In the early days of my ministry I was called to conduct a series of Sunday night meetings in one of our largest churches in a mission field, and after some consideration decided that the first lecture should be on Christ. I felt that a lecture on Christ would be a good introduction to the series on doctrines which I planned to give.
In my study for the first evening I discovered that I could not deliver a "lecture" on the subject chosen, but must preach a sermon instead. As I look back at that experience, I now wonder that I ever considered Christ simply as a proper subject to be presented among others during a course of lectures.
During my study for the week on that sermon, I began to realize that I not only could not deliver a lecture on the subject of Christ, but also that I could not exhaust the subject with one sermon. My text was, "Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace." Job 22:21. During the sermon as I preached it, the love of God in the gift of His Son became to me such an absorbing subject that I determined to announce the same text for the next Sunday night. This I did, hoping that I could then get to the important doctrinal subjects of the series I had laid out. I found, however, during the following week of study and meditation, that the matter expanded until I saw plainly that even by taking the second night on the subject I could not get through, so I decided to give still another evening to it, thinking that then I could get to my other subjects.
But in my next week's study and contemplation, the great fact of God's love in the gift of His dear Son became an all-absorbing thought. It possessed me and took complete control, till I saw clearly that I could not under any circumstances give my series of lectures as planned; for it became more and more clear that I could never exhaust the first subject chosen, "The Love of God to Man, Manifested Through Jesus His Son."
Presently I became greatly alarmed, and wondered how I could ever present the necessary doctrines; for I found myself hopelessly absorbed in the thought, and also under conscientious conviction, of preaching Christ as the one theme of all my public and private endeavors.
Gradually, then, the matter became clear to me, that all essential doctrines proceed from Jesus, and I need not dismiss Him from any series at all; that the doctrines are really in their right and true setting only when preached as from and in Him, and that apart from Him they are simply so many arguments, and are only as strong to meet error as their logic is better; whereas, if preached as from or in Him, they carry with them all the power of His precious life and influence.
Thereupon I began to preach Jesus as the center and proof of all doctrine, and the following facts became evident:
When the people are shown that though Jesus was once dead and came to life again, He brought no message from the grave; and that, though Jesus personally called Lazarus from the grave, Lazarus likewise came forth with no message from the dead, they are ready to believe that "the dead know not anything."
When they are shown that Jesus respected the seventh-day Sabbath, it is not difficult to inspire belief in the Sabbath that He observed.
When it is shown that Jesus is the author of foreign missions, and that He is coming soon to take His children from every nation under heaven to His heavenly home, it is not at all hard to get people to join the church that makes these two things chief among their beliefs and activities.
So with all doctrinal truths when presented in Him. I learned that to make Jesus first in everything, and to build around Him the doctrines and all the promotion needful, enables people readily and easily to accept the things that He approves. As a result of the series held, and a series following in a tent, 136 persons were baptized.
Since that time I think I have never preached what could be called a strictly doctrinal sermon or one simply promotional. I have preached Jesus, and made doctrines and promotion incidental, and have found that this procedure increases the success of the doctrine or promotion; for the people do not resent promotion or doctrine when presented in this way. I do not feel, nor do the people feel, that the Sabbath service has been perverted to promotion when the Big Week, the signs, or the Review and Herald, or other projects are presented; for Christ is preached, and the privilege is offered the people of carrying out these and other plans for His sake. I find it much better to present the work in this way than to present matters on the goal basis alone. It is perhaps needless to say that this method greatly helps to raise all goals, and has brought joy to my own heart.
A Bible worker who knew of my change of preaching once said to me, "I have three studies that I give on the Sabbath question. Now how would you preach Christ in these Sabbath studies?" She also asked how one could preach Christ in the subject of the seven last plagues. This shows that some even among our more experienced workers consider doctrines as separate and apart from Jesus in their presentation. But in the light of my own experience, I have determined to know nothing henceforth but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Jesus shall be all and in all.
G. A. Roberts.
Los Angeles, Calif.
