THE keynote of evangelism is Christ and Him crucified. We need to become, to the highest possible degree, exponents of the efficacy of the blood of Christ.
But while the message of Christ itself is simple enough for a child to give, or to comprehend, it contains aspects and dimensions that will continually challenge the greatest powers and skills of the preacher. We shall always be learning the science of Christ-centered preaching, and yet never fully coming to a knowledge of the truth concerning it.
Is Christ-centered preaching that of preaching Christ alone? Does it mean narrowing down doctrine and prophecy? Does it mean the exclusion of lesser doctrines from our preaching? No—it is not preaching Christ to the exclusion of lesser doctrines, but rather preaching Christ as the inclusion of all doctrines. He is the heart of all truth. Every doctrine is really an extension of Christ. As the spokes are extensions of the hub of the wheel, so doctrines are extensions of the hub of all truth, Christ. There are no extraneous scriptural doctrines.
There are those who profess that Cal vary and justification comprise all that should be presented in Christ-centered preaching. All else seems to be shadowy and superfluous, with some things even at enmity with Christ, especially the law. Our work, however, is to show how all scriptural doctrines, including the doctrine of the law, relate to Christ and find their integrity in Him.
It is true (and every preacher should make sure that it is seen as true) that justification, Jesus-imputed righteousness, is the basis of salvation; that the sinner who accepts Christ's atonement is accounted righteous; that his standing with God is immediately what it should be.
In other words, the sinner is fully covered by the justifying grace of Christ the moment he accepts Him. His may be a record of lifelong evil, and he still may have many ungodly habits to overcome, but he has accepted, and thus he is accepted.
But the true convert accepts more than justification. The justifying act of Christ is something done outside of man himself, and continues to be done as long as a man continues to believe. Something needs also to be accomplished inside—regeneration, the new birth, conversion. True acceptance of justification brings regeneration. Neither justification nor the new birth is of man's making, but of the Holy Spirit's.
Simply speaking, the new birth means new desires longing to do right. The true convert will have these desires. The urge and conscience to obey will surely be implanted in the heart by the Holy Spirit. The new covenant terms will begin to apply in his life—the etching of the law into his heart and mind. Justification and the new birth come first, and the will to obey results.
Law and Grace
Does this mean that law should not appear until conversion? Should we "preach Christ," as some say, keeping the law out of sight lest we appear as legalists or, what is worse, make legalists of our converts? To state the question in another way, should we preach Christ only till the sinner is justified, and then preach law until he is sanctified? Evidently not. Look how God did it. "The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ" (Gal. 3:24).
It is not Christ without the law; it is Christ in the law that we are to preach. If people are to be convicted and are to receive justification from their sins, they must surely see the law that points out sin in its full connection with Christ. This is not legalism.
Contrary to the belief of some, the Epistles do not separate law and grace, they relate them. Our work is to relate them and it seems to me that if we try to drop law out until grace is established, we shall unrelate them. There may develop a kind of enmity toward the law and its associated Christian ethics.
What Paul is talking about in his epistles is not law versus grace but legalism versus grace. There certainly is a danger of the new convert's falling into legalism, lacking assurance, and working of the works of the law to supplement Christ's atoning sacrifice. But there is also a danger of denigrating the law in the mind of the convert, of conveying to him the idea that legalism and obedience are somehow synonymous terms and that strict obedience is contrary to grace. True Christian obedience and legalism are poles apart.
Is law simply a device to condemn man's sins—the broadax of heaven's "tower of London"? We know that the law cannot save us and was never meant to do so, but are we going to teach our converts and our people to regard the law as an abiding enemy of sinners and leave them with that impression? "Was then that which is good made death unto me?" Said Paul, "God forbid!" No, the commandment was "ordained unto life." It was to show in mercy and love the exceeding sinfulness of sin. It is "holy, just, and good," and is to be writ ten upon the heart of man and become indelibly impressed on his mind and character. It is a revelation of the love and the mercy and the watchcare of God. The truly converted man can say with the psalmist, "I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart" (Ps. 40:8).
We are not saved by the law, but in a certain sense it has a part to play in man's salvation. It convicts the sinner. He accepts forgiveness and longs to be in harmony with the character of Christ expressed in the law. It becomes part of him. Following Christ's example we are to fuse the law with the gospel and present this fusion as something to be highly desired.
How can man obey a law he does not love?
In all our presentations we must work the carnal heart away from the belief that we can do anything whereby salvation is merited; that salvation is owing to our commandment keeping or tithe paying, or missionary activity. Our salvation is not owing to these things. Rather, these things will be the fruitage of our salvation. If we accept this atonement and receive the new birth we shall desire to do right. We shall hunger and thirst after righteousness and want to obey God.
We may not automatically obey, but we shall automatically desire to obey when we are converted. More than this, we shall strive to obey, even agonize to obey. Our sins will hurt us, even terrify us, and will drive us to a closer dependence upon Christ, and away from any confidence in self or "works." Any good work will be the result of salvation working within us. The result will be a trend toward Christlikeness and harmony with the law of God. We call this "sanctification"—our lifetime work. Meanwhile, believing, we remain justified.
Perhaps nothing will hold the attention of people more than sermons on how, through the sacrifice and grace of Christ, we are assured of salvation, and how we may resist temptation. Though the believer is justified and covered by the robe of Christ's righteousness, his converted nature struggles to overcome every temptation. He grows to hate sin. People need to know that there is power in the Saviour to meet every onslaught of the enemy, and that Christ will do even more for them than grant forgiveness of sins. They can have victory over sins.
We should speak words of courage and set before the people God's ideal for His children in an encouraging light, saying with Paul, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." This is faith in Christ, this is not presumption.
Teach the people to believe in the power of Christ on behalf of the tempted. They receive power to live the Christian life by believing, the same as they receive forgiveness by believing.
The Christ-centered Preacher
This final point is doubtless the most important of all to you and me. There can be no true Christ-centered preaching without Christ-centered preachers. J. B. Kilpatrick, in his book New Testament Evangelism says: "The power of God to save does not operate magically whether through a rite or a book or an uttered phrase. It operates, normally, upon men, through men. It must there fore manifest itself in those who preach the gospel as a regenerative and sanctifying energy, before it can be pro claimed to others, and is capable of achieving like results in their experience." —Page 83.
Before the preacher can honestly ask people to believe, he must himself first believe. Before calling for surrender, he himself must have surrendered. Before offering the healing balm, he must first be made whole. He himself becomes the living proof of the divine cure.
The preacher shows how because he knows how. He knows what it is to be forgiven and justified. He knows what it is to battle against temptation and to be victorious through the grace of Christ, and he not only knows the way, but he is enthusiastic about it. His air of confidence in Christ is infectious.
