“PREACH THE WORD!

”
a Sermon of Ministry Introduction a
2 Timothy 4:2

Six times a year, WELS pastors have the privilege of receiving in the mail a newsletter designed to give new
insights and fresh perspectives on well-known Biblical truths. The newsletter is entitled, “Preach the Word,” and
gets its name from the three Greek words that decorate the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary chapel, where pastoral
students gather for worship each day during the school year. To my delight, the new editor took the readers back to
the basics of gospel preaching and gospel ministry, which is so under attack in our modern age of generic religion
and generic Christianity – which sees little use for preaching Christ-crucified, and in fact, veils our Savior’s glory
under a disguise of vain emotionalism and rationalism, trying to manufacture external growth through illegitimate
means, including and not limited to setting aside the truths of Holy Scripture.
We live in that context. We work in that world. We minister in a religious climate that is intolerant of
absolute truth, and impatient with external results. As such, it is all the more important for us, as we begin our
newly established ministry together as a dual parish to remember who we are, why we exist, what our chief purpose
is, and where our confidence lies as we work together as pastor and congregation as Christ’s ambassadors. We do
that by listening to the encouragement of St. Paul to Timothy: “Preach the gospel.”
How exactly do we do that? By having a “three-article” approach, meaning the articles of the Apostles
Creed. We use 1st article gifts – gifts given to us by our heavenly Father to communicate 2nd article truths, all the
while relying not on ourselves and our own abilities, but having 3rd article confidence, knowing that the Holy Spirit
is at work through the Word, because wherever the gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed, there the Spirit’s power is
discharged to change hearts, and to accomplish both internal and external growth when and where he chooses.
Preach the gospel! Using 1st article gifts to communicate 2nd article truths with 3rd article confidence.

I. Using 1st article gifts

Perhaps there is a bit of confusion when I mention 1st, 2nd and 3rd articles. What I’m talking about is the 3
separate articles of the Apostles Creed that many of us learned in our catechism days, and that we confess in many of
our worship services. The first article about God the Father, the 2nd article about God the Son and the 3rd Article
about God the Holy Spirit.
When God charges groups of Christians to be his servants and ambassadors, when Christians gather together
under one confession of faith and endeavor to extend their creed beyond their walls, be sure that our heavenly
Father does not leave them without the things that are necessary to do that work. In Luther’s own explanation of
the 1st article: “God made me and every creature and he gave me my body and soul, eyes, ears and all my members, my
mind and all my abilities...For all this I ought to thank and praise, serve and obey him.”
What a treasury of gifts he has given to this congregation and to his entire Holy Christian Church, gifts that
are to be used for the benefit of Christ’s church, gifts we are to use to the fullest to ensure that the gospel (those 2nd
article truths we’ll discuss in a minute) goes out from us and is heard by others through us.
 The problem is that we still have a sinful nature which produces in us a number of detrimental attitudes
when it comes to 1st article gifts. We use God’s varied gifts to enrich ourselves, to enhance our own livelihood, to
better our own circumstances. We use our eyes, ears and all of our members not to glorify our Savior, but to glorify
ourselves in the sight of others! What a waste, and certainly not what God intended for us! Paul had to tell the
Romans the same thing...Romans 12:1: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as
living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”
Remember why God made us the way he did; why he created us in such a manner. He gave us our eyes, not
so that we can see what luxuries the world has to offer, but to see opportunity for service to souls. He gave us our
ears, not to listen to the vain promises of the devil and his minions, but to hear the genuine promises of the gospel.
He gave us our members, not just so that we can have opportunity to support ourselves and work for our own well-
being, but primarily so that we can labor in the love of the Savior, so that we can work while it is day – for the night
of eternity is coming when no more work can be done. He gave us our minds, not so we can fill our heads with
worldly nonsense, but so that we can be filled up with godly wisdom for salvation and for service.
You are gifted, dear Christian friends. Be sure of that! The gifts are varied, they are numerous, and at times
we need help recognizing them. But know why God gives you all these things – your eyes, ears and members, your
mind and all abilities – all so that we can thank and praise him, serve and obey him by using our 1st article blessings
to communicate 2nd article truths!

