When you sit in the pew, listening to a sermon, do you have to listen to what you hear? To put it another way, is preaching authoritative? Is there something about the pulpit that compels or obliges a congregant to heed what is being said? I believe we can answer this in both the affirmative and the negative. Yes, you have to listen to what your pastor says. No, his sermon is not authoritative. Allow me to explain.
Let me begin by explaining why I believe that preaching is not authoritative. There are many different views as to why preaching would be authoritative. Some, such as Charismatics, believe that preaching is directly inspired, though usually in a manner differently than Scripture, by God. Others, usually independent churches, simply believe that "Pastor Bob" is called by God's man and so you gotta listen to him. Others yet believe that a worship service is a dramatic picture of redemption and that the pastor represents Christ in this drama (check out this book for a proponent of this view; despite my disagreement on this point, the book has much to offer). Many high-church denominations, including some of my own Presbyterian and Reformed brothers, hold to some variation of this belief. This belief often produces an emphasis to faithful exegesis of the Word, which is a good thing, because they view the pastor as bringing a message directly from God to the people, which means they had better be pretty darned sure that their sermon is based on God's Word.
As much good as this perspective may produce in the form of Biblical preaching, I disagree with it for two reasons. 1) The Bible, so far as I can tell, never describes an elder/pastor as a representative of Christ in a worship service (does the Bible ever even really contain the idea of a "worship service"?); and 2) no matter how faithfully a pastor exegetes God's Word, his interpretation and application will always be finite and fallible. For these two reasons, I simply cannot agree that preaching is authoritative. Moreover, what is it about the pulpit that makes preaching so special? Where in Scripture do we get this idea? Why is what a pastor says while standing up before a congregation of Christians more authoritative than what he says when visiting at a residence on a Tuesday or when leading a Bible study on Wednesday night? I fear that the Reformation may not have gone far enough when it comes to abandoning Rome's clerical system.
On the other hand, I do believe that you should listen to, and even obey, what your pastor says. What is a pastor? A pastor is a shepherd. He is a guide and a guard. He is called to lead, feed, and protect the sheep under the authority of the Good Shepherd. He has been called and gifted to these ends, and he has been given authority by the Good Shepherd to enable him to fulfill this calling. That authority is always, however, dependent on that calling and derived from Christ. All pastors are members of the Body, but are called to assist the Head in leading it. One of the ways in which Christ has equipped his undershepherds is by giving them the gift of teaching. Preaching the Word of God is one tool by which pastors lead and feed their flocks. Pastors are not, however, infallible, nor are they in the place of God.
As someone who preaches, I would never want those under my teaching to accept implicitly my words as the Word of God. While they must submit to the Word of God, they do not have to submit to my interpretation or application of it. These means that all Christians must 1) be very careful when choosing those whom we hear preach and 2) exercise discretion while under preaching. Why would you place yourself under someone whose teaching you don't trust to be Biblical? If you feel like your pastor handles the Word of God untrustworthily, you should probably find a new church. Your pastor should be someone you trust to apply God's Word to life's situations. He should be someone who has the knowledge, experience, and character to act as a spiritual guide, so you should value his teaching, whether he proclaims it from the pulpit or shares it around a fellowship meal after service.
The Word of God is that which is authoritative. This is really what the Reformation was all about. The Church doesn't give the Word its authority; the Word gives the Church her authority! So far as your pastor shares Scripture from the pulpit, you must submit to it, not because he is in the place of God, nor even because he is specially gifted by God to administer the Word, but because the Word of God demands itself your submission. Think about it, if your friend admonishes you from God's Word, do you have to listen? If your friend comes to you and tells you to stop stealing because the Bible says not to steal, do you have to stop stealing? Of course you do! The Word of God compels you! You don't need your pastor to tell you that for it to be binding--the Word of God is binding! A pastor, then, is someone who is called, in part, to dedicate himself to the Word of God and to applying it to the lives of His sheep. You should listen to him not because he gives the Word more authority, but because you trust him to bring the Word to you faithfully and passionately.
So, is preaching authoritative? Yes...and no. The Word of God is, but your pastor's interpretation and application won't always be. The bottom line, however, is this. Find yourself a pastor whose interpretation and application of God's Word is faithful and impassioned. Never cease to exercise discretion, but listen to him with an open heart. God has given faithful pastors to His Church for her edification and spiritual welfare, and we reject God's blessings to our own detriment.
