MORALISM OR MORAL PREACHING

Posted on Mar 17, 2021 in BLOG |

Moralism or Moral Preaching

Al Mohler labeled much evangelical preaching today as “moralistic fables” because the sermons used biblical stories as examples to teach moral truths. Christ and the cross should be the focus of every sermon because they are the focus of every biblical text.[1] G.K. Beale, in a recent article, stressed that every verse in Scripture points to Christ and must be used to preach Christ, not moralism. He asked how our preaching is different from rabbinic teaching if we fail to focus on Christ and redemption.[2]

Christocentric preachers argue that when we use examples from the lives of biblical characters to teach moral and ethical values, we are guilty of moralism – using the Bible to emphasize our efforts to please God instead of preaching what God has done for us. Exemplification, using Bible stories and characters to teach moral values, is wrong to the redemptive-historical preachers.

What is moralism?

The epithet is a straw man when applied to evangelical preaching. Moralism, historically, grew out of liberalism which emphasized the goodness of man. Liberal theology in the first half of the 20th century taught that preachers could exhort humans to do good because humans are good. Christ was our example, not our Savior. Moralism is the basis for the social gospel popularized in such books as In His Steps by Charles Sheldon. It is ethics without Christ, good works without justification by faith, and pleasing God without regeneration.

Evangelical preachers insist that we are dead in our sins. We cannot please God apart from Christ. Without regeneration by God, we are incapable of living good, moral lives according to God’s standards. It is only because of what Christ did on the cross that we can do good. Grace, and grace alone, makes our moral deeds possible. Christ enables us to do what God demands. We live out what He lives in (Gal. 2:20)! What He did enables us to do what we do. God gives us everything we need to live moral, godly lives through the power of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:3). The cross-work of Christ is the foundation for moral preaching, which sets it apart from rabbinic teaching or liberal preaching.

Exemplification

The Bible is full of examples about using examples. Exemplification is frequent in the New Testament. Paul wrote in Romans 15:4, “Whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Spirit we might have hope.” In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul specifically used the bad example of the Israelites to teach moral truth in his day. “These things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved” (1 Cor. 10:6).

There are many examplars, examples used for a moral purpose in the epistles. New Testament preachers demonstrate how to use biblical events and people to teach moral and ethical principles. Here is a list of examplars expanded from Abraham Kuruvilla’s list.[3]

O.T. Characters and Events

Luke 4:23-27 (1 Kings 17:8-24)

Romans 4, 9 (Gen. 15, 17, 18, 21, 25 etc.)

1 Tim. 2:12-15 (Gen. 2-3)

Heb. 3:7-4:11 (Num. 14-21)

James 2:12-26; 5:10-28 (Elijah, a man with a nature like us!)

Hebrews 11 (many O.T. characters)

Luke 17:32 (Jesus told us to remember Lot’s wife)

Jesus as an Examplar (Not only our Savior but our Example)

Heb. 12:1-3

Rom. 15:2-7

Eph. 5:2

Phil. 2:5-11

1 Peter 2:18-25; 4:1

John 13:15

Paul as an exemplar

Acts 20:33-35

1 Cor. 4:17; 11:1

Gal. 4:12

Phil. 4:9

1 Thess. 1:6-7

2 Tim. 1:13; 2:2-3; 3:10-17

Preaching in the Imperative

Pastoral preaching must deliver consistent moral exhortation from the biblical examples that God has given to us for our instruction. Exemplification is legitimate. One writer calls it the “exemplary imperative,” in which we use a biblical example to instruct and exhort our people.[4] A brief survey of Paul’s practice in his letters demonstrates the power of the moral imperative. Imperatives of sanctification dominate the second halves of each of the epistles. Paul exhorts, implores, and commands believers to be and do what God wants them to be and do.

We are to walk worthy of the Lord (Col. 1:10) and our calling (Eph. 4:1). All Scripture is profitable to equip us “for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16). In fact, we are saved by grace to produce good works (Eph. 2:10). Paul commands us to abstain from sexual immorality (1 Thess. 4:2-3). Do not lie, steal, speak rotten words, express bitterness and slander, but be kind, tender-hearted, and forgiving (Eph. 4:25-32). We cannot obey these commands except by the power of the Spirit of God, who enables us to obey. Because we walk in the Spirit, we are able to avoid all boasting and envy (Gal. 5:25-26).

Moralism – the attempt to live good lives apart from the grace of Christ – is wrong. Moral preaching is not! Moral preaching aims to present everybody complete in Christ, so we teach and admonish our people to that end. It is not as if we ignore Christ in our preaching. We preach Christ in our moral preaching because He is both our Savior and our example. Yet we can only preach “according to His power, which mightily works within” us (Col. 1:28-29), and we can only live by His grace that enables us.

 

[1] R. Albert Mohler, Jr., He is Not Silent: Preaching in a Postmodern World, Chicago: Moody Press, 2008, loc. 1292.

[2] G.K. Beale, “Finding Christ in the Old Testament,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Vol. 63, No. 1, March 2020, 47.

[3] Abraham Kuruvilla, Privilege the Text! A Theological Hermeneutic for Preaching, Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2013, 242.

[4] Carrick, The Imperative of Preaching, 128.