HOW TO LISTEN TO A SERMON
What is our responsibility before, during & after every sermon ?/by Howard Hendricks
doesn’t come out. Then one day they forget and open the door. No other experience makes them feel that housecleaning is quite so neces sary. James says that is exactly what needs to take place in the be liever’s life if he’s going to get the maximum from the Word of God. This idea is based upon one of the most important New Testa ment principles: there is no com munion without cleansing. It is impossible to come into the presence of God — it is impossible to fellowship with the Father — without having been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. But for the believer it is likewise true that there must be daily cleansing in the blood of Christ in order to maintain intimacy of fellowship with the Father. In John 13 we have an interest ing New Testament illustration that sets forth this principle. The disciples were on the road to the Upper Room. They were having what to them was a fascinating conversation. They were discussing the coming kingdom. They were considering who would be the “ big- time operators” in this coming kingdom. Each one had carved a very significant niche for himself. As a result, when they came to the Upper Room every one of them filed by the door and not one of them was willing to take the place of a menial servant and wash the
filthiness. . . . ” Now don’t think fo r a mi nu t e that “ filthiness” applies to someone else. The word here translated “ filthiness” is the common Greek word for dirt. It is impossible to live in this present world or even pass through it with out becoming defiled by its corrup tion. James says, “ Lay apart all . . . superfluity of naughtiness.” What does that mean? Literally, it means all the overgrowths of wickedness. A ll the dirt and the debris that have been allowed to accumulate and that haven’t been spiritually judged and put out of the believer’s life tend to become an overgrowth — a barrier to receiving the Word of God. Most people have a closet in their home where all of the “ stuff” goes that doesn’t fit somewhere else. They keep putting things in and the closet gets more and more crowded until finally they have to push things in and slam the door shut in a hurry so that everything
f I 'he Apostle James was an emi- nently practical Christian who could not conceive of merely a theo retical faith. For him, creed had to be translated into conduct, doctrine into experience. In a word, James was interested in a belief that be haved. Right in the heart of this most practical epistle are two verses which set forth a threefold respon sibility incumbent upon every per son who approaches the Word of God. “ Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naugh tiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1 : 21 , 22 ). This passage is a very penetrat ing one. It would seem that James is taking the place of a dentist who leans over and says very reassur ingly, “ This may hurt a little.” One cannot listen to James and not feel the Spirit of God searching and probing deep within the heart. The believer’s first responsibility upon hearing the Word of God comes before he ever hears the ser mon. Listen to James as he sets forth the responsibility in verse 21. He says that before the sermon you have a responsibility to remove c e r ta in thi ngs . “Wherefore lay apart [or fling from you as an old, worthless, worn-out garment] all
About the Author This is the second article we've printed by Rev. Howard Hendricks (see "Teaching Thot Produces Change," October K.B.). Mr. Hendricks is Professor of Practical Theology at Dallas Theological Seminary.
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The King's Business/November 1957
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