What Makes Preaching Excellent?

What God requires first and foremost of every preacher of the gospel is faithfulness. “Preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season” (2 Tim 4:2). Paul told Timothy in the previous letter, “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Tim 4:16). In the end the Lord Jesus Christ will judge every preacher based on His faithfulness to the message (both in teaching and in life).

That being said, as preachers, we should strive to communicate the message effectively. Teaching the text clearly, along with clarifying illustrations, powerful implications, and soul-stirring applications, should be part and parcel of our preaching. In the ultimate sense, as Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, our aim is to give people a “sense of God.” They should encounter God’s Word in such a way that they encounter God Himself. Obviously, this is easier said than done. A man must be called and anointed for this task (Eph 4:11). But even then, often, our best efforts fall short of true excellence. I think every preacher feels this way to some extent. Our hands are of clay, yet we are handling the perfect, inerrant Word of God (2 Tim 3:16). We must trust God’s promise that the true proclamation of His Word will bear the fruit God intended. His Word does not return void (Is 55:11).

We should also try to improve our preaching, which often simply means knowing God’s Word more fully (1 Tim 4:13) and being more yielded to His Spirit (Eph 5:18). In addition, we should pay attention to how effective preachers proclaim the message (this is the skillful part of preaching). I once heard Sinclair Ferguson say, “Every preacher should listen to a sermon with two ears: one ear to understand the preacher’s teaching and the other ear to understand the preacher’s method.” Similarly, Steven Lawson has said, “Preaching is better caught, then taught.” I have found these statements both to be true. Listening to really good preaching helps preachers be more effective preachers themselves. For that reason, I have tried for a long time to listen to a diversity of preachers of different eras, different ethnicities, and different styles (some evangelists and some teachers) to better understand the mystery that is preaching.

In this regard, this year’s Shepherd’s Conference at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, featured four preachers I consider some of the best communicators of reformed truth in the world today. They are H. B. Charles Jr., Steven Lawson, John Piper, and John MacArthur. Each of these men possesses their own unique style, but each has demonstrated incredible effectiveness through the years. At the conference, I listened with “two ears,” as I always do now. I was asking the question, ‘What makes these preachers excellent?’ And, ‘What could a younger preacher learn from their method?’ 

Two Commonalities of Excellent Preaching

Before I comment on what makes each of them distinct, first, I should comment on two commonalities that each possesses and, in my opinion, what all truly effective preachers must possess. First, each of these preachers relentlessly weds themselves to the Word of God. As they preach, the Bible oozes from every pour of their being. Like John Bunyan, they “bleed Bibline.” This is seen through their resolute conviction that the Bible is the very Word of God. During his message, Steven Lawson loudly proclaimed, “God has written a book!” By this, he expressed his stunned amazement at the divine revelation of Holy Scripture. This wonder and amazement drives great preachers. It sends them into their studies for hours to examine and understand God’s Word. And it gives them vitality and enthusiasm as they step into the pulpit to proclaim God’s Word. They are possessed by the captivating conviction that the Bible is God’s breathed-out Word (2 Tim 3:16), and therefore, it should be proclaimed, loved, and obeyed by all who read it and hear it (2 Tim 4:2, 3). In this conference, I was particularly struck by these four men’s knowledge of Scripture—often quoting various verses from memory. I was also struck by their resolute commitment to prove their points and make their arguments from Scripture. Each of these preachers confronted my conscience with truth as it is found in the Word of God. Upon reflection, I am not so impressed by them as by the truth they proclaimed. And that is one of the marks of great preaching.

