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This article is about 3 times longer than it needs to be. The author makes the same points repeatedly without adding new information.
But the more fundamental problem here is the author's presumption that his opinion is the same as the biblical teaching. But he never quotes or even references the Bible. Where in the Bible does it say that church services are for believers? It doesn't. Where does the Bible say that sermons must be for Christians, or even that church services must include sermons? It doesn't.
"Church" is not a process or a list of items on a bulletin. Rather, the people of God gathering together is church. What happens during a gathering of Christians is church. Any place, any time, any day, any gathering of any number of Christians is church:
But the author confuses preaching with instruction, even in his title, as he utilizes words in a manner that conforms to his preconceptions.)
In certain circles, seeking to get unbelievers into church is seen as the highest possible goal. There is nothing better, according to some, when unbelievers come into the church and under the sound of the gospel. That, they aver, is what we ought to be about. At the risk of being deemed a contrarian, I just don’t think that is true.
What goes on inside the church is necessarily for the upbuilding of believers. The church is, after all, a gathering of believers. The world is not the church. What happens in the church is not primarily for the world. It is for believers.
This matters when it comes to our preaching. Sermons are not principally for the purpose of sharing the gospel with unbelievers. They are primarily for teaching and applying God’s Word to God’s people. Sermons are for Christians, first and foremost.
That doesn’t mean, of course, that we kick all the unbelievers out the room on Sunday. Of course it is better for unbelievers to be in the room listening to the Word preached than outside not engaging with it at all. Of course the sermon should include some gospel clarity. Not least because the gospel is not just a message we believe when we first trust in Christ, but is the very heart of everything we do as believers thereafter. But we also want some gospel clarity because – even amongst those who think they are genuine believers already – some of them won’t be. It is only clear gospel preaching that will wake such people up to the fact that they don’t actually belong to Christ.
So, on any given Sunday, I fully expect believers and unbelievers to be present in the room. I am more than happy that unbelievers are there. I may even apply the gospel to them at points when, having made the key point I wanted to do, insist ‘this will not be true for you if you do not trust in the Lord Jesus.’ But I have no interest in making them feel comfortable. I am equally uninterested in making the sermon something of significance to them. They are guests looking in on our family time. As with any family you don’t belong to, there will be shared language, shared beliefs, shared culture, shared rituals that they consider normal that are totally alien to anyone from another family. There are inevitably things that unbelievers will find weird in the church; that is, in a sense, exactly as it should be.
The songs will be strange to many, communion is rightly weird to most people, the sermon may even speak into things that don’t always make a great deal of sense to an outsider. But we don’t change any of these things for the sake of the unbeliever. That is because the church meeting, fundamentally, is not for them. They are welcome to be there, to see what we do, but what happens on a Sunday morning is necessarily aimed at the believers. It is primarily for their benefit. Unbelievers may gain something from being there, they may be welcome, but ultimately what goes on it not principally for them.
Our sermons are not supposed to be 25-minute gospel appeals. The assumption in our preaching, certainly the majority of our preaching, must be that the people here are already believers. Of course, we have an eye on the few who may not be. It’s not to say we have absolutely nothing to say to them whatsoever. But our assumption must be the people in front of us, by and large, are Christians. They already know and believe the basic gospel message. That doesn’t mean we never remind them of those core gospel truths. It doesn’t mean we don’t preach gospel-centred messages. It just means our preaching is for those who already know and believe the gospel and so we aim it at, and apply it to, those who are already believers. We are not aiming to do evangelistic services every week. Evangelism is for those perishing outside our four walls. We ought to literally be preaching to the converted every week!
Can unbelievers gain from that sort of preaching? Of course they can. Is it better for them to engage with it than to never come under gospel-centred preaching? Of course it is. But what we do on a Sunday is not primarily for their benefit. The church is the meeting of God’s people. What happens in it is for the benefit of God’s people. Others are welcome to look in, but what we say and do is necessarily for the believers. It is in taking the gospel out to the world that preach the good news to the perishing.
"Church" is not a process or a list of items on a bulletin. Rather, the people of God gathering together is church. What happens during a gathering of Christians is church. Any place, any time, any day, any gathering of any number of Christians is church:
Mt. 18:20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.
1Co. 14:26 What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.
Now, a church organization as an entity might have certain structural and procedural requirements or expectations. But these vary, sometimes substantially. Thus we should not think our traditions or culture are the only right way to conduct a church gathering.
