What is the Purpose of Preaching and Teaching the Bible?

As good stewards of God's resources and His Word, preaching and teaching should excellently allow the Word of God to stand on its own. It is not a half-hearted endeavor. As pastors or teachers, we must handle the Word of God with care. We must make sure that we neither add to, nor take away from the Word. Excellent preaching therefore is not an attempt to keep the attention of our hearers, but rather is an attempt to preach the text as the human author would preach or teach it if he were alive today. Thus, we simply transplant the text from its historical and literary context into our hearers' historical and literary context. "This must be done excellently."

Furthermore, much of what passes as excellent preaching today looks no different than the fleshed-out speaking abilities and philosophies of other individuals in other fields of study. The problem is that they are not dealing with special revelation. It is impossible to add to special revelation; however, it is possible to add to other fields of study using our own God-given abilities. We can "reveal" more truth in general revelation; however, we cannot "reveal" more truth in special revelation. So, one cannot approach preaching or teaching Scripture as if he or she is teaching any other subject in the realm of common revelation. We are simply repeating what is already there in the text. "The Word must stand on its own."

Finally, we must also help our audiences understand the Word of God in their specific historical and literary contexts. We must not over-apply the Scripture, but we must make sure our audience understands how to accurately apply the text to their daily lives. The Scriptures demand a response. Each point Paul makes concerning what Scripture does in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (teach, reprove, correct, and train) points to a response in the hearers. Thus, we must encourage a response, not to us, but to the Scriptures alone. The audience however must understand what the Scripture is saying before they can respond; and they are only required to respond to what the original author meant when he wrote the text, not the pastor or teacher's added "special revelation."