Page 19 of 22

Luther On Preaching-Part 5

philipmcduffie Leave a comment

This is part 5 of Luther on preaching. That means there are 4 other parts about Luther’s preaching that you may have missed. If so, here are the links: Part 1-Introduction; Part 2-Word Driven; Part 3-Clearly Articulated; and Part 4-Soul Searching.


Anyhow, today we are going to be looking at how Luther believed that preaching should be Christ exalting. He wanted to preach the Word in a clear way so that men would be made aware of their sin. He would not leave men in this hopeless plight though. That would be terrible. Rather, he wanted to do all this, and then lift up Christ so high that they might find forgiveness of sins and peace with God. 
A Brief Word
This part of preaching is hands down the most important. Preaching is to be a proclamation of Christ and His cross. It is to be a heralding of the glorious news of the resurrected Messiah. This is the Gospel. This is what is to be preached from the pulpit on Sunday mornings. “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power” (1 Corin. 1:17). Also, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corin. 1:18). Paul says that when he was with the Corinthians, he decided to know nothing among them except Christ and Him crucified (1 Corin. 2:2). This is the Gospel of Christ. Abraham testified about the person of Christ. Moses testified about the person of Christ. Isaiah testified about the person of Christ. John the Baptist testified about the person of Christ. Christ testified about Himself because he was the person of Christ! Paul testified about the person of Christ. And Paul warns anyone that enters into the pulpit on Sunday morning, whether they be a man or an angel, that if they preach any other gospel than the Gospel of Christ, let them be accursed (Gal. 1:8-9). 

So, with all that being said, the preaching of the gospel is an absolute necessity. It is not only a necessity because salvation is only found in and through the person of Christ. It is also a necessity because the people who are already in Christ need to have their souls satisfied with the steady proclamation of the gospel. They need to be reminded of the excellency and sufficiency of Christ. They need to always have Christ before their eyes so that they can better persevere in this walk of faith. I say that the saints always need to have Christ before their eyes because Paul tells the Galatians, “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?  It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified” (Gal. 3:1). The people of Galatia did not see Christ publicly crucified. They were not there when he was pierced to that tree. So how did they see Christ crucified? It was through the heralding of the Gospel. This is what happens during good, sound, and faithful preaching. Christ is placed before the eyes of the congregation as crucified. When this begins to happen, souls will be stripped out of the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of God. When this begins to happen, saints will no longer begrudgingly serve Christ, but with an overwhelming zeal they seek to serve Christ in the whole of life.

Part 5-Christ Exalting

The central focus of Luther’s sermon was going to be on the person of Christ. In writing a letter to a friend, Luther said, “We preach no other light than Jesus Christ, the true and only light.”[1] He made Christ the central focus of his sermon because he believed that each sermon was a battle for the souls of his hearers.[2] Luther knew and understood that there is no other name in heaven by which a man is to be saved other than the name of Christ, the Son of God (Acts 4:12). Therefore, he saturated his preaching with Christ, His Kingdom, and His reign.

In order to understand exactly what preaching Christ meant for Luther, it is needful to look into some of his sermons. As Luther was on his way to Worms, he stopped in Erfurt to preach a sermon on John 20:19-20. Luther was known to have a dialogue with himself in the midst of preaching, and that is precisely what is taking place in this sermon at Erfurt. Luther began by saying, “Mark these words: none of our works have any power whatsoever. For God has chosen a man, the Lord Jesus, to crush death, destroy sin, and shatter hell, since there was no one before he came who did not inevitably belong to the devil.”[3] After he made this statement, he then argued his reasoning behind such a statement by talking about original sin. Thus, original sin is why man’s works have no power, and also why everyone besides Christ belongs to the devil. After proving this, he said, “But Christ has shattered death for our sake, in order that we might be saved by his works, which are alien to us, and not by our work.”[4] Luther proceeds to talk about justification being by faith rather than works. It is here that he does his dialoguing, “Now, someone may say: Look, my friend, you are saying a lot about faith, and claiming that our salvation depends solely upon it; now, I ask you, how does one come to faith? I will tell you. Our Lord Christ said, ‘Peace be with you. Behold my hands, etc.’ [John 20:26-27]. In other words, he is saying: Look, man, I am the only one who has taken away your sins and redeemed you, etc.; now be at peace. Just as you inherited sin from Adam-not that you committed it, for I did not eat the apple, any more than you did, and yet this is how we came to be in sin-so we have not suffered [as Christ did], and therefore we were made free from death and sin by God’s work, not by our works. Therefore God says: Behold, man, I am your redemption.”[5] Luther exposes the sinfulness of man and then shows that justification comes from God through faith in Christ Jesus. In this previous sermon, it is obvious that Luther is preaching Christ to the unregenerate. He is preaching Christ to those trusting in their own works. It was not only the unregenerate that Luther knew how to preach Christ to though. He knew how to preach Christ to the regenerate as well.

