The preacher’s obligations - Chambers, Oswald
1 Corinthians 1:26
In other callings you have to work with men, but in this calling you work upon men; you come with the authority men crave for and yet resent.
A preacher must remember that his calling is different from every other calling in life; his personality has to be submerged in his message (cf. John 3:30). An orator has to work with men and enthuse them; a new testament preacher has to come upon men with a message they resent and will not listen to at first. The gospel comes in with a backing of divine authority and an arrestment which men resent. There is some- thing in every man that resents the interference of god. Before a man can be saved, the central citadel of his being has to be stormed and taken possession of by the holy spirit. It is easy to tell men they must be saved and filled with the holy ghost; but we have to live amongst men and show them what a life filled with the holy ghost ought to be. A preacher has to come upon men with a message and a testimony that go together. The great pattern for every witness is the abiding witness, the lord Jesus Christ. He came down on men from above; he stood on our level, with what men never had, in order to save men.
To the gospel (1 peter 1:25)
The gospel is too profound for the lazy public; too positive9 for discursive thinkers.
We have no right to preach unless we present the gospel; we have not to advocate a cause or a creed or an experience, but to present the gospel, and we can- not do that unless we have a personal testimony based on the gospel. That is why so many preach what is merely the outcome of a higher form of culture. Until men get into a right relationship with god the gospel is always in bad taste. There is a feeling of silent resentment, dont talk about being born again and being sanctified; be vague. Do remember the people you are talking to. Preach the simple gospel, the thing that keeps us sound asleep. If you take the people as a standard, you will never preach the gospel, it is too positive. Our obligation to the gospel is to preach it.
To the church (Ephesians 5:27)
The church does not lead the world nor echo it; she confronts it. Her note is the supernatural note.
The church confronts the world with a message the world craves for but resents because it comes through the cross of Christ. The central keystone for all time and eternity on which the whole purpose of god depends is the cross (see Galatians 6:14). When the world gets in a bad way, she refers to the church; when she is prosperous, she hates it. If men could blot out the standard of the christian church they would do so; but in a crisis they find a need in their own heart. As preachers we are privileged by god to stand stead- fast against any element that lowers his standard. We are called upon to confront the world with the gospel of Christ, not to start off on side tracks of our own. The church owns a mastery the world can neither ignore nor do without, the mastery of the lord Jesus Christ.
To the community (1 john 5:19)
You must tell men they cannot be right with each other except as they are right with god in Christ and in the atoning work of Christ.
Our lord taught that men could only be right with each other as they are right with him, and Jesus Christ can take any man and place him in right relationship with god. Never water down or minimise the mighty gospel of god by considering that people may be misled by certain statements. Present the gospel in all its fullness and god will guard his own truth.