Preaching and Biblical Theology

Thomas Schreiner recently wrote an article titled, Preaching and Biblical Theology, in the Southern Baptist Journal of Theology. Every teacher and preacher of God's word needs to read this whole article but especially this excerpt below which shows the great need in churches today for preachers and teachers to preach and teach biblical theology.

"Moreover, too often our congregations are poorly trained by those of us who preach. We have fed them a steady diet of moralistic preaching, so that they are taught to be kind, forgiving, loving, good husbands and wives (all good things of course!), but the theological foundation for such is completely neglected. We have ample illustrations and stories to support the lifestyle we advocate, and people’s hearts are warmed and even edified. Meanwhile, the wolf is lurking at the door. How could such preaching open the door for heresy? Not because the pastor himself is heretical. He may be fully orthodox and faithful in his own theology, while neglecting to preach to his people the storyline and theology of the Bible. He has assumed theology in all his preaching. So, in the next generation or in two or three generations the congregation may inadvertently and unknowingly call a more liberal pastor. He too preaches that people should be good, kind, and loving. He too emphasizes that we should have good marriages and dynamic relationships. The people in the pew may not even discern the difference. The theology seems to be just like the theology of the conservative pastor who preceded him. And in a sense it is, for the conservative pastor never proclaimed or preached his theology. The conservative pastor believed in the inerrancy of scripture but not its sufficiency, for he did not proclaim all that the scriptures teach to his congregation."

Read the entire article; this is a must read for every Christ because he gives an example of biblical theology in the body of his article.