse is pronounced on any who preach any other gospel than that of salvation by the blood of Christ. In Galatians 1:6–9 is this apostolic declaration in the inspired Word of God: “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”
“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”—II Tim. 4:1,2.
That is in the same passage where Paul commands Timothy to “do the work of an evangelist.” The evangelist as well as the pastor is to “preach the word.” The foreign missionary is to “preach the word.”
You see that the Gospel of salvation is not all of the Bible. The Bible has other things besides the plan of salvation. The Ten Commandments are not in the plan of salvation. The Sermon on the Mount is beautiful and good, and it ought to be preached, but it is not the plan of salvation by the blood of Christ. First Corinthians 13, the love chapter, teaching brotherly charity, is in the Bible, but it is not the plan of salvation. A preacher should preach the whole Word of God. His preaching should be Bible preaching.
A Bible preacher is to “preach the word.” He is to reprove with the Word of God. He is to rebuke with the Word of God. He is to “exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (teaching); that is, his exhortation should be on a Bible basis and made in Bible terms and backed up by Scriptures quoted or read. Preaching should start with a Bible text or passage and expound that text or passage. Preaching should make clear the meaning of the Scriptures. Points made should be proven by the Scriptures and illustrated by scriptural examples. There is room for logic, there is room for illustrations; but these are secondary. The Word of God itself must be preeminent in preaching.
Romans 10:17 states, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing BY THE WORD OF GOD.”
