For the third Sunday in Lent, the three readings for Church Year B are Exodus 20:1-7; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 and John 2:13-25. The text chosen on which to preach is 1 Corinthians 1:22, “For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom.”
The most important part of the sermon is to make sure that Law and the Gospel reach the target audience. For a radio program the target audience is usually those who would best appreciate what is being said. For a cooking program, the target audience are cooks; for a landscapping program, the target audience are gardeners and so forth. But what is the primary target audience for a religious program of either sermon or Bible class?
Most preachers would suggest that the target audience are the specific individuals in the congregation or the listening audience. However, such a view would mean that the message needs to be used that best reaches that audience. According to verse 22 of 1 Corinthians, Jews are best reached if you can persuade by a sign, a miracle, or some evidence. And Grentiles are best reached if you persuade them by reason or logic. However, it is clear from this verse that such a means of persuasion cannot work with Christianity. For it is impossible to persuade an unbeliever by a sign or reason since what Christians believe offers no evidence and is totally unreasonable!
As the Bible reveals, even were someone to rise from the dead, no one would be persuaded. And even if the wisest of philosophers used reason and logic to the best of his ability, no unbeliever would be persuaded. Why? Because the message of Christianity is foolishness to those who are perishing (verse 18). Then, who is the primary target audience of the preacher. Our answer will surprise you.
The primary target audience is not human–the primary target audience is the Holy Spirit! What does that mean? Glad you asked. As host of Law and Gospel on radio station AM 850 KFUO for over a dozen years, the question is asked as to how many people I have converted. The answer is always the same–none! Conversion is not our job–it is the work of the Holy Spirit. If converting people made a preacher successful, then Jesus was the worst preacher of all time unable to persuade even His own hometown. Yet the Father still considered Him as One in Whom He was well pleased. How so?
Because the success of the witness is not in the results but in the proper use of the means of grace. Jesus was successful always regardless of the response on the part of listeners but because He clearly and accurately spoke the Word of God. Today our message needs to be stated in such a way that the Holy Spirit can make use of the Word of God in creating a new heart and renewing a right spirit. God does not work through false doctrine.
It is not that the listener is never a target audience. It is just that the listeners are secondary targets. First get the Word straight and then use that part of the Word of God which best touches the lives and problems of the listener. That is, to a listener at a funeral, use the Gospel promises dealing with the sure hope of those who trust in Jesus Christ. To a listener at a wedding, use the Gospel promises that deal with Jesus Christ as the third person in every marriage and the promises He brings to such a covenant.
While the temporal realm may properly use evidence and reason to persuade, in the realm of Christianity the only sure means of salvation is the pure Word of God and the proper use of the Sacraments. In fact, those are not only the proper tools for the Holy Spirit to convert, they also are where the Church in its mission truly exists.
Name:Tom Baker
Pastor Baker, I agree with Luther’s explanation of the Third article of the Apostle’s Creed that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ or come to Him. Instead, it is entirely the work of the Holy Spirit that brings people to faith. So when you said that it is impossible to persuade an unbeliever by a sign or reason (alone) ,I agree. But how can the basis of this be that what Christians believe offers no evidence and is totally unreasonable.? Doesn’t general revelation of God and the Bible present many infallible proofs to show the reasonableness and logic of the Genesis creation being fully in accord with all true science and history, of God’s existence, and the claims of Christ and His resurrection? Didn’t Paul use reason and logic in Acts 17:2-4, 32-34;18:4; and 28:23 to persuade people thru the power of the Holy Spirit? Didn’t even John the Baptist require proof to ascertain if Jesus is truly the Messiah? What encouragement do we give our Christian young people when they are sent into the hostile world of academia if we say their faith has no basis in reason and logic? Is it just unbelievers that use reason and logic in contrast to believers whose faith is mindless? Even Jesus did not respond to John the Baptist’s request for proof telling John just to believe. Instead , He provided evidence. Finally, is there a legitimite role for apologetics in pre- and post -evangelism, as well as, in evangelism itself, since Christians who are on the cutting edge of evangelism will be driven into education, and while witnessing, inevitably will be asked questions that demand factual answers?
I appreciate and look forward to your law/gospel -centered insight regarding these matters. rd So Cal
Thanks for an insightful comment with a number of items that need to be addressed. In fact, I did so on the radio program today which you can access at kfuo.org and then click AM and go to Law and Gospel for the hour of March 25, 2009. My answer begins about 1/2 an hour into the program. The basic points I made are 1) It is to the unbeliever, not the believer that there is no evidence for what saves us and it is also unreasonable. 2) The general revelation of the creation is not part of saving faith as is any of the historic events of the New Testament such as the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Even unbelievers can agree with those events as did the Pharisees who paid the soldiers to lie about the resurrection. 3) The Bible verses cited also point to other passages of the Bible as the basis for Paul’s reason and logic; not evidence that can be observed by an unbeliever. 4) Even to John the Baptist’s question, the only evidence Jesus provided were the Old Testament prophecies. Apart from those prophecies, none of His miracles prove anything. 5) The final point is that evidential apologetics–which is only one of five kinds of apologetics–is useful for Christians who doubt the faith or have heard arguments against the Christian faith that disturb them. One example was the nonsense of finding the bones of Jesus. For the mature Christian, there was no need for any evidence contradicting those findings because the Bible already has the last say. But for the Christian weak in faith, it probably was good to point out the foolishness of thinking that those were the bones of Jesus on the basis of archaeology, Palestinian culture and so forth. I also agree that Christians should be educated as to how to respond to unbelieving professors for the purpose of perhaps changing the mind of the professor and also sustaining the faith of the believer who has become weak in his grasp of the faith. Again, the comment obviously took some time and effort and we are most appreciative of that. For a fuller explanation of each of the points, please listen to the archived radio broadcast at kfuo.org.