II. To communicate 2nd article truths

When Paul urges Timothy to “Preach the gospel,” he is being very specific. In our day, the word “gospel”
has really become rather watered down. It can describe a genre of music that often doesn’t really have any gospel
content in it. It is used by other church bodies to describe a process by which a person seeks to earn God’s favor
through obedience, through spirituality, a mindset and theological system which stands in direct opposition to
Christ and the gospel which proclaims him as Savior.
God gives us gifts as members of his Church to communicate the gospel, which is summarized in the 2nd
article of the creed: “I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity and also true man, born of
the virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins,
from death and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with his holy precious blood and his innocent
suffering and death. All this he did that I should be his own...”
That’s what God not only shares with us, but empowers us to share with others. No other message will do!
No other message saves! And any other message that leads people to love and trust themselves is a gross misuse of
1st article blessings.
We need to constantly remember why we exist, friends. We exist for this very purpose of leading souls
within these walls and outside these walls in our mission field to the truth that Jesus paid the ultimate price for
them; that he loves us...the entire world...so much that he was willing to drink the cup of suffering that our sins
deserved, purchasing us and securing us for eternity not with any monetary means, but with his blood, precious and
holy, all so that we would be his possession forever, all so that we would never have to wonder if we’ve done enough
to be saved...Jesus did it all for us and for our salvation! And when we use our 1st article gifts to share 2nd article
truth, we are not only using our gifts in the way that God intended, but we serve God’s gracious purposes, because:
“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.”
 III. With 3rd article confidence

Preach the gospel using 1st article gifts to share 2nd article truths...with 3rd article confidence. One of the
challenges that we face in our newly established ministry arrangement is how we are going to carry out the work to
which we have been called. Sometimes, congregations can lose their focus on who they are and what they have been
called to do. To many, the work of the church is simply “getting bigger numbers” both in the pews and in the
financial reports. But, when congregations limit their spiritual vision to external things, they are trying to take a
responsibility that really does not belong to them, and quickly become incredibly discouraged when things don’t go
according to “their” plan, and soon their trust in the gospel’s power fades into non-existence.
Just as an example of that, a pastor once remarked to a group of pastoral students (not of our fellowship in
the WELS) that, because his church was dying, because it was on life support, he had to come up with something
unique. He told them that he paid $10.00 to every person who would get on their bus and ride it to church, and
that, by paying people to go to church, (and appealing to their sense of greed), his congregation would grow! After
his presentation, one student raised their hand and asked, “What ever happened to just preaching the gospel?” And
the presenter responded, “I’ve tried the gospel and it doesn’t work!”
A danger we must always guard against in our generic religious climate is the habit of communicating 2nd
article truths trusting in 1st article gifts – that if we make something interesting enough, if we package the good news
of Jesus in just the right way, if we somehow find the best logical argument for Christianity, that such things will
produce the new life of faith that we’re hoping for and will manufacture external growth where simply preaching the
gospel wouldn’t have.
As we work together in this new ministry arrangement, be sure that your trust is rightly placed. Yes, God
has given us many gifts for ministry service, as outlined in the 1st article, gifts which are to be used to share 2nd article
truths, but the power of the gospel comes not from 1st article gifts, but from God the Holy Spirit. Luther explains:
“I believe that I cannot by my own thinking or choosing believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord or come to him. But the Holy
Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith!”
Remember where faith comes from – where the internal and external growth of the church can be traced
back to – not some gimmicky program or some ingenious plan of man – “Faith comes from hearing the message and
the message is heard through the Word of Christ.” Whenever we preach the gospel, those precious 2nd article truths,
God sends his Holy Spirit with power to reach the hearts of hearers. We cannot contrive, we cannot manipulate,
we cannot manufacture that same power. It is only present where and when the gospel is preached, because as
Romans 1 says, “It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” And as our confessions tell us:
“Through the Word, the Holy Spirit is given, who effects faith where and when it pleases God in those who hear the
gospel.”
In the months and years to come, it is my prayer, a prayer that I hope you share in, that we have a “three
article” approach to preaching the Word, using 1st article gifts to communicate 2nd article truths with 3rd article
confidence; using our gifts in service to the kingdom, sharing the good news of Christ-crucified and his salvation
whenever the opportunity presents itself, and trusting that God the Holy Spirit will accomplish his great purposes
through our work. God bless our work together in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.