Wielding the Mirror of the Word

Naming sin to shepherding souls

Throughout the last three posts on preaching for formation (“Listen First…,” “The Location of a Sermon,” and “Preacher as Tour Guide”), I have tried to talk to both preachers and hearers of sermons. Except for the first post, I included my own sermons as examples of what I am trying to do when I preach, hoping that these examples could make concrete what might seem more abstract.

At this heart of this series is the conviction that we are all called to be listeners of the Word, and therefore at the heart of Christian practice is the cultivation of spiritual hearing.

But the model of preaching I have been articulating might be foreign to you. I’ve heard many sermons where preachers seem to think it is their job to make the Bible “come to life,” instead of wielding the Word that is already “living and active” (Heb. 4:12-13). I have heard a lot of sermons where the preacher seems to think the main responsibility is to explain concepts and apply them to life. I imagine that needs to happen, but let me suggest that something deeper and more profound should be going on.

When we hear a sermon we should find ourselves face to face with our Lord as we sit next to our brothers and sisters in Christ. The Word we hear is a mirror to name the truth of our lives in the presence of God for the presence of God, and so the application of a sermon is always, “therefore, draw near” (Heb. 7:25; 10:22).

That means the sermon is a tool of a shepherd, and not merely a teacher. It is never less than teaching, but it should always be more. To proclaim the Word is to lead a people to stand before the “mirror of the Word” (Jas. 1:23), and to help them see all of the ways that they don’t want to look in this mirror.

The reason why this has to be more than teaching is that we are helping to name the particular ways this people may struggle to hear the Word. This means that we all, hearing the Word declared, are forced to grapple with the truth of our lives in the presence of the family of God. We will struggle to navigate our consciences in this place (more on that in the next post), but we will always struggle with the flesh here as well.

In our continued fleshliness (what we used to call “indwelling corruption”), we all have the tendency, like the church at Galatia, to begin with the Spirit but try to be perfected in the flesh.

So instead of drawing near, we seek ways to grow ourselves.

Instead of abiding in Christ we seek self-help schemes.

Instead of seeking to hold fast to our head so that we can “grow with a growth that is from God,” (Col. 2:19), we seek a path of growth that is “not according to Christ” (Col. 2:8).

Instead of walking by the Spirit, we seek to wield common sense visions of growth in the flesh, which “have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (Col. 2:23).

The call to preach always includes within it the call to shepherd people to their Lord and reveal to them the ways that they are tempted to self-fix, self-establish, and self-justify. But we must not merely narrate the negative. We have to give a positive vision for transformation in Christ and by the Spirit.

Here is an example where I am attempting to do exactly this. I am trying to name the cultural lies that bind us, by having the congregation look into the mirror of the Word, while also showing them the ways they are tempted to forget what they look like. In doing so, I am attempting to articulate both the sins of this age and the truth that we need to be transformed. Take a listen:

To take on this call, this means we will have to avoid the temptation to merely offer hot-takes on cultural sins, but use the mirror of the Word to name the truth and help shepherd people to their heavenly Father.

We are never simply passing on information, or helping people understand what a passage says when we preach, even as we must do those things. We are always shepherding a people to their Lord to seek him and to know him in the truth of who they are. This means that preaching is a task of wisdom, where we help navigate the hearts of people who often seek to create a different god than the one confronting us in Scripture. Our role is not to sell them on God - rhetorically smoothing out the rough edges of Scripture - but to narrate the truth of who he has proclaimed himself to be, and how he has called us to draw near to him.

As we are reminded in Eph. 3:12, it is through the gift of God given to us in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior, “in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.” It is through our faith in Christ that we have boldness, access, and confidence. This is the only path where hope is found.

I have said a lot to preachers, so let me say something in conclusion to those who might struggle to hear a hard word. Never forget, it was in your sins that Christ died for you. He didn’t die for you in your goodness, savvy, or cleanliness. So when you look into the mirror of the Word - read or heard - whatever you experience, bring that to the Lord. Bring your struggle, worries, anxieties, fears, failures, and whatever else you have to him by whose wounds you have been healed.

Come to the Lord of grace, and seek his forgiveness where you need it.