Secondly, each preacher possesses an unusual ‘unction’ of the Holy Spirit. Unction is an older word that is synonymous with anointing. The anointing is sovereignly given by the Holy Spirit and is not something that man can manipulate or strategize. Paul says in Ephesians 4:8, “When he ascended on high he lead a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” These ‘gifts’ or graces (Gk. charis) are undeserved spiritual gifts. The point Paul is making is this: they cannot be earned through obedience. The spiritual gifts are sovereignly dispensed by the Lord Jesus Christ according to His purposes. Paul says in Ephesians 4:11 and 12, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” Christ sovereignly anoints various men and raises them up for leadership in His church. We can pray for a greater anointing, as Elisha prayed for a double portion of Elijah’s anointing (see 2 Kings 2:9-14), but even then we must trust Christ’s own sovereign purpose for our lives and utilize the various spiritual gifts we’ve been given in their designed way for the building up of the body (1 Cor 12:14-20). All that being said, these men possess an unusually powerful anointing as preachers. Though short in stature, like D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones or Charles Spurgeon, H. B. Charles Jr. becomes a giant in the pulpit—someone who towers above his actual stature. As far as I can tell, the only explanation for this is the God-given authority by which he speaks. Steven Lawson’s anointing compels the listener to sit up straight and listen under his God-given command presence. One can’t help but think that Lawson is looking and speaking directly to you as he preaches. John Piper’s grave seriousness and dramatic outbursts of passion force the listener to come face-to-face with God as Piper is face-to-face with God. John MacArthur’s anointing manifests itself through a compulsion that comes upon his hearers to be gripped by whatever biblical truth he is speaking about. Each of their anointings is unique, but they all share an unusual anointing given to them by the Spirit. The acknowledgment of this fact is not for their glory but for the glory of Jesus Christ, who gave them their gifts.

Interesting Distinctions

After pausing to notice these two commonalities, now let me make several distinctions about what makes these men effective preachers. 

H. B. Charles Jr.

Out of the four, H. B. is probably the best homilitician. By this, I mean his sermons are always well-balanced between the three classical parts of an expository sermon: explanation, illustration, and application. For this reason, Charles might be one of the best preachers a young preacher or seminary student should listen to. Charles almost always does a masterful biblical exposition, mines a biblical text for its deep, hidden riches, and interweaves explanation, illustrations, and applications in a most compelling way. I have never heard him preach a ‘bad sermon.’ This is a testament to his disciplined study method, honed delivery, and commitment to the craft of Bible exposition. Two other elements make Charles a great preacher. The first is freedom in the pulpit. Perhaps this is due to his preparation and experience (he has been preaching since he was seventeen). It also is probably part of his anointing. But Charles’s freedom gives him room to express his contagious passion and earnestness to his hearers. The second unique strength is that Charles crafts insightful turn-of-phrase, pithy statements in his explanation and application. He will pause for effect before they are given, and then they are fired off in machine-gun fashion. Each phrase causes the hearer to be struck by the doctrinal point or application that Charles intends to make because of how they are worded. All in all these elements make for a powerful sermon, which culminates in one main proposition that Charles emphasizes from the biblical text. Charles demonstrates classic expository preaching, in the stream of John Broadus (who wrote the classic book on expository preaching), at its highest level. 

Steven Lawson

After Steven Lawson’s powerful sermon on Friday afternoon of the conference from Revelation 19, David Wheaton of The Christian Worldview radio did a short radio interview with me of my assessment of his sermon and the picture of the “warrior Christ” he presented from the text. The first thing I said in the interview was something along the lines of ‘We just heard today’s George Whitefield.’ Lawson preaches with an almost unparalleled urgency and authority. He is an expository evangelist who presses his hearers to the truth and to God. I say he is an ‘evangelist’ because though an excellent expositor (as I will soon comment), I think Lawson is a powerful evangelistic preacher. The wonder of the gospel, the urgency of repentance, the shortness of time, and the necessity of faith to be saved pour out of Lawson. As he speaks, one feels the weightiness of God, Heaven, and Hell and the greatness of the gospel message. Epic is an adjective that comes to mind to describe his preaching. Moreover, as an expositor, Lawson clearly demonstrates the “simplicity in preaching,” which made J. C. Ryle and Charles Spurgeon outstanding preachers. Each sermon contains a clear proposition (main point) and very clear headers (supporting points), which are often alliterated. It is easy for the hearer to follow the argument/theme that Lawson is tracing. The simplicity combined with the authority makes for excellent preaching. I must add one other aspect of Lawson’s preaching, which I think is important: humility. I once conversed with Lawson several years ago in Dallas after his Thursday morning Bible Study. He expressed to me that he desired to “become a better illustrator” in his preaching. That struck me. Here was one of the most prominent and well-known preachers in the world, and he did not have a sense of arrival. I think that is important in the life of a preacher. “Arrival” happens when the Lord takes us home. Until then we must humbly toil and strive as Christ’s servants—constantly devoted to being a more sanctified and more effective herald.