Let me begin by explaining why I believe that preaching is not authoritative. There are many different views as to why preaching would be authoritative. Some, such as Charismatics, believe that preaching is directly inspired, though usually in a manner differently than Scripture, by God. Others, usually independent churches, simply believe that "Pastor Bob" is called by God's man and so you gotta listen to him. Others yet believe that a worship service is a dramatic picture of redemption and that the pastor represents Christ in this drama (check out this book for a proponent of this view; despite my disagreement on this point, the book has much to offer). Many high-church denominations, including some of my own Presbyterian and Reformed brothers, hold to some variation of this belief. This belief often produces an emphasis to faithful exegesis of the Word, which is a good thing, because they view the pastor as bringing a message directly from God to the people, which means they had better be pretty darned sure that their sermon is based on God's Word.
As much good as this perspective may produce in the form of Biblical preaching, I disagree with it for two reasons. 1) The Bible, so far as I can tell, never describes an elder/pastor as a representative of Christ in a worship service (does the Bible ever even really contain the idea of a "worship service"?); and 2) no matter how faithfully a pastor exegetes God's Word, his interpretation and application will always be finite and fallible. For these two reasons, I simply cannot agree that preaching is authoritative. Moreover, what is it about the pulpit that makes preaching so special? Where in Scripture do we get this idea? Why is what a pastor says while standing up before a congregation of Christians more authoritative than what he says when visiting at a residence on a Tuesday or when leading a Bible study on Wednesday night? I fear that the Reformation may not have gone far enough when it comes to abandoning Rome's clerical system.
On the other hand, I do believe that you should listen to, and even obey, what your pastor says. What is a pastor? A pastor is a shepherd. He is a guide and a guard. He is called to lead, feed, and protect the sheep under the authority of the Good Shepherd. He has been called and gifted to these ends, and he has been given authority by the Good Shepherd to enable him to fulfill this calling. That authority is always, however, dependent on that calling and derived from Christ. All pastors are members of the Body, but are called to assist the Head in leading it. One of the ways in which Christ has equipped his undershepherds is by giving them the gift of teaching. Preaching the Word of God is one tool by which pastors lead and feed their flocks. Pastors are not, however, infallible, nor are they in the place of God.
As someone who preaches, I would never want those under my teaching to accept implicitly my words as the Word of God. While they must submit to the Word of God, they do not have to submit to my interpretation or application of it. These means that all Christians must 1) be very careful when choosing those whom we hear preach and 2) exercise discretion while under preaching. Why would you place yourself under someone whose teaching you don't trust to be Biblical? If you feel like your pastor handles the Word of God untrustworthily, you should probably find a new church. Your pastor should be someone you trust to apply God's Word to life's situations. He should be someone who has the knowledge, experience, and character to act as a spiritual guide, so you should value his teaching, whether he proclaims it from the pulpit or shares it around a fellowship meal after service.
The Word of God is that which is authoritative. This is really what the Reformation was all about. The Church doesn't give the Word its authority; the Word gives the Church her authority! So far as your pastor shares Scripture from the pulpit, you must submit to it, not because he is in the place of God, nor even because he is specially gifted by God to administer the Word, but because the Word of God demands itself your submission. Think about it, if your friend admonishes you from God's Word, do you have to listen? If your friend comes to you and tells you to stop stealing because the Bible says not to steal, do you have to stop stealing? Of course you do! The Word of God compels you! You don't need your pastor to tell you that for it to be binding--the Word of God is binding! A pastor, then, is someone who is called, in part, to dedicate himself to the Word of God and to applying it to the lives of His sheep. You should listen to him not because he gives the Word more authority, but because you trust him to bring the Word to you faithfully and passionately.
So, is preaching authoritative? Yes...and no. The Word of God is, but your pastor's interpretation and application won't always be. The bottom line, however, is this. Find yourself a pastor whose interpretation and application of God's Word is faithful and impassioned. Never cease to exercise discretion, but listen to him with an open heart. God has given faithful pastors to His Church for her edification and spiritual welfare, and we reject God's blessings to our own detriment.
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