The Need for Biblical Preaching

February 24, 2026

“I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.” (2 Timothy 4:1-2 NASB95)

Paul was quickly nearing the end of his life when he penned these words to the young preacher, Timothy.  He lays before Timothy a very solemn charge in the strongest possible terms about a matter of extraordinary importance.  It is a charge in the presence of God. It is a charge in the presence of Christ, the judge of the living and the dead.  It is a charge by the appearing of Christ and by His kingdom. What is the charge?  Preach the word!  Preach the word when it is popular and when it isn’t.  Preach the word whether people want to hear it or not.  Preach the word to both correct and to encourage.  Preach the word patiently to instruct those who hear.

Those who preach and teach today have the same charge, and there is a great need in the church for biblical preaching and teaching. Why is it so important? Because it is the word of God that breathes life into us. It is the word of God that will renew our minds and transform us with the Spirit’s help. There is nothing else in the world that can do that. When we faithfully preach the word, we are hearing the voice of God! What an amazing thought that we have the words of God Himself handed down to us. And what a tragedy it is when the word of God is not proclaimed! When the church is not fed with the word, spiritual malnourishment quickly begins to set in.

I remind myself of this often, and ask myself: what is biblical preaching and teaching? What is it not? I have observed over the years that there is a type of preaching that seems biblical at first glance but is not very biblical at all. This type of preaching (and teaching) gives a nod to the word of God and then goes its own way. It is a type of preaching that only uses the Bible to prove what we think we already know. There is very little actual listening to God. There is very little dealing with the text and wrestling with its meaning. The listeners can come away with a good feeling that “God agrees with us,” but we never carefully listened to what God had to say. Instead, we passed over the scripture like a stone skipping over the water—touching upon it here and there but never getting into its wonderful depths.

To those who preach and teach among us: let us heed the solemn charge of God. Preach the word! To all of us who assemble to hear the word of God proclaimed: cherish the word and take it into your heart! May God bless us all in this endeavor.

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Scott Colvin

“Light from Above”

June 1, 2012

It was spring semester of my first year of graduate studies. A friend had called and offered me a summer job of preaching at a country congregation in his absence. I had spoken on occasions at churches since high school, but had never before had the weekly responsibility of delivering a sermon and teaching a class. I agreed to the offer, and then the dreams began. Nightmares. Recurring nightmares.

What was the dream? In the nightmare, I was standing before a group of people with nothing to say. Suddenly having the responsibility of speaking regularly, it was a dream that left me with a cold sweat and wondering if I was doing the right thing.

Some of that fear went with me into full-time work. Saturday nights for a long time were tense. It didn’t matter that an outline was written and in my desk. The tension was there. Sundays and Wednesdays have a way of being relentless. No sooner are you finished with one and another one looms ahead with its deadline.

Over the years though, I have discovered something. The nightmare is true. I don’t have anything to say. I certainly don’t have anything worth saying three or four times a week. Yet, I am convinced that God does have plenty of things to say to us from His Word. The task of the preacher is to let the congregation hear the Word of God through the things he says. The task is to let scripture speak clearly.

On a trip to West Virginia, I had the chance to visit Alexander Campbell’s home. Campbell was an outstanding 19th century Restoration Movement leader. I stood inside the study that he had built away from his house. It’s a small hexagonal shaped building with a later addition that added some space and a fireplace. Originally, the only windows in the study were in a small cupola on the top. Campbell considered it a metaphor for his work, “light comes from above.”

God is the source of revelation and wisdom. The preacher in his study is attempting to clearly understand God’s message, so that it can be shared with others. God is the one with something to say—a message worth our time and attention.

“Light from above” – what a wonderful motto!

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16–17, ESV)

Source of the photo: www.therestorationmovement.com/lightfromabove.htm

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Posted by Russell Holden

Not Bound

November 12, 2010

Timothy was a traveling companion and fellow worker with the Apostle Paul. He receives two personal letters from Paul that are a part of the New Testament. The two letters address him as he does the work of evangelist in the city of Ephesus (1 Timothy 1:3, 2 Timothy 4:5).

Paul breaks out into good news and writes:

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! (2 Timothy 2:8–9, ESV)

In one sense it may seem odd to say to a preacher of the gospel: remember Jesus Christ. Isn’t he going to anyway? Yet, the two thoughts that follow it make the statement much more understandable. Remember Jesus even when there is suffering attached. Remember Jesus because the word of God is not bound.

I need that last reminder. The sharing of the good news can at times be discouraging. Paul is reminding all of us that the power is in the message not the messenger. Paul may be bound and in prison, but the word of God isn’t.

Other passages remind us of the same great truth.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40:8, ESV)

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. ” (Isaiah 55:10–11, ESV)

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. (2 Corinthians 4:6–7, ESV)

I need reminding that the power is not in the messenger but in the message. It is the gospel that is the power of God for salvation. The word of God when presented will have its effect. It will not return to God void. The word of God is not bound.

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Posted by Russell Holden