Preaching That Glorifies God

WORSHIP/DEVOTIONAL ARTICLE | John Hains | Smithville, Ontario

“…glorify God for His mercy…” (Romans 15:9)

Everything we do, whatever it is, should be done to glorify God – that must always be our purpose! Whether it is the way we live our lives, the goals we set, how we conduct ourselves with others, and especially how we conduct ourselves in God’s presence, with heart-felt worship according to His pattern. All we do MUST be to offer Him glory since we desire to bring Him joy! That includes the teaching and preaching we choose to hear, or, if teachers, the Bible lessons we present to others. Always—in all ways—all things must centre around the praise and glorification of our wonderful God!

Why do we seek to glorify God?
I encourage you to stop and think about it – and consider your reasons – before you read on. And then, I think you’ll agree that we seek to glorify God because:

God alone is worthy of all our praise and adoration!
He is a very benevolent Creator who nurtures His creation!
He is the Master who loves the unlovable servant —sacrificially!
And God is the adoptive Father. He purposefully opens His arms to us when we deserve it the least, inviting us and including us in His family if we obey Him!

The list can go on and on…and really, it should, because we need to consider and remember God’s goodness to the children of men! Let’s continually focus on the graciousness of God so that we’ll live lives bringing Him glory, in thanksgiving to Him!

When we consider the biblical accounts, because of God’s greatness, omnipotence, goodness, and majesty, we see that He has always deserved glory:

In Leviticus 10:3, we discover the heart-breaking report about two young priests who chose not to revere and glorify God. Their irreverence cost them their lives! In response, Moses said to Aaron, the young priests’ father: “This is what the LORD spoke, saying: “By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.” Oh—what a lesson for us to learn from these young priests, about giving God the glory and reverence! (You would benefit by reading the entire account, from Leviticus chapters 8-10.)
When Gideon led Israel into battle against the Midianites in Judges 7:2, “… the LORD said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’” And when they were victorious because of God’s might and deliverance, who do you think the people glorified? Not Gideon. They glorified the Lord because they knew He was the One Who gave them the victory, using only 300 men against the thousands of Midianites!
Consider how God was not pleased with King Nebuchadnezzar when he took the glory to himself and would not give it to God. His punishment was severe because of his arrogance. Daniel 4:28- 33, “All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of the twelve months, he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?” While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.” That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.”

It is never a good outcome when we do not give glory and praise to God. God has always deserved glory for everything and in every aspect of our lives. God deserves glory, even in our preaching and teaching:

1 Peter 4:11 cautions, “If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Let’s take a closer look at this passage of Scripture, and break it down:

Our English word “speaks,” in this text, comes from the Greek word laleo, which means to talk, i.e., utter words. The KJV translated the word as preach, say, speak, talk, tell, utter. So, in this setting of 1 Peter 4, when a preacher speaks, we are talking about a declaration he makes of God’s holy will to man—because only that will glorify God. Not human opinions. The responsibility to convey God’s truth, clearly, and in its purity, to another human soul is a very grave and weighty task. If we won’t or can’t do that, then we need to shut our mouths.
The second word in the passage we want to look at is “oracles”: “…let him speak as the oracles of God”. Preaching that glorifies the Lord is preaching that:
- stays with the holy scriptures, or His “oracles,” meaning “an utterance of God” (from the Greek).
- stays true to what God revealed in the text and context.
- is the product of plenty of study time and prayer. It is necessary to spend time in order to be able to handle the word of God accurately before teaching it.
Another word we need to look at from 1 Peter 4: 11 is the word “ability.” “If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies…” The word ‘ability’ means might, power, or strength. Any ability or strength the faithful preacher has is quickly recognized as coming from God. The faithful preacher will never preach in a way that glorifies himself to showcase his intelligence, education, charismatic personality, or opinions. No, a sound preacher will do everything he can to make sure that God is the star attraction in any teaching or preaching. That preacher will not want to be in the spotlight in any way. And any good that may come through his humble efforts, he is quick to glorify God. The humble preacher knows that any abilities he possesses are only gifts from the mighty Lord, whose truth it is he’s trying to share. Any preacher looking for personal praise needs to remember James 3:1, where the Bible speaks of the teachers receiving the “stricter judgment”! In the presence of God, how could we possibly want to steal His glory?!

WHY is it so vital that a preacher speaks as the oracles of God, honouring and glorifying Him through his God-given abilities? The best part of 1 Peter 4:11 is this: “…that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Glorified means “rendered or esteemed glorious.” God is honoured and magnified! God deserves to be glorified through Christ because He is worthy of the glory and dominion forever and ever! May all Bible preaching reflect that truth.

All these different words should help the good preacher be incredibly careful with what, how, and why he is preaching. All to the praise and glory of the Lord!

This also means, if he is glorifying God in his preaching, he will be willing to deal with more challenging subjects in love. Topics like the inspiration of the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Jude 3); atheism (Psalm 14:1); marriage, divorce, and remarriage (Matthew 5:31-32; Matthew 19:4-10), or the work of the church (1 Timothy 3:15); or the subject of local church discipline (1 Corinthians 5:9-11). Preaching that glorifies God calls for speaking “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). Instead of skirting the difficult issues, they need to be dealt with faithfully. The faithful preacher understands that some will be upset with him, but who is he wanting to please? He should not be afraid of losing his “job.” The faithful gospel preacher will faithfully preach the truth without fear or favor, whatever it costs him personally. His purpose is to bring God the glory through his preaching. And always, in preaching that glorifies God, the preacher needs to be careful and tactful. The preacher should pray to God for wisdom because the faithful preacher wants to preach the truth—always to save the soul.

I love Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 2:5, “… that your faith may be in the power of God—and not in the wisdom of man.” That is why he preached. He did not preach with excellency of speech or with persuasive words of human wisdom, but he demonstrated the Spirit and power.

There will always be churches that wish to have their ears tickled. But a faithful church won’t only appreciate having a faithful preacher—they won’t have anything less. They will always demand preaching that glorifies the Lord because they want to please God. Galatians 1:9-10 affirms, “…if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.”

One more passage to consider: Paul’s directive to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:1-4: “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”

We need preachers that are equipped “in season and out of season” We need preaching of the truth when it’s not so popular and when it is popular. We need preaching that will never compromise God’s truth to please the people. And all preaching should be done in a way so that glorifies God!

So, to my preaching brethren, I leave these thoughts for your consideration…and to my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, I encourage you to only stand for preaching that genuinely glorifies God—because: “…you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:20.

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January 2021 | GROW magazine