Preaching: How to Preach Biblically QUOTES

1 " The bell in the steeple may be well hung, fairly fashioned, and of soundest metal, but it is dumb until the ringer makes it speak. And . . . the preacher has no voice of quickening for the dead in sin, or of comfort for living saints unless the divine spirit [Spirit] gives him a gracious pull, and begs him speak with power. Hence the need of prayer for both preacher and hearers. "

― John F. MacArthur Jr. , Preaching: How to Preach Biblically

2 " An expositor should make every effort not to preach preconceived notions of what a given text may say. His sacred trust is to let the text speak for itself and not impose on it what he thinks or wishes it said. "

― John F. MacArthur Jr. , Preaching: How to Preach Biblically

3 " What two or three books on preaching have profoundly impacted your thinking? The first book that affected my thinking was John Broadus's On The Preparation and Delivery of Sermons. A second book that really hit me hard was John Stott's book The Preacher's Portrait in which he explained five New Testament words that pictured the preacher's vast responsibility and duty. Then I read D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones's Preachers and Preaching. Those three have influenced me greatly. "

― John F. MacArthur Jr. , Preaching: How to Preach Biblically

4 " The unique contribution of Bible exposition is its substantial enhancement of the listeners' comprehension of Scripture's intent. Those who listen to expository preaching have opportunity to submit to the Holy Spirit who first inspired the text as He now illumines that text to them. This is the best avenue for building up the saints. The New Testament puts heavy emphasis on using the mind as the principal avenue to Christian growth (for example, Rom. 12:2; 1 Pet. 1:13), so the preacher should do the same. "

― John F. MacArthur Jr. , Preaching: How to Preach Biblically

5 " The three “undervalued" components of expository sermon preparation include introductions, illustrations, and conclusions. Due to the complexities of pastoral ministry in general and message preparation particularly, pastors tend to let these three slide. The congregation, in contrast, eagerly looks forward to how its pastor will handle these elements of the message. This discussion, which intends to equip the preacher for a new level of expository excellence, is built around purposes, sources, variations, guidelines, and preparation tips for these three parts of an exposition. "

― John F. MacArthur Jr. , Preaching: How to Preach Biblically

6 " If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battlefield besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point. "

― John F. MacArthur Jr. , Preaching: How to Preach Biblically

7 " The man of God is thrilled to be a soldier. It is not that he goes out of his way to antagonize people and make enemies, but he is willing to fight the battle for truth. It is greatly disturbing to live in a time when battling for truth is looked upon as divisive and unloving. Far too many in the church today are willing to compromise theologically to avoid conflict, forgetting Jude's exhortation to “contend earnestly for the faith” (Jude 3). "

― John F. MacArthur Jr. , Preaching: How to Preach Biblically

8 " God's objective and historically past revelation in Scripture cannot be understood accurately apart from the present, personal, and subjective work of the Holy Spirit. “Illumination,” which applies only to believers,3 is simply the continued work of the Spirit by which He causes enlightened understanding of doctrine and how it should be applied to life. "

― John F. MacArthur Jr. , Preaching: How to Preach Biblically

9 " Fruitful expository preaching demands great effort. Since nothing is as important as the Word, no energy expended by anyone in any other field should even equal the effort of an expositor seeking to “rightly divide the Word.” Adams identifies the number-one reason for poor preaching: I have had the opportunity to hear much preaching over the last few years, some very good, some mediocre, most very bad. What is the problem with preaching? There is no one problem, of course. . . . But if there is one thing that stands out most, perhaps it is the problem I mention today. What I am about to say may not strike you as being as specific as other things I have written, yet I believe it is at the bottom of a number of other difficulties. My point is that good preaching demands hard work. From listening to sermons and from talking to hundreds of preachers about preaching, I am convinced that the basic reason for poor preaching is the failure to spend adequate time and energy in preparation. Many preachers—perhaps most—simply don't work long enough on their sermons. "

― John F. MacArthur Jr. , Preaching: How to Preach Biblically

10 " Al predicar la narrativa, uno debe quitarle las luces a los héroes parecidos a José y colocarla en el único personaje en el relato digno de alabanza: Dios. "

― John F. MacArthur Jr. , Preaching: How to Preach Biblically

11 " Apart from explicit general application in principlizing the main parts in the exposition, the expositor is not compelled to give a set number of points of specific application before a sermon can have an appli-cational impact. That is not to say he should not make some illustrative applications, but if the text is allowed to speak fully, applications will multiply far beyond what he can anticipate as the Spirit of God takes His Word and applies it to each listener. "

― John F. MacArthur Jr. , Preaching: How to Preach Biblically

12 " A sound study-library must be a top priority. For many, such a library has been unimportant and the result has been an impoverished ministry, lacking depth, breadth, and stimulation. An excellent library is constructed by deliberate acquisition rather than “accidental” accumulation. Since an expository preacher's library is an integral part of his pulpit work, it should be assembled with an eye toward the highest quality.4 A preliminary indication of what a core library is not will help understand what it should be: 1. It is not a collection of inferior books donated to the preacher by well-meaning friends and listeners. 2. It is not an accumulation of books offered on sale or at discount prices. 3. It is not simply a collection of materials that are highly recommended or found on standard lists of bibliographies. "

― John F. MacArthur Jr. , Preaching: How to Preach Biblically

13 " Thorough exegesis and clear organization are crucial to an effective message. But a good sermon poorly preached is no better than a poor sermon properly preached. One has light but no heat; the other heat with no light. "

― John F. MacArthur Jr. , Preaching: How to Preach Biblically

14 " Preaching is theology coming through a man who is on fire. "

― John F. MacArthur Jr. , Preaching: How to Preach Biblically

15 " Preaching is theology coming through a man who is on fire. A true understanding and experience of the Truth must lead to this. "

― John F. MacArthur Jr. , Preaching: How to Preach Biblically

16 " Nowhere is that discipline and hard work more demanding and rewarding than in determining the central idea and structure of a passage. In this brief discussion only a few basic ideas can be developed, but if these are followed, they will cause the form of the sermon to reflect the essence of the passage and that is legitimate expository preaching. "

― John F. MacArthur Jr. , Preaching: How to Preach Biblically

17 " The essential ingredient in dealing with central ideas, outlines, and titles in expository preaching is an understanding of the structure of the passage to be preached. The expositor should not communicate his own central idea, nor his own outline, nor his own title. He is, rather, to teach the central idea, outline, and theme of the author. Failure to reflect the author's theme, outline, and central idea is a departure from true exposition. "

― John F. MacArthur Jr. , Preaching: How to Preach Biblically

18 " Be natural; forget yourself; be so absorbed in what you are doing and in the realization of the presence of God, and in the glory and the greatness of the Truth that you are preaching . . . that you forget yourself completely. "

― John F. MacArthur Jr. , Preaching: How to Preach Biblically

19 " It must be emphasized that the expositor does not “make" a message out of a passage. Rather, he interacts with the contextual material until the message of the author emerges. "

― John F. MacArthur Jr. , Preaching: How to Preach Biblically

20 " Todos miramos con indignación al abogado o al juez que, a raíz de la búsqueda de riquezas particulares, distorsionan la verdad al atacar la reputación y las posesiones personales de la gente, a medida que las reducen a la pobreza. Respondemos con una indignación parecida ante el médico farsante que, por incompetente, pone en peligro la salud y la vida de alguien en busca de ganancias financieras. Esas personas merecen ser consideradas como criminales; "

― John F. MacArthur Jr. , Preaching: How to Preach Biblically