Preaching the Gospel: Why is It Difficult?
By: Sherman Cox
Martin Luther declared, “How difficult an occupation preaching is.”(1) Then Luther continued by a discussion of the intensity of the attacks from Satan on those who would presume to “preach the word of God.”(2) In this short essay, I will discuss how four important themes concur with Luther’s statement. The first of these themes is the importance of our definition of the gospel to our preaching ministry. The second theme is the importance of the Holy Spirit to the task of preaching. The third theme is our definition of preaching. The fourth theme is metaphors for understanding the preacher. I believe that these four fundamental concepts from all point to the validity of Martin Luther’s full statement, specifically the difficulty of preaching.
My working definition of the Gospel is; God is actively involved in the elevation of the world to a state beyond original creation.(3) This means that God is not idly standing by while Satan runs rampant. God is in the world taking on the forces that are in the world. This understanding of the Gospel means that God and Satan are in a Cosmic Battle and the destiny of the world is at stake. Neither God nor Satan will give up the world to the other without a struggle. Thus, we can expect that both God and Satan will use all the resources, consistent with their characters, to win this war. If we preach the Gospel, Satan will do the best that Satan can do to undermine the Gospel. Thus my understanding of the gospel includes in it a belief that Satan will use all the “furies of hell”(4) to stop that Gospel and thus the preaching of it.
In his statement, Luther speaks of a difficulty in the preaching of the gospel. Luther seems to mean that it is difficult because Satan will attack the preacher. While this is true and I have referred to it above, there is another way that it is difficult. Luther does not explicitly reference this difficulty in the statement. This difficulty is the problem of even conceiving of the Gospel in the world. Because of the world’s way of doing things, we can lose sight of the Gospel. To understand the Gospel we must appeal to the importance of the Holy Spirit in all preaching. We cannot know how the Gospel looks today except the Spirit tells us. Jesus said that the Spirit of truth would be there to reveal the truth to us (John 16:13). If the Sprit is there to help us understand the gospel, Satan will be there to obscure it. If the Spirit tells us that we should fight for the oppressed, Satan is present telling us that that does not include the outsider. If the Spirit tells us to speak against domestic violence, Satan is present telling us that we do not know what the woman did to deserve the beating. Again Luther’s statement is illuminated; preaching is difficult in that it is difficult to conceive of the gospel in this world.
Another important theme to describe the difficulty of preaching is to look at our definition of preaching. Dr. Brad Braxton states that “Preaching is the faithful, passionate, reporting of God’s useful news.” (5) Here preaching includes something that is useful, good news. If it is useful, then it is something practical that humanity can take with them to live the life that God calls them to live. Satan would attack this kind of proclamation. Another important component of preaching that supports Luther’s statement is that the preaching event is an encounter between God and humanity. If we are in a war, then Satan must stop all communication between God and humanity. If the preaching event is a special communication between God and humanity we can be certain that Satan will do all that Satan can do to stop that communication. Luther is right that Satan is against one who would stand up, tell useful truth, and be a conduit for a special encounter between God and humanity.(6)
To this point, I have discussed the gospel, the Spirit in our work, and the Spirit in us. Now I wish to discuss how pictures of the preacher agree with Luther’s statement. We will look at some metaphors for understanding the preaching of the Gospel in the world. One metaphor is the preacher as herald.(7) Here the preacher is primarily one that publishes the information given to the preacher by God. If we are to preach the Gospel, we are telling the world that God is involved in the world. Satan will attack those who say this. Another Biblical metaphor is the Preacher as an ambassador taken from 2 Corinthians 5:20. Paul states that Satan is the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Thus, this world has many of the characteristics of Satan. The mindset of this world is different from the mindset of God which is why Paul tells the Roman believers to “not be conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2). We are ambassadors of another country. Satan hates that country and is at war with us. Often when a country is at war with another country they expel the ambassadors and close the embassy. However, Christians remain in war territory. Here we are ambassadors of a minority position in the world. We are standing up to the powers to let them know that the Gospel is still true. Why do the powers care about those who preach the Gospel? The powers of this world care about the preacher because the preacher reminds Satan and all the dominions of evil that, their end will come. In essence, the preacher personifies the Gospel and thus the hatred of the Gospel becomes a hatred of the preacher.
Luther reminds the preacher that the job is a treacherous one. In addition, it really reminds me one thing that Dr. Braxton said echoing Jesus, if you are not suffering persecution you are probably not preaching the gospel (2 Tim 3:12).(8) We will encounter trouble as we preach the gospel. Dr. Braxton continued this thought by telling me of the need for courage and wisdom in preaching.(9) Dr. Braxton recognized that I caught a glimpse of what Luther saw. Because of this recognition I was struggling with the fear that comes from an understanding of the ramifications of preaching the Gospel. This fear assumes what Luther has already stated; namely, that preaching is a “difficult occupation.” There is a great temptation to stay out of the fray and preach what is acceptable and easy. However, the Gospel calls for something different. True preaching will cause trouble for the preacher. This trouble comes because when we preach the Gospel, we are informing those who spread lies that God will uncover the truth eventually. When we preach the Gospel, we are telling those who cause pain in the world that the God of all comfort will undo their actions. Finally, when we preach the gospel, we are telling all those who practice death that there is a resurrection on Sunday morning. Yes, Luther was right when he said evil would attack the preacher. Preaching the Gospel is definitely a bittersweet job. I did not choose it, sometimes I do not want it, but I recognize that God gave me this work. As I reflect on it, I wonder what better job could God give one than to preach “good news of great joy” (Luke 2:10). I thank God for the opportunity, and I pray for God’s protection, leading, courage, and wisdom as I go out to preach the gospel to the powers and to God’s people.
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1. Quoted in Charles L. Campbell, “Resisting the Powers,” in Purposes of Preaching, ed. Jana Childers (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2004), 25.
2. Ibid.
3. I am appreciative to Dr. Braxton whose questions caused me to include the elevation beyond creation concept rather than just my original restoration to the state of creation. I also saw the need to include not just an elevation of humanity, but the world for the whole creation groans for redemption (Romans 8:22).
4. Campbell, 25.
5. Brad R Braxton, Preaching Paul (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2004), 27.
6. “The sermon can be less an object than it is an action of divine encounter by which a relationship is renewed.” Paul Scott Wilson, The Practice of Preaching (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995), 23.
7. For a discussion of the preacher as herald see Thomas G. Long, The Witness of Preaching (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1989), 24–30.
8. Brad R. Braxton, “Introduction to Homiletics Lecture” (Presented at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Fall 2004).
9. Ibid.
=================WORKS CITED====================================
Braxton, Brad R. Preaching Paul. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2004.
Long, Thomas G. The Witness of Preaching. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1989.
Wilson, Paul Scott. The Practice of Preaching. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995.
Sherman Haywood Cox is the editor of HomileticsPortal.com. This is the portal to the web for preachers. He also has a blog at shermancox.com Sherman Cox holds the Master of Science degree and is currently working on a Master of Divinity from Vanderbilt Divinity School.