The glorious privilege of being a preacher of the gospel of salvation is aptly pointed up by the apostle Paul. He termed himself "a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God" (Rom. 1:1).
To be set apart for the preaching of the gospel of God is a sovereign appointment: a Lord-and-servant relationship. This is not the general relation of servant, in which all Christians stand to Christ their Lord, but the special relation of office, of service in the kingdom of Christ. The servants of a king are officers in high rank. In this relationship the connotation of "servant" is expressive of dignity and honor. It is thus applied to the prophets (Dent. 34:5; Jer. 25:4), and to Messiah (Isa. 42:1; 43:10), the Prince of preachers. By applying this title, Paul acknowledges the authority and dignity of the Lord Jesus Christ, in whose service he stood.
Today Christianity has entered into a great new era. It has become known as the New Reformation, perhaps "the most profound and far-reaching reformation which the church has yet undergone."—Robert S. Bilhein2er.
The manner in which this New Reformation is coming about gives unprecedented prominence to the doctrine of the second coming of Christ. It is therefore of supreme importance that Seventh-day Adventist ministers, and other workers, discover their preaching relationship to the doctrinal and spiritual issues involved in the growth and development of this religious movement.
Something unusual is happening in the life of the church today. The pressure of events is teaching the world that men must learn to live together as one family or perish from the earth altogether. Something similar is happening in the church. Under the mighty leading of the Spirit of God a great acceleration of God's eternal purpose is in unmistakable evidence, propelling the church into the last and final movements of divine grace. For the first time in history, with the whole inhabited world awakening and opening up before our eyes, we can see the fulfillment of God's plan for the world in both its vastness and acceleration.
We are living in the time of the end. The fast-fulfilling signs of the times declare that the coming of Christ is near at hand. . . The agencies of evil are combining their forces and consolidating. They are strengthening for the last great crisis. Great changes are soon to take place in our world, and the final movements will be rapid ones.1
The church, in its existence amid the revolutionary movements of the day, is struggling for the original purity and strength of her transcendent message. She is determined not to lose the message of God's grace offered to sinners. In this struggle people are taking sides either for or against the will of God. On the one hand, truths by which men have lived through the centuries are rejected in the interest of compromise. On the other, great principles of the Protestant Reformation are being revived with a faith and zeal that promise great developments in the immediate future.
As other great religious revival movements of the past, the New Reformation is identified by certain peculiar characteristics. These have appeared over a period of many years, and can now be definitely stated. They are of supreme importance to the preacher and teacher of Bible truth at this time.
1. Authority of the Word of God
The first, and perhaps the most significant event characterizing the New Reformation, is the rediscovery of the Bible as a "Book of Proclamation, the bearer of a message, the communicator of something to be told." 2 "The Bible in its wholeness has been given back to the preacher."
The return of the Book of God to the preacher has, after a long period of "evangelical aridity," become characteristic of the new religious awakening. Like the Reformation of the sixteenth century, the New Reformation is marked by an "eager, expectant, and profoundly serious turning to the Bible."
The labors of scholars and theologians have opened up frontiers of Biblical understanding, the exploration of which is an exciting adventure along strange paths. Moreover, contemporary preoccupation with the meaning of history has led many alert people to a deeper grasp of the urgency and relevance of the Biblical message.4
Nothing has happened in the life of the church since the beginning of the great Second Advent Movement that is destined to put courage into the preaching of the third angel's message as much as the recovery of the Bible in its wholeness as the one Book of the preacher. This fact in itself should result in a return to Biblical preaching by Seventh-day Adventists in a manner such as has never been known in our history. This is our golden opportunity to proclaim the whole counsel of God to a generation that is eager to listen and accept the Bible as the final authority in matters of faith. To proclaim the message of the Bible, in the setting of the Advent hope, should become the first and all-pervading motivation of every preacher and teacher in the Advent Movement.
This return of the Bible to the preacher is both liberating and constraining. It is liberating because the truthfulness and authority of God's Word have been vindicated by the findings of the best scholarship in both Biblical and scientific fields. It is constraining in that the Bible is discovered as containing the only saving message for a perplexed and bewildered world. God has disclosed Himself through His Word. The scope of His revelation has expanded until it has reached to the ends of the earth. Confronting God under these circumstances, the preacher becomes the herald of His revelation. Having caught a vision of the vast, unfolding purpose of God, the true messenger of the Word is constrained to proclaim the good news of God's saving grace with great zeal and unwavering fidelity.
2. Christ as Lord and Saviour
Someone has rightly observed that "the most important fact about contemporary American theology is the disintegration of Liberalism." That observation was made more than twenty years ago. Today theologians categorically affirm: "Liberalism as a system of theology has collapsed." A new and profound estimation of Jesus Christ—His person and work—has come into being.
