LET’S BE HONEST
The Need For Integrity In Sermon Development, Delivery, And Decision
We’ve all said it: “Come on, let’s be honest.” That common expression can apply to many areas of life, but it supremely applies to preaching. When a man or woman stands before a crowd to preach, they are proclaiming God’s eternal truth (see John 17:17). Therefore, since we hold the truth-filled Word of God in our hands, it is incumbent that what comes out of our mouths is truthful. Paul instructs Timothy that a preacher must be “above reproach” (1 Timothy 3:3), and he tells Titus that God’s messengers need to be “blameless” (Titus 1:6). Let’s put it down big, bold, and clear: there are high, ethical standards which must be maintained when we prepare and present a sermon in God’s work.
The preacher who desires to sharpen his skill and effectiveness must ask at least three questions about preaching. First, we must ask what shall I preach? That will determine the content of your message. Next, we must ask why do I preach? That will determine the conviction of your message. Finally, we must ask how should I preach? That will determine the character of the messenger. Each of those three questions deserve a clear answer, but we will think together in this article about the final question—how should I preach?
Integrity in Sermon Development
The word “integrity” comes from the world of mathematics where its root is “integer.” By definition, an integer is a whole number in contrast to a fraction. So integrity implies that a man is a whole person marked by complete honesty and not a fractional individual who sometimes is honest while at other times he’s not. That has enormous implications for those of us who preach biblical messages.In 2 Timothy, Paul urged the younger pastor, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). The word “approved” (dokimos) was used by those refining gold. Once all the impurities were removed from the ore, the gold was formed into bars and stamped dokimos, that is pure, impurity-free. That’s how the preacher must view his task as he prepares to proclaim God’s Word. We must maintain high, ethical standards as we assemble the material that we will preach.
Principally it means we must be accurate in handling the text of scripture from which we will preach. It is wrong at best and dishonest at worst to twist a biblical passage in an effort to make it say what we desire it to say. The Bible is not a soft, lump of clay God places in our hands so we can mold it to whatever shape and form we choose. Instead, it is a proven, settled rock of revealed truth which we need to humbly and diligently explore in order for its truth to emerge. The Holy Spirit not only inspired the biblical passage from which you will preach, but he also illuminates you the messenger so you can be an accurate, anointed spokesman for God.
Picture it like this: the Bible sits above us in order to guide us how to live and what to preach; we do not sit above the Scripture to determine our own standards or concoct our own messages. The prophet Micaiah said, “As surely as the LORD lives, I can tell him only what the LORD tells me” (1 Kings 22:14). Or consider the words of John Calvin a month before he died as he was saying good-bye to some preachers: “I have not corrupted one single passage of Scripture, nor twisted it as far as I know. I have always studied to be simple and clear.” A good rule of thumb is this: Don’t develop a sermon from a text if only one Bible version translates it the way you desire. Let multiple translations confirm your conclusion.
Another mark of integrity is we will not preach another person’s sermon. To do so would be unethical. I once received a letter from a pastor in Arkansas who told me he regularly listened to my sermons on the radio and then preached them a few weeks later in his church. Is that real preaching? It seems to me real preaching occurs when a man or woman communicates to a gathered congregation what the Holy Spirit has revealed to him through his personal study and interaction with the Scripture. One benefit of preparing a sermon is the Holy Spirit not only helps you develop the message, but He also develops you!
Deuteronomy 5 has an instructive verse on the dynamics of true preaching. The people said to Moses, “Go near and listen to all that the LORD our God says. Then tell us whatever the LORD our God tells you. We will listen and obey” (verse 27). You see, good preaching must include a personal witness. Yes, other commentators, writers, and speakers will be read while preparation takes place, but integrity demands and the Spirit desires the finalized message to have your thoughts, prayers, and fingerprints all over it. You and I can milk many cows as we prepare to preach, but we must churn our own butter!
If all we desire to accomplish through our preaching is to inspire our people or explain a biblical text, then why not just play a DVD from some gifted, nationally- known preacher instead of wasting our time preparing? That’s insufficient because God’s people want a personal witness to the power of God. You see, if God is not speaking to you, how can He speak through you? People desire to see the Word become flesh in a man or woman, and then in turn have that preacher guide them so they can successfully navigate life and please God. That’s real integrity in the development of a life-changing message.
Integrity in Sermon Delivery
Have you ever heard this prayer before someone begins to preach: “Lord, hide me behind the cross so no one will be seen but you?” Now, I would never doubt the sincerity of the person offering that prayer, but I’m not sure God will answer it. You see, in preaching “the Word becomes flesh” (John 1:14). To use the words of the great Phillips Brooks, “Preaching is God’s truth communicated through human personality.” Who the preacher is—our words, our emotions, our body-language, our passion, our dress—cannot be hidden. Who we are as preachers will ooze out in our sermon. Therefore, it’s imperative that we are integrous both in our sermon development and delivery.
Some point to Philippians 1:15-18 as proof God can use any kind of sermon delivery—good or bad, ethical or unethical. While it’s true that our sovereign God can use any preached sermon, it would be foolish to lower standards to conclude integrity in delivery does not count. Remember, Paul is not urging anyone to follow the example of the jealous preachers in Philippians 1. That passage is the exception, and you do not build principles off the exceptions, but off the norms.
Think of Paul’s inspired autobiography as he reveals how he preached. In 1 Thessalonians 1.4-6 he wrote, “Our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.” Then in 2 Corinthians he added, “Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God” (2:17). What must we learn from Paul?
