The World in Front of the Text

A Transformational Thought for Application in Sermons (and Quiet Times!)

“You did a good job…” my mentor said as he reviewed one of my early sermons with me. My heart swelled! I felt great! I agreed! “…but it wasn’t a sermon. It was a Bible Study.” That is, while I had explained the text well, there was little application for God’s people. It was a sermon meant to inform, but not necessarily to change hearts. Over the years I have struggled with making good application in my sermons. This is a challenge for most preachers. How can we strike a biblical balance between informing the mind and transforming hearts? Haddon Robinson says this in Biblical Preaching, “A preacher, therefore, should forget about speaking to the ages and speak to his day. An expository preacher confronts people about themselves from the Bible instead of lecturing to them from the Bible about history or archaeology.” (27) Confrontational, applicable, heart-shaping preaching is essential for faithful preachers.

As I have wrestled with doing a better job of speaking to the heart in preaching, I have found a thought from Abraham Kuruvilla to be transformative. Kuruvilla argues that each text of Scripture projects a “world in front of the text” where “a view of life is portrayed, projecting for the reader a world beyond the confines of the text.” (A Vision for Preaching, 94) That is, in any given text the Spirit’s inspiration is also providing for a future “world” in which the hearer’s life has been transformed and they are living in the way God desires. “A world is portrayed,” Kuruvilla contends, “an invitation to that world is extended, and lives are changed as listeners respond to inhabit the world and live by its precepts, priorities, and practices.” (Vision, 94)  Even as a faithful preacher must work hard at including application in his sermon, it is ultimately the Holy Spirit who will apply the Word to the hearts of the hearers. It must be understood that life transformation is happening by the power of the Spirit. The ultimate “world in front of the text” is the future world of glory that the believer is being prepared for. Paul gives the Corinthian church a glimpse of how they are being transformed through and for this world: “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.”  However, one cannot forget the source of this transformation: “For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:18). Life transformation is the goal of preaching therefore faithful preaching is ultimately dependent on the work of the Holy Spirit.

This idea of thinking through a “world in front of the text” has transformed my sermon preparation. First, it helps ensure that sermon application is tied to the sermon text. Instead of pulling application out of thin air, I am forced to reckon with exactly what the author was trying to lead God’s people to do in writing the text in the first place. Second, it helps me understand the text itself better. For example, as I have preached through Genesis, I have often thought, “Why does Moses want the wilderness generation to know this? How would this text form the original hearers?"  Third, it makes me more dependent on the Spirit in sermon preparation. I am forced to ask the Lord, “If Moses’ hearers heard it this way, what would that mean for my people?” I am forced to ask God to help me see how the Spirit wants to apply this Word to the people God.

For those of us who preach, I hope this is helpful. However, for those of you who are not preachers, this is helpful as well. This is a way to get your quiet time readings to your heart. As you read the Bible, ask yourself, “If everyone listened to this text and lived out what the author and the Spirit intended them to live out, what would the world look like? What steps can I take to live out and obey what God is saying here?” I hope this idea of “the world in front of the text” will be as helpful for you as it has been for me!

Lagniappe

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