No longer is He mainly to us the Master Teacher into whose words must somehow be read the sum of all wisdom. Nor is He mainly the Great Example, who "went about doing good" in a manner that we should endeavor to imitate. He still commands our respect as the greatest of all religious teachers, and our love as an incomparable friend to man; but He commands our awe and adoration as the One through whom God worked the greatest and most decisive of all His mighty acts, which turned the course of history, and founded a new race of men. For us, as for St. Paul, the appropriate name for Him is not Rabbi, or Good Master, but Saviour. 6
Thus speaks one who is making the spiritual and intellectual pilgrimage from liberalism to apostolic faith in Christ, the Saviour of the world. The testimony of another gives pertinent expression to a newborn faith in Christ as Lord and Saviour. Says he:
The message of the New Testament is reducible to these two claims; (1) Jesus was a real, historical individual whose appearance and career came at the climax of a series of historical events of which the Old Testament is the witness; and (2) Jesus confronted men with the eternal power and truth of God, not just in His message, but in His life, His actions, and His person. Man was in Christman as God intended him to be at the creation; and God was in Christ, reconciling His lost creation to Himself. Both of these things must be said equally confidently if we are to do justice to the faith of those who were apprehended by God's revelation in Jesus.7
In his monumental survey of the record of mankind the historian Arnold J. Toynbee pauses to recognize the figure of Jesus Christ as He appears above the affairs of the world. "And now," he muses, "as we stand and gaze with our eyes fixed upon the farther shore, a single figure rises from the flood and straightway fills the whole horizon. There is the Saviour; 'and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.'"
This new recognition of the figure of Jesus as Lord and Christ also marks the Reformation of our day. As the two devastating wars swept over the earth, liberal theological structures crumbled to the ground and were consumed in the flames. Man-made theories and philosophies were shaken to pieces "that those things which cannot be shaken may remain" (Heb. 12:27).
Over and above the ruins and rubble of an age that has passed, the transcendent figure of Jesus Christ has emerged. During the hectic days of World War II, Adolph Keller saw the majesty of Christ, resplendent with glory and honor, reappearing in the thinking of European Christians. He then wrote to fellow Christians outside of Europe:
In the preaching of today the Cross stands in the center. . . . The majesty and inexpressible sovereignty of God over the whole world is a favorite subject. . . . Preaching today has no use for those shallow moralistic recipes and that Utopian perfectionism which were the natural accompaniment of an optimistic Christian idealism. It has rediscovered the old transcendent truths about God—what He does, what Christ means, what His cross signified for sinful men, how His resurrection and His kingdom are revealing their redemptive power in this world which is coming to an end so that God's reign may begin. 8
Thus, another "great door and effectual is opened" (1 Cor. 16:9) to the messenger of the gospel. "Christ as the sin-pardoning Saviour, Christ as the Sin Bearer, Christ as the bright and morning Star," is to be a principal and favorite theme with every minister and teacher. Martin Luther's concept of the Saviour is to be expanded and proclaimed.
"In His life," Luther said, "Christ is an example, showing us how to live; in His death He is a sacrifice, satisfying for our sins; in His resurrection, a conqueror; in His ascension, a King; in His intercession, a High Priest."
Does Jesus save you from your sins? Call Him Saviour!
3. Reaffirmation of the Basic Principles of the Reformation
Members of "old-line Protestant churches" are observing the apostolic virility and evangelistic zeal of other Christians whom they have superciliously assigned to the category of "fringe sects." They are discovering with dismay that the "sects" have been most successful in creating and building up churches precisely where old-line Protestant churches have failed; and that much of the strength of the modern sects has come out of the weakness of the older forms of Protestantism.
In the New Reformation there is emerging what is termed "ecumenical Protestantism" on one side and "non-ecumenical Protestantism" on the other. The deep implications of the three main pillars of Protestant faith—the Bible as authority, justification by faith, and the priesthood of all believers—are being both challenged and experienced by the different forces of the New Reformation. The result is that a new Protestantism is being created, with ecumenical and non-ecumenical Protestantism both helping to contribute to the movement.
Sincere Christians in Reformation churches are remembering that Christianity calls for sacrifice, that the way to the kingdom of heaven is strait and narrow. They are coming to realize that the walk of the Christian must be distinguishable from that of the non-Christian. They are also discovering the shocking, treacherous nature of sin; that final victory over sin, evil, and death belongs to Jesus Christ, and the realization of man's ultimate hope beyond history, in the everlasting kingdom of God.