In a sermon Luther preached on John 14:19, one can see how Luther would preach Christ in such a way that the regenerate would stand in awe. Indeed, he would preach Christ in such a way that the elect would be willing to lay down their lives for the sake of Christ. In John 14:19, Christ is comforting His disciples. They will need this comforting word from their blessed Savior because much affliction awaits them. From this text, Luther understood that Christians that are to remain strong in this world must have an ever-increasing affection for Christ. At the beginning of this sermon, Luther said, “Therefore the aim of this whole sermon is to make the disciples certain of the Father’s love for them and to move them, in turn, to love the Lord Christ.”[6] He then goes on to say, “For he who lacks this love for Christ cannot endure the malice of the devil and the world.”[7] Luther’s emphasis was to strengthen his hearers with the faithful proclamation of the truth in order that their love for Christ will grow abundantly as they ponder on the incredible love of their heavenly Father.

Later on in this sermon, Luther is speaking about how the Devil is going to come and threaten the Christian with death. Luther said that the Christian is to respond to Satan saying, “Do you remember how you devoured Christ? But you had to release Him did you not? Indeed, He, in turn, has devoured you. Therefore you will also be unable to devour me, because I abide in Him and live and suffer for His sake.”[8] Luther is comforting his people with Christ exalting truth. Luther said, “Such comfort and defiance Christians have in Christ, of whom we believe that He rose from the dead and is sitting at the right hand of the Father.”[9] From this, one can see that Luther understood that preaching should consist of proclaiming Christ so that the unregenerate can repent and believe, and also so that the regenerate can be strengthened in their faith.

This is how he desired all preachers to preach. He was passionate about truly holding Christ out to individuals so that faith could be formed in them by the sovereign power of God. One can sense his passion pertaining to this subject when he said, “Rather ought Christ to be preached to the end that faith in him may be established that he may not only be Christ, but be Christ for you and me, and that what is said of him and is denoted in his name may be effectual in us. Such faith is produced and preserved in us by preaching why Christ came, what he brought and bestowed, what benefit it is to us to accept him. This is done when that Christian liberty which he bestows is rightly taught and we are told in what way we Christians are all kings and priests and therefore lords of all and may firmly believe that whatever we have done is pleasing and acceptable in the sight of God, as I have already said.”[10] He wanted Christ to be preached in such a way that Christ would not only be an intellectual thought within the minds of his hearers, but rather that Christ would be a personal Savior whom one loves and delights in. He wanted Christ preached in such a way that people would be affected by it. With all this being said, it is clear that Luther believed all good preaching was going to consist of exalting the Lord Jesus Christ. He knew that Paul was commissioned to declare the unsearchable riches of Christ, and that any good preacher is going to do the same. 

[1]Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: Letters I, ed. Gottfried G. krodel and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 48. American Edition (Philadephia: Fortress Press, 1963) 62
[2]Fred W. Meuser, Luther the Preacher, 25.
[3]Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: Sermons I, ed. John W. Doberstein and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 51. American Edition (Philadephia:Fortress Press, 1959) 61-62.
[4]Ibid, 62.
[5]Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: Sermons I, 62-63.
[6]Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: Sermons on the Gospel of St. John Chapters 14-16, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan and Daniel E. Poellot, vol. 24. American Edition (Saint Louis, Concordia Press, 1961) 132.
[7]Ibid. 132.
[8]Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: Sermons on the Gospel of St. John Chapters 14-16, 137.
[9]Ibid.
[10]Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: Career of the Reformer, 357.

Luther On Preaching-Part 4

philipmcduffie Leave a comment

This is the fourth blog post in a series of six posts that are looking at Luther’s view on preaching. So far we have seen an introduction to what Luther’s preaching consisted of. We then looked at how Luther believed that preaching needed to be Word driven. So It needed to saturated with Scripture. After that, we saw that Luther believed that preaching needed to be clearly articulated. It was not enough for the preaching to simply be Word driven. It needed to be clearly and simply taught. Today, we are going to look at how Luther believed that preaching needed to be soul searching. He wanted to open the Bible and preach from it in such a way that the hearers were going to be led to an awareness of how sinful they truly are.