If a church organization wants to be evangelistic in orientation then its official gatherings are likely to look quite different than the author's church. If a church holds relationship and connection as an important value its gatherings will tend toward that emphasis. It should therefore be clear that it can be quite proper to orient a church around attracting non-believers.
Last point: The author confuses terms, equating sermons with preaching. "Preach" (kérussó) means to proclaim after the manner of a herald, proclaim openly, the public proclamation of the gospel and matters pertaining to it.
"Teaching" is a different Greek word, didaskalia, teaching, i. e. that which is taught, doctrine... This is the activity that imparts knowledge about the truths of Christ, holy living, and correct doctrine.
"Teaching" is a different Greek word, didaskalia, teaching, i. e. that which is taught, doctrine... This is the activity that imparts knowledge about the truths of Christ, holy living, and correct doctrine.
Almost every occurrence of the word translated "preach" is related to the proclamation of the gospel, whereas teaching is related to instruction about the deeper things of the faith.
This is how we should understand verses like this:
Mt. 4:23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.Here Jesus was doing three things, instructing (kérussó), heralding (didaskalia), and healing.
But the author confuses preaching with instruction, even in his title, as he utilizes words in a manner that conforms to his preconceptions.)
In certain circles, seeking to get unbelievers into church is seen as the highest possible goal. There is nothing better, according to some, when unbelievers come into the church and under the sound of the gospel. That, they aver, is what we ought to be about. At the risk of being deemed a contrarian, I just don’t think that is true.
What goes on inside the church is necessarily for the upbuilding of believers. The church is, after all, a gathering of believers. The world is not the church. What happens in the church is not primarily for the world. It is for believers.
This matters when it comes to our preaching. Sermons are not principally for the purpose of sharing the gospel with unbelievers. They are primarily for teaching and applying God’s Word to God’s people. Sermons are for Christians, first and foremost.
That doesn’t mean, of course, that we kick all the unbelievers out the room on Sunday. Of course it is better for unbelievers to be in the room listening to the Word preached than outside not engaging with it at all. Of course the sermon should include some gospel clarity. Not least because the gospel is not just a message we believe when we first trust in Christ, but is the very heart of everything we do as believers thereafter. But we also want some gospel clarity because – even amongst those who think they are genuine believers already – some of them won’t be. It is only clear gospel preaching that will wake such people up to the fact that they don’t actually belong to Christ.
So, on any given Sunday, I fully expect believers and unbelievers to be present in the room. I am more than happy that unbelievers are there. I may even apply the gospel to them at points when, having made the key point I wanted to do, insist ‘this will not be true for you if you do not trust in the Lord Jesus.’ But I have no interest in making them feel comfortable. I am equally uninterested in making the sermon something of significance to them. They are guests looking in on our family time. As with any family you don’t belong to, there will be shared language, shared beliefs, shared culture, shared rituals that they consider normal that are totally alien to anyone from another family. There are inevitably things that unbelievers will find weird in the church; that is, in a sense, exactly as it should be.
The songs will be strange to many, communion is rightly weird to most people, the sermon may even speak into things that don’t always make a great deal of sense to an outsider. But we don’t change any of these things for the sake of the unbeliever. That is because the church meeting, fundamentally, is not for them. They are welcome to be there, to see what we do, but what happens on a Sunday morning is necessarily aimed at the believers. It is primarily for their benefit. Unbelievers may gain something from being there, they may be welcome, but ultimately what goes on it not principally for them.
Our sermons are not supposed to be 25-minute gospel appeals. The assumption in our preaching, certainly the majority of our preaching, must be that the people here are already believers. Of course, we have an eye on the few who may not be. It’s not to say we have absolutely nothing to say to them whatsoever. But our assumption must be the people in front of us, by and large, are Christians. They already know and believe the basic gospel message. That doesn’t mean we never remind them of those core gospel truths. It doesn’t mean we don’t preach gospel-centred messages. It just means our preaching is for those who already know and believe the gospel and so we aim it at, and apply it to, those who are already believers. We are not aiming to do evangelistic services every week. Evangelism is for those perishing outside our four walls. We ought to literally be preaching to the converted every week!
Can unbelievers gain from that sort of preaching? Of course they can. Is it better for them to engage with it than to never come under gospel-centred preaching? Of course it is. But what we do on a Sunday is not primarily for their benefit. The church is the meeting of God’s people. What happens in it is for the benefit of God’s people. Others are welcome to look in, but what we say and do is necessarily for the believers. It is in taking the gospel out to the world that preach the good news to the perishing.
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