In "the great body of Christ's true followers" who "are still to be found" in the various Christian churches are many "who have never seen the special truths for this time. Not a few are dissatisfied with their present condition and are longing for clearer light. They look in vain for the image of Christ in the churches with which they are connected. As these bodies depart further and further from the truth, and ally themselves more closely with the world, the differences between the two classes will widen, and it will finally result in separation. The time will come when those who love God supremely can no longer remain in connection with such as are 'lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.' "10
Everywhere the people are taking sides; all are ranging themselves either under the banner of truth and righteousness or under the banner of the apostate powers that are contending for the supremacy. At this time God's message to the world is to be given with such prominence and power that the people will be brought face to face, mind to mind, heart to heart, with truth. They must be brought to see its superiority over the multitudinous errors that are pushing their way into notice, to supplant, if possible, the word of God for this solemn time."
4. Revival of the Advent Hope
Eschatology, or the doctrine concerning "the last things"—the end of the world, Christ's .second coming, the resurrection—has moved from secondary place in Christian thinking to a position where it has become a central, determining factor in the understanding of the faith. Part of the new thinking at work in the church is concerned with the end of the world and the setting up of the kingdom of Christ at the end of history.
Churchmen of various communions are free in expressing their faith in the second coming of Christ as the blessed hope of the Christian. They generally concede that conditions as they are in the earth today cannot last. Some cataclysm or disaster, some event that will shake this old earth to its foundations, is expected to happen. They seek in the multiplied signs of the times, including the utter bankruptcy of human wisdom to find a solution for the problems of the human race, the unmistakable evidence that the "coming of the Lord draweth nigh."
The growing conviction that Jesus is soon coming again, the mighty working of the Spirit of God upon the hearts of those who are seeking the light of salvation, and the knowledge that God's people today are "holding in their hands the bread of life for a famishing world," greatly intensifies the urgency of presenting God's final message of mercy. Years ago the messenger of the Lord urged this people to delay no longer in proclaiming present truth.
More and more, as the days go by, it is becoming apparent that God's judgments are in the world. . . . There are many who have not yet heard the testing truth for this time. There are many with whom the Spirit of God is striving. The time of God's destructive judgments is the time of mercy for those who have had no opportunity to learn what is truth. . . . The mercy of God is shown in His long forbearance. He is holding back His judgments, waiting for the message of warning to be sounded to all.12
We have no time for dwelling on matters that are of no importance. . . . Soon an awful surprise is coming upon the inhabitants of the world. Suddenly, with power and great glory, Christ will come. Then there will be no time to prepare to meet Him. Now is the time for us to give the warning message.''
5. Search for the True Church
Among the multiple doctrines with which the New Reformation is concerned is that of the
church. What constitutes the true church? Does it already exist, or is its coming still awaited? Is there salvation outside the church? These and other related questions are clamoring for decisive answers.
Voices in the ecumenical movement are announcing the coming of a great united church. But they make it very clear that the coming great church will not be realized so long as a large number of Christians continue to insist that the necessary forms of organization have already been found and already exist in whatever may be their own denomination. John Knox, who has done much research on the question concerning the church, reminds us that—the united church belongs to the future, not to the past; and if anything is clear it is that the forms of its life have not yet been finally determined. . . . It would be as certainly false to identify the coming great church with Roman Catholicism, with Eastern Orthodoxy, or with Anglicanism, as with Lutheranism, Congregationalism, Presbyterianism, Methodism, or any other denominational cult. The United Church will be a new creation, and we should be rash indeed to try artificially to limit the possible forms it may take."
As for the Roman Caltholic views of the church, there is no question on one point. Catholicism claims to be the church of Christ. According to Rome—there is no true church outside of the Roman communion, no matter on what particular issue any Christian body is divided from the church of the pope. For that respect, the most ritualistic High Church Anglicans are not better off than Christian Scientists or Seventh-day Adventists. All of them are outside of the fold, and must eventually be brought back into the fold.15
As the discussion of the coming new church progresses, the issues that have divided the historic churches are becoming less and less important to many. In his book, The Strangeness of the Church, Daniel Jenkins writes:
It appears that it can be confidently predicted that the future will not sustain the claims made by some religious bodies to be alone and exclusively the one true Church of Jesus Christ.16
Those Protestant sects who are so conscious of their own distinctive purity as to refuse to hold communion with other Christian bodies, do not behave as though they seriously believe that their claim will be universally accepted among Christians, and the discernible trend of history certainly gives them no ground for encouragement.17
It is abundantly clear that there exists today an eager searching for the true church of Christ. Everywhere people are forced to take sides. Will their decisions be influenced by truth or policy? Unless the truth of God for this time is clearly and fearlessly proclaimed, many sincere people will be unable to decide where to unite tvith God's people. This universal search for the true church presents a new challenge to those who have been entrusted with the proclamation of the last and final message of mercy to a bewildered world.
