This article was originally posted at Exploring the Faith.

The preaching of the Word has traditionally held a preeminent place in most evangelical churches. This is no accident. Young pastors and leaders have been taught how vital sound preaching is for keeping a church faithful and healthy. Quotes from noted leaders reinforce to us the crucial nature of preaching to the life of the church. Martin Lloyd-Jones wrote that “Preaching the Word is the primary task of the Church, the primary task of the leaders of the Church.” John Stott claimed that “Preaching is indispensable to Christianity.” Preaching is often so inextricably linked with the role of the pastor, that pastors are commonly referred to as “preachers.” The mountain of books that have been written on the subject of preaching over the centuries could easily fill a library. And not only books, but articles, workshops, seminary classes, conferences, etc. on preaching have been ubiquitous in the evangelical movement. Preaching has become an art form. Most Christians could tell you who their favorite preachers are, and more often than not their preference has as much to do with style as it does substance.

So if preaching is so essential to the life and health of the church, we should have a clear understanding of just what the Bible has to say about preaching and those who preach, shouldn’t we? But this is where we run into a bit of difficulty. The Bible actually has very little to say about preaching as we understand it. English translations of Scripture do often include many passages with the words “preach” or “preaching.” But when we dig a little more deeply, we find that none of these words are conveying the idea of “delivering a sermon or religious address to an assembled group of people, typically in a church.” In fact, there isn’t one place in Scripture where we find our traditional understanding of preaching a sermon. Even what we traditionally know as the “Sermon on the Mount” is never actually called that in the text of Scripture! [Please note: the section headings you may find in big, bold print in your Bible are supplied by the publisher; they’re not part of the biblical text.]

So what are these words in the original language, and what do they mean? The most common word translated “preach” in many (especially older) English translations is the Greek word euangelizo. You probably recognize right away that we’ve brought this word into English as “evangelize.” The word, both in English and in Greek, means simply to share good news. This is why newer translations sometimes opt for words such as “announce,” “share” or “bring” the good news. Unfortunately, there are still many places where this word is translated “preach the gospel” or “preach the good news,” requiring pastors to routinely explain to people that “preaching the gospel” isn’t something that only apostles did or “preachers” do now behind a pulpit (or on a stage); this is simply “sharing the good news,” and all Christians are to be doing that! Another Greek word that is often translated “preach” (and which also has to be clarified) is kerusso, which means to announce or proclaim. This word is invariably paired with another word euangelion, showing that what is being announced is the good news of Jesus Christ.

Many will recall the familiar words of 2 Timothy 4:2: “. . . preach the word; be ready in season and out of season [NASB].” Too many times, though, these instructions are understood in a traditional sense, that the preacher must always be ready to get up behind the pulpit and preach a sermon. Not only is this not what Paul was talking about, it obscures what Paul was actually telling Timothy to do. Remember, Timothy wasn’t a local church pastor, he was part of Paul’s apostolic team. They were missionaries who shared the good news of Jesus Christ, and helped young believers form a new church in each location. Often Paul would leave Timothy behind or send him ahead to strengthen and “coach” the churches. Paul here tells Timothy to kerusso the logos. Kerusso means to proclaim and Paul uses logos to refer to the gospel message of Jesus Christ. Many translations render this instruction: “Proclaim the message.” See, for example, how this verse reads in the Revised English Bible:

[P]roclaim the message, press it home in season and out of season, use argument, reproof, and appeal, with all the patience that teaching requires.

This verse isn’t saying anything about the necessity of preaching sermons.

I should also comment on 1 Timothy 5:17. In this passage, Paul instructs that some elders are “worthy of double honor” or “should be respected and paid well.” This is especially true of those who labor or work hard in logos and in teaching. There are a variety of translations for the word logos here in this verse: word, preaching, speech or speaking are some of the common ones. It’s curious that this is often translated “preaching” in this verse, since we don’t find logos translated as preaching anyplace else. Paul typically uses this word to refer to the content of the gospel message of Jesus Christ (which is, of course, contained in the words of Scripture). This especially makes sense in this verse because it fits his use of both these words (logos and didaskalia or “teaching”) earlier in the same letter. In 1 Timothy 4:6, Paul describes one who is nourished by the logos or message of faith and by sound teaching. It would be consistent for him to be using these words in a similar way just a few verses later. This also makes best sense of what Paul is saying in verse 5:17. These elders who should be supported are laboring or working hard in both the content of the gospel message (which we study in Scripture) and in the teaching of this gospel truth. The NKJV translates this phrase as those who “labor in the word and doctrine,” and God’s Word Translation reads: “if they work hard at teaching God’s word.” Again, there is nothing here on which to base the traditional preaching of sermons.

So, if Scripture doesn’t teach pastors to “preach” (i.e. deliver sermons) in the church, what are they supposed to do? As we see above and throughout the letters to the churches, elders or pastors of the church are to be teaching the Word of God to the people. (Note that even Jesus wasn’t known as “the Preacher,” but as “the Teacher.”) Is this distinction in wording worth emphasizing, or is this just semantics? Well, that all depends on how we’re using the word “preach.” If all we mean by preach is the exposition of Scripture to the people, then maybe there’s nothing here to discuss. The problem is that the word “preach” contains much more nuance and conveys much more meaning than simply biblical exposition. Not only do we understand this word to mean much more than this, but we’re so inundated with descriptions of preaching and instruction regarding preaching that have no biblical basis, that we face a very real danger of distracting ourselves from the actual teaching ministry of the elders/pastors of the church—which is scriptural.

We can recognize some all too common differences in focus and desired outcome between preaching and teaching. The process of preaching is usually focused on the delivery of a prepared speech or sermon. Teaching on the other hand will also be prepared, but the focus isn’t on the prepared message but on the actual process of teaching, helping people come to a deeper understanding of scriptural truth. If I’m preaching, I’m preaching; regardless of what impact my message is having on anyone, I’m still preaching. But, as Howard Hendricks used to say, if they’re not learning, I’m not teaching. Teaching has different priorities, a different focus, and different expectations. In the next post, we’ll look more deeply into this, we’ll see just how Jesus and Paul taught, and why we should teach in a similar way.