A Brief Word

The Holy Spirit comes to wound then to heal. That may sound odd, but it is biblically accurate. When the Holy Spirit begins working on an individual, that individual begins to have an increasing awareness about the things of God. This increasing awareness of the things of God usually consist of thinking about sin and judgment day. This wounds the person. The Holy Spirit is letting the individual know how just it would be for God to condemn them to the lake of fire for all of eternity. It is after this wounding that the Holy Spirit heals. The individual is increasingly aware of sin and the coming judgment of God. Therefore, they begin to seek refuge in something other than themselves. Ultimately, the Holy Spirit leads them to the cross of Christ. It is there that the Holy Spirit shows them the means by which they can be saved. It is at the cross of Christ that the individual sees the Lord Jesus crushed, pierced, and punished so that they might have peace with God. That is why I said the Holy Spirit comes to wound then to heal.

Preachers need to learn from the Holy Spirit. When I say that, I am not saying that the preacher needs to wound and then to heal. That is not our job. That is the Holy Spirit’s job. However, the Holy Spirit does this with the preaching of the whole counsel of God. Therefore, the preacher needs to preach the whole counsel of God. That means when the Bible addresses the wickedness and vileness of the human heart, then he needs to address it as well.  That means when the Bible talks about the offensiveness of sin to a glorious and Holy God, then he needs to address it as well. This is what Luther did. He showed the people from the Bible how sinful they were. Therefore, he saw many people wounded and then healed by the Holy Spirit of the living God. We would be wise to do the same.

Part 4-Soul Searching

Since Luther was a student of the Word, he had a biblical understanding of man apart from sovereign grace. If the Scripture was as clear as it was pertaining to the sinfulness of man, he understood that all good preaching must, of necessity, expose man as Scripture reveals man. Pertaining to this, Luther said, “True evangelical preaching is to magnify the sins as much as possible in order that man may develop fear of God and proper repentance.”[1] So magnifying the people’s sins is ultimately what is going to bring about a true sense of reverence for God. This fear of God, in turn, would lead to a genuine repentance. Luther was adamant about this. The reason for this is because he believed that if man is ignorant of his sin then he will be ignorant of God. Luther said, “But ignorance of sin necessarily brings with it ignorance of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit and all things.”[2] This is a profound theological statement. Luther is saying that if a man is ignorant of sin, he is going to be ignorant of the Righteous Judge of all the earth who’s anger burns intensely against sin everyday. He will be ignorant of the wrath of God that was placed on the Lord Jesus Christ as the rod of God’s judgment came upon Christ for the sins of His people. He is going to be ignorant of the Holy Spirit who takes a man from dead in trespasses and sins to alive in Christ Jesus by the crushing of the stony, obstinate heart in order to place a heart of flesh within him that loves and delights in Christ. With this being Luther’s belief, in his preaching he sought to search the soul so that he, by the power of the Spirit, could expose indwelling sin.

Luther also understood that man would never be humble if he was never made aware of the depth of his wickedness. He said, “They cannot be humble who do not recognize that they are damnable whose sin smells to high heaven.”[3]This painstaking soul searching is healthy. It is the equivalent to a physician taking a scalpel into his hand and removing the cancerous tumor from a life-giving organ. In his Heidelberg Disputation, Luther said, “It is apparent that not despair, but rather hope, is preached when we are told that we are sinners.”[4] Luther understood better than most people that being in the slough of despondency at the overwhelming reality of one’s sin means that one is closer to grace than they would have ever expected to be. Their soul is in torment. They are perplexed at the fact that the wrath of God is over them. They become increasingly aware that all their “good” works only serve to damn them. In this moment, hope is right around the corner. This is why Luther said, “Such preaching concerning sin is preparation for grace,” and also, “Yearning for grace wells up when recognition of sin has arisen.”[5] Preaching about sin exposes the sin of the people. This, in turn, brings about a yearning for grace. People finally begin to see that they are doomed to the bottomless pit reserved for the vilest of people and so begin to plead for the grace of God in Christ. They finally see Him who was pierced to the cross as the most beautiful Savior and therefore long to place their faith in Him for the forgiveness of sins.

Since Luther believed all this so strongly, he wanted preachers in his day to begin doing this. He said, “There is a need for the Holy Spirit to come and send preachers into the World, to uncover and to punish, not the outwardly gross sins like adultery and murder, which the world can know and punish by itself, but the things it regards as the most precious and highest asset, the claim to piety, holiness, and the service of God.”[6] Luther saw the great need for the Holy Spirit to send preachers into the world that were going to proclaim the Word in such a way that it would punish the consciences of those who were in sins. Not just punish those who were in apparent, gross sins, but also those who had secret, concealed sins that only the heart of a man is made aware of as he encounters the glory of God through the proclamation of the Word.

Luther, however did not only want to awaken the soul to an awareness of sin. This was a means to an end for Luther. He ultimately wanted people to be saved. Therefore, he was going to search the soul and in hopes to reveal the indwelling sin, but he was also going to exalt Christ so that sinners and saints alike could rejoice at such a beautiful Savior. This is what we will turn our attention to tomorrow (Lord willing).