6. New Reformation Preaching
From the foregoing it is clear that present-day preaching must be geared to the great doctrinal and spiritual issues of what is termed the New Reformation Movement. Much of the preaching these days seems to be far removed from anything people are actually longing to understand. One young woman, typical of countless others, recently complained that her minister insists on talking about social matters, but that the young people want to study basic religion, the problem of sin, the surety of salvation, and the really important subjects. People recognize the needs of their souls and know that those needs can be met only by what they call a "vertebrate Christianity."
A man, conversant with the affairs of everyday life, remarked to a minister friend: "The difficulty I have when you start talking about man, is that none of the things you say about him seem to apply to the men I actually meet."
What Paul Blanshard recently said about religious literature also applies to much of contemporary preaching. "Religious literature," he said, "suffers from too much tenderness; it lacks vitality and vigor. It is wrapped in the sterilized cotton wool of hypocritical respect."
The tendency today is toward ceremonies, forms, and outward performances. As always in the past, the prophet again tends to degenerate into the priest. The man who speaks for God is prone to slip down into the man who performs ceremonies for Him. Ministers are prone to be pious for the people, carrying church responsibility professionally instead of as the spokesmen and servants of the Lord whom they represent.
In certain quarters the suggestion has even come to call a "moratorium on preaching." Instead of preaching, the minister would give a series of "messages" on "How to Find Resources for Life's Mastery." One church bulletin invited the people to come and listen to addresses on "Help Yourself to Serenity," "Leave Your Worries at Church," "Religion Can Conquer Nervous Tension," et cetera. A minister who had emptied his psychological gomer and run out of gospel, began by "enriching the liturgy." "We pushed around the church furniture," he later confessed, "moving the pulpit from the center to the right side, then to the left, and then to a spot midway between the floor and the rafters, and were surprised to discover that there was no positive correlation between the location of the pulpit and the effectiveness of the message proclaimed therefrom."
The graduates from our colleges and seminaries are in all too many cases good for professors' chairs and for the work of research, but not effective in the pulpit as preachers of the Word of God. Their kind of preaching is well described by what a British officer said of his chaplain: "As I sit among the troops," he said, "and listen to our real godly chaplain, I feel that it is because he hasn't the dimmest, foggiest idea of what an ordinary soldier thinks about, and is, that he fails to strike a single responsive note."
God forbid that such things shall ever be truthfully said about us and our ministry. Of all times in Christian history, now is the time for the most virile preaching ever listened to by sinful men. Now when the Bible in its wholeness has been given back to the preacher, there should be a revival of true Biblical preaching. Then there would be no lack of interest on the part of the people, and the preacher would never be without a message. "Give me the Bible and the Holy Ghost," said Spurgeon, "and I can go on preaching forever."
Today the setting in the world—both secular and religious—is ideal for the proclamation of the third angel's message. The great truths that characterize the Second Advent Movement, the mediatorial ministry of Christ and the perpetuity of the law of God, are the answer to man's special needs in this time of judgment. The messages of Revelation 14 "constitute a threefold warning which is to prepare the inhabitants of the earth for the Lord's second coming. The announcement, 'The hour of His judgment is come,' points to the closing work of Christ's ministration for the salvation of men. It heralds a truth which must be proclaimed until the Saviour's intercession shall cease and He shall return to the earth to take His people to Himself."'
A great work is to be accomplished in setting before men the saving truths of the gospel. This is the means ordained of God to stem the tide of moral corruption. This is His means of restoring His moral image in man. It is His remedy for universal disorganization. It is the power that draws men together in unity. To present these truths is the work of the third angel's message. The Lord designs that the presentation of this message shall be the highest, greatest work carried on in the world at this time.1°
Finally, the contemporary search for the true church must be remembered in the New Reformation preaching. There is a great host of Christ's true followers scattered among the various religious communions. They are waiting for the gracious invitation of the third angel's message, and under the mighty preaching of this message will heed the call and unite with God's remnant people. "Many, both ministers and people, will gladly accept those great truths which God has caused to be proclaimed at this time to prepare a people for the Lord's second coming."
To us, then, as ministers and preachers, entrusted with God's final message, our work has been cut out for us. The Lord has given us a special truth for this time of emergency.
Who dare refuse to publish it? He commands His servants to present the last invitation of mercy to the world. They cannot remain silent, except at the peril of their souls. Christ's ambassadors have nothing to do with consequences. They must perform their duo, and leave results with God."
