Furthermore, the Bible is "active" (energies), the same Greek word from which we draw our English word "energy." This means that the Scripture is full of divine energy, tirelessly working, relentlessly executing God's purposes. God has said, "So shall My word be which goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11). Wherever God's Word goes forth, it is always working to accomplish God's will, always succeeding in the work for which it is intended.

But sad to say, in a quest to be relevant, many preachers so overly saturate their messages with contemporary sources, present day references, and modern colloquial language, to the point that they are jettisoning a thorough presentation of biblical truth. These "cutting-edge" preachers are soft-peddling the Bible and the irony is, they are becoming the very thing they least seek to be -- outdated. Truth be known, the Scripture is the most "cutting-edge" book in existence, literally, being sharper than any two-edged sword. The preacher does not have to make the Bible relevant; it is relevant. Seeing that the Bible is a living, breathing book, perennially fresh, forever relevant, full of timeless truths, why preach anything else?

Power to Convict

Second, not only does the Scripture possess the power to connect with hearts, it is also endued with supernatural ability to convict hearts. Again we read, the Bible is "sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12b). This means, God's Word is infinitely more powerful and penetrating than any man-made message.

Philip Hughes notes, the Bible "never fails to cut; there is no blunt side to it."7 The Scripture is a divine dagger Charles Spurgeon said, one that is "all edgeAno blunt side."8 It is "two-edged" in that it possesses the ability to cut both ways, that is, it is able to build up and tear down, comfort and afflict, harden and soften, even save and damn. Inflicting no mere "flesh wound," Scripture cuts to the bone, exposing the inner recesses of any person's heart, and reveals the depths of man's depravity. God's Word is a discerner of hearts, possessing a living insight into the state of a person's inner life. John MacArthur emphatically states, "Through the Bible, the Holy Spirit is able to split me wide open and reveal to me my faults, my needs, my weaknesses -- my sins."9

It is this fundamental belief in the power of the Word to convict hearts that is so absolutely critical for any preacher. No one can be saved until they are acutely aware of their lost condition, and the expositor must be deeply convinced that nothing exposes the lost condition of a sinner but preaching the depths of God's Word. Possessing the supernatural capacity to cut into the innermost recesses of a human soul, the Word slices far deeper than mere felt needs -- that is, those shallow feelings which only lie on the surface. Instead, the living Word of God cuts deeply "like a hot knife through butter"10 to a person's real needs, which remain unfelt until they are probed by the Word.