[1]Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: Career of the Reformer, ed. Herald J. Grimm and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 31. American Edition (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1957)241.
[2]Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: Lectures on Genesis Chapters 38-44, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan and Walter A. Hansen, vol. 7. American Edition (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1965) 278.
[3]Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: Career of the Reformer, 51.
[4]Ibid.
[5]Ibid.
[6]Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: The Sermon on the Mount and The Magnificat, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, vol. 21. American Edition (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1956) 56.

Luther On Preaching-Part 3

philipmcduffie Leave a comment

Over the past couple of days I have posted two blogs on Luther’s view on preaching. The bulk of these blog posts are taken from a research paper that I wrote for a Martin Luther class that I took in seminary. I have not revised this research paper in order for it to be a blog or anything like that. I am simply posting each section of the paper on this blog each day.


With that being said, today we are on part three of this six part series. Monday, we had the introduction. Tuesday we saw how Luther believed that preaching needed to be Word driven. Today, we are going to see how Luther believed that preaching needed to be clearly articulated.
A Brief Word
Preachers would be wise to take heed to what Luther has to say about preaching in a clear, simple way so that all might understand. This is a common thought among great preachers. George Whitefield, John Stott, and Richard Sibbes say things that are very similar to what Luther has said regarding this subject.

The average church goer would be wise to take note of Luther’s teaching on this as well. We would all be better stewards of the Gospel if we studied it so diligently that we were able to teach it to a four year old simply and clearly. Also, we would be better evangelist if we took what Luther says seriously. I say that because in evangelism, you cannot use all kinds of churchy language. You are talking to people that have often times never been to a church, nor have they ever picked up a Bible. With this being the case, you have to teach them. You cannot teach them in a lofty manner (which usually happens when you do not have that great of a grasp on the subject). You must teach them in a simple manner (which becomes easier and easier as you study a little more diligently). Anyways, there is much to be said regarding this subject. I hope to write a blog on the importance of teaching and preaching simply in the coming weeks, but this will suffice to show the importance for now.
Part 3-Clearly Articulated

Luther’s aim in preaching was to get people to understand the Bible. He was not interested in proving himself to be the wisest man in Wittenberg. Rather, he was concerned for the salvation of his hearers. Therefore, he sought to preach in a way that common men and women could understand. Luther understood Christ to have done the same thing. He said, “Christ could have taught in a profound way but he wished to deliver his message with utmost simplicity in order that common people might understand.[1] Seeing that Christ did this, he wanted to imitate his Savior.

Luther also believed that the best preachers are the ones that can teach this way. Luther said, “Accordingly he’s the best preacher who can teach in a plain, childlike, popular, and simple way.”[2] This was incredibly important to Luther. So important that he deplored people who did not preach with simplicity and clarity. Regarding preachers that did not do this, Luther said, “Cursed be every preacher who aims at lofty topics in the church, looking for his own glory and selfishly desiring to please one individual or another.”[3] 

Here Luther is condemning preachers that are seeking to be profound. They want to make a name for themselves. They have no interest in laying out the Gospel promise so that a child can take hold of it. They want to impress the learned so that they can be highly esteemed. Luther knew that this was not the reason a preacher ascends the pulpit though. He says, “Philip (a very intelligent companion to Luther) doesn’t need to be instructed, and I don’t teach or lecture for his sake, but we preach publicly for the sake of plain people.”[4] Luther could not prepare a sermon having only Philip Melanchthon in mind. That would be disgraceful. The preacher must have the uneducated and blue-collar laborers in mind. That is why, when Luther was talking to a student named Bernard, he said, “Therefore, my dear Bernard, take pains to be simple and direct; don’t consider those who claim to be learned but be a preacher to unschooled youth and sucklings.”[5]

Luther believed preaching should be done with clarity and simplicity. He wanted kids, farmers, and servants to be able to lay hold of the main point of the text so that they could hear God speak to them and thus lay hold of the blessed Lord Jesus. He took pains to be diligent in his study so that he could be clear in his proclamation. He also believed that any good preacher was going to labor to do the same. But what was it that Luther was seeking to be clear about? Luther believed that good preaching was soul searching. Therefore, he sought to be clear about the sinfulness of sin within the lives of his hearers. This is what we will turn our attention to tomorrow (Lord willing).

[1]Ibid. 383.
[2]Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: Table Talk, 384.
[3]Ibid. 235.
[4]Ibid. 383.
[5]Ibid. 235-236.

Luther On Preaching-Part 2

philipmcduffie Leave a comment

Yesterday, I shared that I was going to be doing a 6 part series going over Luther’s view on preaching.  After I introduced what I was going to be doing, I posted Part 1 of the series which simply consisted of the introduction. Today, we get to the good stuff though. I say that because today we get to look at how Luther believed that preaching was to be Word driven. 


