Frank Viola and George Barna popularized the charge calling the sermon a “pagan” invention by the church fathers who adopted Greek rhetoric as the form of their sermons. They wrote, “the stunning reality is that today’s sermon has no root in Scripture. Rather, it was borrowed from pagan culture, nursed and adopted into the Christian faith” (Viola and Barna, Pagan Christianity? Exploring the Roots of our Christian Practices, Tyndale House, 2008, p.86).

 

As is often the case with sensationalized and hyperbolized writing, there is a kernel of truth behind the charge. The deterioration of Christianity after the first century is well documented (James Stitzinger, “The History of Expository Preaching,” TMSJ, 3/1 Spring, 1992, pp 5-32). Greco-Roman culture secularized the church leading to the hierarchical role of clergy and the allegorical interpretation of Scripture. The flourishes of ornamental rhetoric turned the sermon into oratory in contrast to the apostolic church of the New Testament. However, the charge that the sermon is pagan is greatly exaggerated and misleading.

While it is true that preaching in the synagogue was open to any competent male member, the “Ruler of the Synagogue” carefully controlled the process to ensure that the teaching was systematic. A member read the Pentateuch verse by verse sequentially over three-year cycles. Each Sabbath the preacher explained the text for that day, and the Synagogue ruler made sure that the preaching was competent and expositional. There was a strong emphasis on sequential Bible explanation (Emil Schurer, The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ, T.&T. Clark, 1979, 2:447-454). We can see the patterns of synagogue worship in 1 Corinthians 14:26-40. However, we must remember that Paul was writing to a church gone wild and needing correction. This example hardly means that there was no systematic teaching by gifted teachers in the early church (Eph. 4:11-12).

A growing body of literature demonstrates that Paul not only knew how to use rhetorical methods, but he was skilled at using them. Scholars today classify Paul’s letters as examples of deliberative rhetoric (Ben Witherington, The Paul Quest, InterVarsity Press, 1998, pp 115-127). While Paul may not have been formally educated in classical rhetoric, we know that Greek rhetoric influenced the Jewish rabbinic schools by the time of Paul and would have informed his education (James Kinneavy, Greek Rhetorical Origins of Christian Faith, Oxford University Press, 1987, pp.80-91). 

 

The debate over “primary rhetoric” with its emphasis on content, versus “secondary rhetoric” with its emphasis on style was a serious debate by the time of Paul as sophistry grew in popularity.  Paul opposed the “sophistic or ornamental rhetoric” in his preaching because he didn’t want his audience to focus on form over content (Ben Witherington, Conflict & Community in Corinth, Eerdmans, 1995, p.42, 46). Rejecting the oratorical tricks of ornamental rhetoric (1 Cor. 2:4), Paul “Christianized” rhetoric by insisting that God empowered the Christian sermon (1 Thess. 2:13). Paul practiced primary rhetoric while rejecting secondary rhetoric as inconsistent with Christianity.

The examples of sermons in the Gospels and Acts are primarily missional sermons, not pastoral sermons. We have to look elsewhere to find the pattern of pastoral preaching in the New Testament. The letters show us how to preach as pastors.  Paul’s letters are sermons. He dictated them with the style of oral communication, and they were read to the congregations as sermons  They were considered on par with Scripture and were explained by preachers as the Word of God (2 Peter 3:15-16).

 

If we want to study the pattern of preaching in the local church, we must study the epistles as sermons. We see in the letters a form of preaching very similar to our modern churches with an emphasis on telling Christians what they must believe and how they must act (William Barclay, “A Comparison of Paul’s Missionary Preaching and Preaching to the Church,” in Apostolic History and the Gospel, edited by Gasque and Martin, Paternoster Press, 1970, pp. 165-175). 

Paul commanded Timothy to “preach the Word” (2 Tim. 4:2). The word translated “preach” (???????) is the most common word for preaching in the New Testament. It means to proclaim authoritatively. Sermons were to be a proclamation that demanded commitment and obedience (Rom. 2:21; 1 Cor. 9:27). Therefore, persuasive proclamation called for a response by the listeners, not unlike our modern sermons.

 

Timothy is not an apostle dispensing revelational preaching like Paul. Such revelational preaching was more spontaneous and sporadic. Timothy fits historically into the next band of preachers who concentrate on explanation and application. Exposition of Scripture becomes the pattern of post-apostolic preaching in the New Testament. Timothy taught and preached Christian principles (1 Tim. 6:2). He instructed believers how to live (1 Tim. 6:17). Furthermore, each church set aside and paid certain elders to work hard at preaching and teaching (1 Tim. 5:17).

 

No. The sermon is not pagan but how we deliver the sermon could be! Preachers should not preach with a superior attitude or from a hierarchical position of authority. Preachers must preach with humility, integrity and a servant spirit. We preach the Word of God by the power of God to the people of God who hold us accountable to the truth of God.