John Piper

I have listened to the preaching of John Piper since I was in high school (as I have MacArthur). Piper is a great doctrinal preacher, perhaps one of the greatest doctrinal preachers of our time. He possesses an uncanny brilliance in being able to take a doctrine from a text, dissect its implications and applications, and then present the truth with contagious passion. Much like his hero, Jonathan Edwards, Piper utilizes logic and deduction to get to his main points. Oftentimes, as with all creativity, he brings two truths together that people have thought about in isolation but not in conjunction. This makes for interesting preaching. The controlling idea of his preaching is the biblical (and Edwardsian truth) that “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” This message of joy for the glory of God has been the controlling theme of all of his preaching. It weds together the truths of joy in God and the glory of God by asserting that the Christian’s highest joy is in God and that when this happens, God is most glorified. Gripped by this experiential reality, Piper’s preaching explodes with passion. Teaching becomes preaching. Truth becomes glory. God’s presence becomes real.

Piper also crafts his messages to move to the main point he tries to make in building intensity. This gives the listener the impression of momentum. For example, much like missing the movie’s beginning, one feels sorry for the listener who walks in halfway on a Piper sermon because they have missed part of the journey leading to the climax. The journey through truth builds on itself, making the final truth even more glorious. These elements of doctrine, deduction, and the controlling theme of joy in God for the glory of God make Piper’s preaching contagiously insightful and powerful.

John MacArthur

Perhaps out of all of the preachers that I have ever listened to, John MacArthur makes the text of Scripture come alive. God’s Word is a “living book” (Heb 4:12), yet it does not seem “alive” with every preacher. In his famous work on preaching, Between Two Worlds, John Stott defined good preaching as preaching that bridges the gap between the ancient and modern worlds. MacArthur embodies this; he preaches in “living color.” He is adept in understanding the Hebrew and Greek languages, the geography and customs of the ancient world, and historic Christian doctrine. He weaves all of this knowledge together in a breathtaking collage of truth that brings the Scripture to life. And he does so utilizing great alacrity with words and insightfully clear explanations. I think this accounts for the widespread appeal of MacArthur across cultures and time. Christians desire to understand the biblical text, and MacArthur does a masterful job of explaining it.

I might add here that one of the techniques MacArthur uses with precision is over-proving his point. I was taught in preaching classes in seminary to not over-prove points, because then the sermon can be derailed and the main emphasis lost. That is true as far as it goes. If we are constantly overproving, then we will never get anywhere. However, MacArthur often emphasizes a point with a barrage of biblical texts and arguments more than once in a sermon. For him it is effective. Like what John Brencher said about Lloyd-Jones (he meant it as a negative and I a positive), MacArthur leaves the listener with a sense that ‘one would be committing intellectual suicide’ to disagree with him.

Moreover, MacArthur displays the courage to boldly proclaim what he believes the Scripture teaches regardless of the reception of the truth. He is not concerned that the truth is out of step with the culture. He preaches it anyway. He has done this repeatedly throughout his nearly sixty-year ministry, and this faithfulness has built great trust for his ministry. Christians trust MacArthur’s teaching across the globe because he has been resolutely faithful for so long.

Finally, MacArthur loves the inductive approach to preaching. An inductive sermon is where the end is not readily apparent at the beginning. It feels like a story. It’s going somewhere, but the listener is not sure exactly where. The climax of the message is not always apparent at the beginning. Often MacArthur saves his “ace in the hole” for the end, culminating or punctuating the truth he is preaching. He often leads you through a litany of different biblical texts, culminating in one grand truth. One quickly learns that the journey is worth the destination. I believe the combination of clarity, courage, conviction, and climactic preaching make MacArthur a once-in-a-generation preacher.

Conclusion

I make these observations for my benefit as well as yours. It is important that every preacher “be himself” and find his own voice. There is only one H. B. Charles Jr, Steven Lawson, John Piper, and John MacArthur. And there is only one you! Merely copying one man’s style makes for second-hand preaching (because their gifting is not exactly replicated in you). So be yourself. Find your own voice/emphasis. In so doing, may we all humbly aspire to be better teachers and preachers of God’s Word, and I pray that the Lord would raise up a new generation of excellent, outstanding preachers who use a combination of these skills and giftings for God’s glory. I believe He will!

© All photographs, Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, CA.