A Quick Word

We need to take heed to Luther’s admiration for the Word of God. A lot of these men in church history equated how much one loved the Word of God to how much one actually loved God. Now some may say that is idolatry of the Bible. Okay, so I do believe that some people can make the Bible an idol (KJV ONLY PEOPLE!!). But that is not what the reformers were saying when they equated ones love for the Bible as ones actual love for God. 

You see, they knew and understood that God has chosen to make himself known through the Bible. As we look into the pages of sacred Scripture, we see a testimony to who God is. In our day, some people are prone to say, “Well, I believe God to be a God of mercy and not a God of justice.” Or some may say, “To me, God is like …..” That is not how it works though. 

When it comes to who God is, the only correct way to think is, “In the Bible, the Holy Spirit testifies that God is merciful and just.” Everything we believe about God must be grounded in the Bible or it is false. The reason for this is because the Bible is the way in which God has made himself known.

Also, we believe that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. The Scriptures are what testify to the the person of Jesus Christ. It is in the Bible that we see Christ. It is in the Bible that Christ is revealed to us. That is the only place he is revealed. 

So when the reformers equated how much one loved the Word of God to how much one actually loved God, they simply meant that if you love God then you will love the Word because the Word is a testimony of the one whom you love. I think they are absolutely right.

With that being said, let us now turn to part 2 to see what Luther has to say about Word driven preaching.

Part 2-Word Driven

For Luther, preaching was first and foremost Word driven. A preacher’s authority does not lie within himself, but rather in the words in which he speaks. Therefore, if he is to have any authority in the pulpit, he must be speaking from the authoritative Word of God. This is why Luther is considered to be an expositor of the Word. He sought to preach expositionally, and he sought to get preachers to preach expositionally. With this being the case, he “elevated biblical exposition to its grandest height since the early church.”[1] The amazing extent that Luther was dedicated to the text in his preaching is seen all throughout his writings and sermons. It is in all of his writings and sermons that will lead some to say that it was not only Luther’s conscience that was captive to the Word of God, but it was his preaching too.[2]

When Luther was preparing a sermon, he wanted to find the main point of the text.[3] The main point of the text is what he wanted to focus on and stay on. He wanted it to be the central theme of his sermon. This is, in a sense, why he did not like elaborate introductions. He felt as though that would distract the congregation. Therefore, in the beginning of his sermons he would just simply state the text’s main point.[4] After stating the main point of the text, he would then labor to stick to the text the entirety of the sermon. Regarding this, Luther said, “In my preaching I take pains to treat a verse of the Scriptures, to stick to it, and so to instruct people that they can say, ‘That’s what the sermon was about.’”[5] Thus, he wanted the God inspired text to be so engrained in the minds of his hearers that they could undoubtedly recall the text that the sermon was on. Luther did not simply want this to be a merely academic process though. In other words, he did no want his congregation to feel as though they were listening to a commentary being read. Rather, he believed that the exposition of the Scripture should be clearly articulated in a simple manner so that all could understand.

[1]Steven J. Lawson, The Heroic Boldness of Martin Luther, 28.
[2]Fred W. Mueser, Luther the Preacher (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1983) 41.
[3]Ibid. 47.
[4]Fred W. Mueser, Luther the Preacher, 48
[5]Martin Luther, Luther’s Works: Table Talk, ed. Theodore G. Tappert and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 54. American Edition (Philadephia: Fortress Press) 160.

Luther On Preaching-Part 1

philipmcduffie Leave a comment
I have been doing a great deal of studying on Martin Luther for the past six months now. During this time of becoming acquainted with Luther, I have fallen in love with some of his views on preaching. It is for this reason that I wrote a research paper on this very topic. It is this research paper that I want to share with you all.

What To Expect

Over the next 6 days, I am going to post little sections from my paper that I submitted. Part 1 will be the introduction. Part 2 will cover how Luther believed preaching was to be Word driven. Part 3 will cover how Luther believed preaching was to be clearly articulated. Part 4 will cover how Luther believed preaching ought to be soul searching. Part 5 will cover how Luther believed preaching should be Christ exalting. Lastly, part 6 will be the conclusion of these blog posts.

I Know What You Are Thinking

Okay, so right now you are probably wondering whether keeping up with this will be worth your time or not if you are not a pastor or aspiring to be a pastor. I understand why you would be thinking this. But I want to tell you that it will be worth your time. Preachers are not the only ones that need to understand what good preaching is. The members of the congregation need to understand what good preaching is as well. These little blogs will help you to better understand what good preaching is. This is not because these blogs have been written by me. Rather, it is because they are written about what Luther has said about the preaching ministry, and believe me, he knew a thing or two about preaching the Word of God.