To begin, we must preach to please God. It is possible to undo in your delivery what the Holy Spirit accomplished in you during in your preparation. Excessive pointing to self is not pleasing to God during our delivery. The preacher must be marked by humility. Now humility is not putting yourself down, but it is lifting the Lord Jesus up. Remember, our God-given duty is to “preach Christ” and not ourself (see 2 Corinthians 4.5). Name-dropping will also hurt your delivery. As you name-drop, you’re saying to people, “I know important people. That makes me important as well.”
Any breach of pastoral confidence will also harm your delivery (and also the person you “out”). During the week you will rub shoulders and interact with many people. You will hear of successes and failures, victories and sins. To publicly share the successes and victories of others without permission is foolish and possibly damaging. To publicly reveal the sins and failures of others is wrong and possibly unforgivable!
In the 2 Corinthians 2 passage quoted above, Paul tells us we are not to be like people who “peddle the word of God.” The verb “peddle” comes from the Greek noun kapelos. A kapelos was a con artist, a street hawker, or a huckster who would say and do anything to manipulate people. Too many in our world today peddle a message which does not have a biblical foundation. The purpose of these peddlers is not to bring glory to God nor to see real-life transformation in people. Their main goal is self-enrichment. We must guard our integrity as we deliver God’s message.
Both righteousness and godliness are needed in preachers. What’s the difference between the two? Perhaps the difference is best understood when we view righteousness as affecting our outward conduct, while godliness affects our inner attitude. For the most part, God’s people are trusting. They want to trust the person who stands before them to preach. But integrity for the preacher is a precious commodity. With it, people will follow you; without it they won’t. To quote Billy Graham, “If you lose your money, you’ve lost little. If you lose your health, you’ve lost something important. But if you lose your integrity, you’ve lost everything.”
A preacher must lean hard upon God as he delivers the message (see 1 Corinthians 2:1-5). Remember, it’s not our clever, little gimmicks which convert people and challenge others. It’s the Spirit of God using the Word of God. Let’s realize that if someone is persuaded to trust Christ merely by our clever argument or delivery skills, it’s probable that someone with a more clever argument or greater speaking skills than ours may lead them down a deceptive path. It’s the Spirit, not our human skill, which brings transformational life-change into the human heart (see Zechariah 4.6). To deny that is to deny our present existence as people who are led and empowered by the Holy Spirit (see 2 Corinthians 5:7). That’s real integrity in the delivery of a life-changing message.
Integrity in Sermon Decision
The purpose of a sermon is not primarily to inform the mind; it’s main purpose is to transform the heart. That means a preacher should call for some kind of a decision at the end of every sermon. Just as a good insurance salesman would not think of showing a client a new insurance product without asking if they would like to buy it, so you need to preach for decision in each sermon.
The first recorded sermon in Acts is Peter’s clear explanation and powerful challenge in Acts 2. Here’s how the Apostle finished that sermon: “With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation’” (verse 40). You see, Peter was clear in his call for a decision.
The integrity of the messenger matters greatly as we call people to decision. Phillips Brooks defined preaching as “God’s truth through human personality.” It’s possible to run clean water through a dirty pipe, but I sure wouldn’t want to drink it! As you compare that analogy to preaching, the implications are clear and convicting. There are many jobs in our world today where the character of the person doing the work really doesn’t matter that much. Hear me—preaching is not one of those jobs!
The integrity of preaching is front and center in 1 Corinthians 2. The Bible says, “I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Cor 2.3-5). Paul refused to use calculated theatrics or human techniques to manipulate a response. Be careful so you don’t get people to respond to your emotional appeal instead of to the true knowledge of God and the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
Martin Luther faced this problem in his day. As the Protestant Reformation began to spread, some of Luther’s followers resorted to manipulation, force, and less-than-honest methods of preaching to sway people. Luther would have none of it. In the spring of 1522, Luther marched to his pulpit and said, “I will preach, teach, and write, but I will constrain no man by force. I could play little games, but what would happen? A fool’s play. I leave it to God’s Word.” That’s integrity in asking people to follow Christ.
Charles Spurgeon was a beloved pastor, a great preacher, and a powerful evangelist. He preached for a decision and saw tens of thousands come to Christ. He focused on the integrity of the preacher when calling people to decision and wrote words which are difficult to improve: “The power that is in the Gospel does not lie in the eloquence of the preacher, otherwise men would be the converters of souls; nor does it lie in the preacher’s learning, otherwise it would consist in the wisdom of men. We might preach until our tongues rotted, till we would exhaust our lungs and die, but never a soul would be converted unless the Holy Spirit be with the Word of God to give it the power to convert the soul.”
Good preaching will always contain three essential components: what is said (logos), how it is said (pathos), and who says it (ethos). One verse in 1 Thessalonians 1 rolls all three into thirty concise words: “Our gospel (logos) came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction (pathos). You know how we lived among you for your sake (ethos)” (1 Thes 1.5). Let that verse be a model for both your preaching and your life.
Some years ago, I looked up the word “preach” in my Webster’s dictionary. The second entry said “to exhort in a tiresome manner.” Nothing could be further from the truth! Your preaching must be faithful to the Bible, borne out of a life of integrity, and dynamic to the listener in order that lives will be transformed.
The words of Robert Murray M’Cheyne are as true today as when he wrote them in 1840: “Remember you are God’s sword—His instrument. In great measure, according to the purity and perfections of the instrument, will be your success. It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God.” Amen! May you rise to God’s calling and be the best preacher you can be.
