Spirit-filled preaching is not a new concept.It was in the power of the Holy Spirit that Peter preached the great Pentecost sermon recorded in Acts.However, I fear that the prominence of faith-healers and health and wealth preachers that often appeal to miraculous signs and wonders and power from the Holy Spirit has caused many to shirk away from seeking the filling of the spirit in preaching.
Modern era preachers ranging from Spurgeon to Lloyd-Jones and even Vines speak of this power using terms like “unction” of the Spirit.The book of Acts records that the apostles’ preaching was accompanied by signs and wonders.Those signs were not intended to draw attention to the preachers, but rather to validate the message from God.We have become so leery of the frauds in our society that many preachers have thrown the baby out with the bathwater.
Preaching is one of my greatest passions, and as such, reading on the subject is of great importance to me.In Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture, Graeme Goldsworthy has proven himself an apt writer and theologian.The book is an attempt to show that, on the basis of careful biblical theology, the entire Bible is effective and necessary as a medium through which God speaks to his people.Goldsworthy shows the absolute importance of preaching the whole Bible through the cross and conversely preaching Christ from the whole Bible.Through this book, Goldsworthy not only argues for the magnitude of preaching Christ-centered sermons, he also gives concrete examples and references to how that task can and should be accomplished.Goldsworthy’s commitment to redemptive-historical preaching is a wonderful reminder that the Bible is one Book about one God with one major purpose of redemption in history that is realized in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ.
SUMMARY
Following his introduction, Goldsworthy opens his book with a chapter titled Nothing but Christ and Him Crucified that sets the theme for the entire volume.Goldsworthy shows a serious commitment to the task and science of biblical theology, but that theology and subsequent preaching with biblical theology as its basis must begin, not in the Garden of Eden, but with Christ.Goldsworthy gives a reminder that the preacher has the task of communicating the whole counsel of God in light of the gospel, but not in a way that takes away from the historical-redemptive perspective of either the text in hand or the gospel itself.Goldsworthy notes, “The gospel is central to our thinking in an experiential sense” (5), but that does not mean that the gospel is the only thing we preach.
This book review is also found on the Book Review page, but I have found it to be so beneficial to me in my preaching, that I thought it was worth bringing a little extra attention to it here. I hope you find this brief review helpful. I love to read, but I do not …