Part 1-Introduction

Prior to the Reformation, preaching did not have the same importance as it did during the days of Christ and the Apostles. Some time between the days of Chrysostom and Luther, the Roman Catholic Church had made the pulpit a place for the Mass, ceremonies, and rituals. With this being the case, the pulpit was no longer a place for the empowered proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.[1]

So there needed to be a reformation, but if a reformation was going to take place, then there needed to be a recovery of the exposition of the Word of God from the pulpit. This is why Martyn Lloyd Jones, after studying years of church history, said, “What is it that always heralds the dawn of a Reformation or a of a Revival? It is renewed preaching. Not only a new interest in preaching but a new kind of preaching.”[2] Therefore, somebody in the 1500s had to develop and implement a biblical view of preaching. There had to be somebody that was going to understand the importance of the preaching ministry. There had to be somebody that knew the ministry of the Word was of great importance, and who was going to dedicate the entirety of their life to it.

Thankfully there was such a man. God had ordained a man named Martin Luther to be born for such a task as this. God had set Luther apart when he was in the womb of his mother so that he could reform the church through the proclamation of the word of truth from the pulpit. And that is exactly what Luther did. Luther knew that a Reformation of the Roman Catholic Church would only be successful if the preaching of the Word was supreme.[3] Therefore, he labored unto death doing just that.

Since Luther understood the importance of the sermon, it is important to look further into his view of preaching. Luther was passionate and dogmatic about the preaching ministry so he has much to teach people in regards to the preaching ministry. For the purpose of this research paper, there will be an examination of Luther’s view of preaching. This paper will reveal that Luther believed preaching should be Word driven, clearly articulated, soul searching, and Christ exalting.

[1]Steven Lawson, The Heroic Boldness of Martin Luther (Sanford, Florida: Reformation Trust, 2013), xvii.
[2]Martyn Lloyd Jones, Preaching and Preachers (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2011), 31.
[3]Roland H. Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther (Nashville: Abington Press, 1978) 359.

Why Memorize Scripture?

philipmcduffie Leave a comment

Biblical Precedence

Just like everything, you must understand that something must have biblical precedence in order for you to be motivated to do it. That is why this is first. Here are some verses that give biblical precedence for memorizing Scripture:

  • Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom.”
    • There may be many ways that we can get the word of Christ to dwell in us, but Scripture memory has to be one of them!
  • John 15:7 “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
    • Christ wants us abiding in him, and he wants his words abiding in us. I imagine Scripture memory is a great way to have the words of Christ abiding in us.
  • Psalm 119:16 “I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.”
    • Scripture memory has to be a vital aspect in not forgetting God’s word!
  • Psalm 119:11 “I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
    • One way to store God’s Word in our heart is Scripture memory.

There are more verses that give precedence to Scripture memorization, but these will suffice to show that there is biblical precedence for Scripture memory.
Practical Benefit
There are numerous practical benefits to memorizing Scripture. This is probably obvious because there is biblical precedence. That which God has placed any importance on is going to be of practical benefit for us. He never places importance on something that is not good for His children. With that being said, here are some practical benefits of memorizing Scripture:

  • Helps with our sanctification
  • Helps with our evangelism
  • Helps with our prayer
  • Helps with our repentance
  • Helps with our counseling of others
  • Helps with teaching our family the things of God
  • Helps with teaching and preaching

“So how does it help with sanctification?”

Okay, so factual knowledge of the Bible does not always produce spiritual maturity. There are plenty of people that know the Bible, and yet continue to show a great deal of spiritual immaturity in their walks. But I can honestly say that spiritual maturity cannot happen apart from gaining factual knowledge of the Bible. You simply cannot raise your kids up in the “discipline and instruction of the Lord” apart from knowing that you are suppose to be doing this. You must have that factual knowledge before you can be obedient to it. 

Scripture memory is going to give us factual knowledge of the Bible. In memorizing Scripture, we are going to understand in greater depths all that Christ Jesus has done for us in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension. As you memorize Scripture, you are going to come across specific verses that should increase your affection for God. You are also going to realize commands that God has given us that you were never really aware of before hand. This will allow you to love Christ more, get more joy in who God is, and be obedient to more of the commands of God. 

“So how does it help with our evangelism?”

Evangelism consist largely of teaching. It really does. As you approach somebody, you engage them with the intent on sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with them. Finally, you get to a point in the conversation where you are going to share. You are about to begin to tell them about Christ Jesus crucified and resurrected for sinners!! This whole moment though is a teaching moment. It really is. You are about to have to teach with clarity and simplicity the greatest news ever told. Memorizing Scripture will help with this. You will be a better teacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as you memorize more of the Bible.

