People have a right to ask, "Why did you tell me that? What am I supposed to
do with that information? All right, I understand what you say is true —
so what?" The healthiest preaching does not assume listeners will automatically
see how to apply God's truths to their lives; it supplies the application people
need.11 If even the preacher cannot tell (or
has not bothered to determine) how the sermon's truths relate to life, then
people not only are unlikely to make the connection but also will wonder why
they bothered to listen.
The
Need for Application
The Bible's instruction and pattern indicate the importance of application in
preaching. When Paul told Titus, "You must teach what is in accord with sound
doctrine" (Titus 2:1), the Bible students of that day probably echoed the chorus
of enthusiastic "Amens" today's seminarians voice at such a statement. But Paul
did not mean that Titus was simply to teach theological propositions.12
In the next sentence, the apostle begins to unfold what preachers should teach
that "is in accord with sound doctrine":
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Teach the older
men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith,
in love and in endurance.
Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to
be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they
can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled
and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands,
so that no one will malign the word of God.
Similarly, encourage
the young men to be self-controlled. (Titus 2:2-6)
Paul expects Titus's "doctrine" to give the people of his congregation specific
guidance for their everyday lives. Such instruction does not merely characterize
this one passage; it reflects the pattern of Paul's epistles (cf. Rom.1-15;
Eph.1-6). The apostle typically begins each letter with a greeting, moves to
doctrinal instruction, and then applies the doctrine to a variety of circumstances.
Paul refuses to leave biblical truth in the stratosphere of theological abstraction.
He earths his message in the concerns of the people he addresses.13
Preaching that is true to the pattern of Scripture should do the same.
Biblical preaching moves from exegetical commentary and doctrinal exposition
to life instruction. Such preaching exhorts as well as expounds because it recognizes
that Scripture's own goal is not merely to share information about God but to
conform his people to the likeness of Jesus Christ. Preaching without application
may serve the mind, but preaching with application results in service to Christ.
Application makes Jesus the source and the objective of a sermon's exhortation
as well as the focus of its explanation.