I am not going to answer all of these because it would make this blog entirely to long and you would probably quit reading it. So lets answer only one more.

“So how does it help with our repentance?”

A great theologian once said, “The entire life of believers should be repentance.” This is a striking and truthful statement. Also, it has become evident to me that Scripture memory will allow us to live a life full of repentance. I say that for multiple reasons. Lets say you pick up the Bible and begin to memorize the book of Ephesians. You have made it into chapter 4 and you are memorizing, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1-3). As your memorizing this, you become increasingly aware that God, in these verses, has bid you to live a life worthy of what Christ has accomplished for you on the cross. This means that you are to live a life that is characterized by “all humility and gentleness.” How are you doing on that? Would people think of you as having all humility and gentleness? If your anything like me, probably not. Therefore, as we start thinking about this verse more and more through our toil in memorizing it, we repent because of the piercing truth that it is revealing to us. This will happen time and time again as your memorize the Bible.
Excuses For Not Memorizing
  • I do not have a good memory
  • I do not have enough time
  • I do not know where to start
I am sure there are other excuses, but for the time being we will deal with these.

“I do not have a good memory.”

You have a much better memory than you think. I was tempted to put a youtube video of a classic Lynyrd Skynyrd song to show you that you have a much better memory than you think. We memorize stuff all the time! We memorize songs, birthdays, college football scores, batting averages from when we where in coach pitch, every word from the Star Wars movies. If you can memorize all of those without intentionality, then you can definitely memorize Scripture with intentionality!

“I do not have enough time.”

I have heard an older man say, “We overestimate what we can do in one year and underestimate what we can do in twenty years.” This is so true. It is especially true for people around my age and younger. We do not think long term. We always want to do something and see immediate results. With that attitude, you will never memorize Scripture. One must have a long term vision for memorizing Scripture. I say that because all I am asking you to do is to begin devoting 10 to 15 minutes of your day to memorizing one verse (we will talk more on how to later). 10 to 15 minutes! Everybody has 10 to 15 minutes. If you do not, you can get rid of something in order to have 10 to 15 minutes! This 10 or 15 minutes a day will allow you to memorize one verse. This in a week will allow you to memorize 7. This in a year will allow you to memorize 365. This in 30 years….well you get the point. Dedicate 10 to 15 minutes for the rest of your life and you will see great results!

“I do not know where to start.”

I am going to advocate for memorizing entire books of the Bible (its not that hard, trust me!). With that being said, I recommend you start memorizing a short book of the Bible first. I personally started my memorization with the book of Titus. It is three chapters in length with each chapter being roughly 15 verses or so. Do not only choose a short book though, choose a book that flows. Memorizing the book of Proverbs would be really hard. It does not have a clear flow in it like one of the shorter letters in the New Testament. Therefore, I encourage you to start with a book like Titus, Philippians, James, or something along those lines.
How to memorize
  • Repetition
  • Repetition
  • Repetition
  • Repetition
  • You get the point!

Repetition

Everybody has a different way to memorize verses of the Bible, but all of them have one thing in common. That one thing is repetition. The key to memorizing verses of the Bible is constant repetition. But until you have a method of memorizing Scripture, you can glean from how I memorize. 

Here is an example of what I did in Titus.

Day 1
  1. Read Titus 1:1 out loud ten times. As you read it, look at each word carefully.
  2. Take your eyes off Titus 1:1. Now try to quote it from memory ten times. If you fail, simply look back at the verse, correct yourself, and keep trying without looking.
  3. Now, you are done for the day, or you can meditate on it throughout the day when you have the opportunity (car ride, waiting for somebody, bathroom (redeem the time!), etc.
Day 2
  1. Quote Titus 1:1. If you fail, simply look back to see where you got it wrong, then try it again.
  2. Then read Titus 1:2 out loud ten times. As you read it, look at each word carefully.
  3. Take your eyes off Titus 1:2. Now try to quote it from memory ten times. If you fail, simply look back at the verse, correct yourself, and keep trying without looking.
  4. Now, you are done for the day, or you can meditate on it throughout the day when you have the opportunity (car ride, waiting for somebody, bathroom (redeem the time!), etc.
Lets Skip to day 16

Day 16
  1. Quote Titus 1:1-15. If you fail, simply look back to see where you got it wrong, then try it again.
  2. Then read Titus 1:16 out loud ten times. As you read it, look at each word carefully.
  3. Take your eyes off Titus 1:16. Now try to quote it from memory ten times. If you fail, simply look back at the verse, correct yourself, and keep trying without looking.
  4. Now, you are done for the day, or you can meditate on it throughout the day when you have the opportunity (car ride, waiting for somebody, bathroom (redeem the time!), etc.
Alright, so that is chapter one. After this, you go on to chapter two doing the same thing. It is all about repetition! Once you finish memorizing Titus 3:15, which is the last verse of the last chapter of Titus, you are to try and quote the book everyday for a hundred days straight. You will get it wrong. You will skip some days. You will fail at times. You will be frustrated. BUT JUST KEEP REPEATING IT! You will begin conforming more into the image of Christ. You will begin looking, living, and talking like our Lord Jesus! It will be glorious. It will not be easy though. As Christians, we have learned that everything that is beneficial for us in this life is difficult. Therefore, work hard and stay diligent. Always remember Christ who was pierced and put to death for you. Then persevere in memorizing Scripture.
Further Study
Also, if you want a more thorough dealing with Scripture Memorization, this little pdf file will be of great help. It is written by Andy Davis (he is the pastor of the church that I go to). Just being around him has placed within me an eagerness to know and memorize the Bible. I can look at how God has used Scripture memorization in his life, and it makes me eager and zealous for God to work in my life through Scripture memorization.

On My Shelf

philipmcduffie Leave a comment
“We are quite persuaded that the very best way for you to be spending your leisure time, is to be either reading or praying. You may get much instruction from books which afterwards you may use as a true weapon in your Lord and Master’s service. Paul cries, ‘Bring the books’-join in the cry.” Spurgeon.
For School
I am currently taking Church History 2. For this class, my professor has assigned three books for us to read. I am currently only reading two of them. 

One of them is “The Story of Christianity.” The other is “The Story of Christian Theology.” In each of these books, there is a focus on the development of Christian thought throughout the time of Christ to the current time. There is also a focus on how the church has developed since the days of Christ. It may be shocking to many people that Baptists, Presbyterian, Anglicans, Lutherans, and Catholics have not always been around. You see, at some point in history, the thought about believers baptism arose. With this thought arising, there were certain groups of people that began implementing it. When they implemented believers baptism, they were called Anabaptist! Lutherans began arising in church history because Luther opposed Medieval Catholicism’s doctrine. As Luther began to develop his views on the Scriptures, people began embracing his interpretation of Scripture. These people were called Lutherans! This kind of information is important. It is important to know how the church has gotten to where it is now. It is important to know what other brothers and sisters in Christ have done throughout history. It is also important to see certain thoughts that arose in church history that were unorthodox and contrary to the truth. Anyways, there are numerous reasons church history is important, and that is why I am taking Church History 2 in Seminary. That is also why I am reading these two rather large books.
On My Own
I am currently reading numerous books on my own. 


John Calvin was one of the greatest systematizers in church history. What I mean by that is that John Calvin had a unique ability to take the Scriptures and teach them in a systematic and orderly way. With that being said, Calvin’s Institutes is the greatest work that he ever published. In it, Calvin teaches Christian doctrine with clarity and simplicity. One cannot help but notice the great passion that this man had for truth. He had a relentless pursuit of sound doctrine. The church has benefited greatly from his labors. I personally have benefited greatly from his labors. He has proven to be a helpful teacher to me in the past year or so.


George Whitefield was a preacher of the Church of England in the 18th century. He was a zealous evangelist and sought to preach the gospel as often as he could and wherever he could. When I say that, I am not exaggerating. He would preach so often that his body would be on the brink of dying. He would then rest and labor in prayer. The Holy Spirit would then revive his soul and he would go on preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He would preach in the open fields to 40,000 people without amplification. God used him for the conversion of thousands of people in both England and the colonies. He had a relentless drive to know and serve Jesus Christ. This biography of Whitefield by Arnold Dallimore is riveting. It really is. It has encouraged, convicted, and edified me greatly!


This is a book of puritan prayers. I have been reading this as a devotional this year. What I mean by that is that I read about one of these prayers a day. This book has been helpful in teaching me to pray. The puritans revered God a great deal. They had an incredible esteem for Christ. They were also incredibly quick to repent of sin. This means that their prayers are jaw dropping and convicting. Seriously, if you just read one of their prayers, you will realize that they saw the beauty, holiness, righteousness, and majesty of God in a way that most of us simply do not. With that being said, I encourage some you all to read this as a devotional as well!


Lately I have been seeking to discipline myself to evangelize. By that, I simply mean that I have been seeking to intentionally set up a day and time where I am going to go out and share my faith. And no, I am not the best at evangelism. It is sometimes awkward. Sometimes I fear man. Sometimes I leave out certain things that I ought not leave out when talking about Christ (I have left out the resurrection before!!!). With all that being said, that is why I am reading this book. I simply picked this book up because I wanted to be more knowledgeable about evangelism. This book has been faithful to do just that. It is a very simple read. It is a book that teaches the people of God what evangelism is, how we should cultivate a culture of evangelism, and helpful tips in evangelism.