Let the Lion Out!

In my sermon preparation for preaching 2 Timothy 4, I have come across two thoughts/illustrations that I have not been able to use in my sermons on this passage.  So I will share them here.

The first one comes from Charles Spurgeon.  Speaking to his fellow preachers he exhorted them to stop trying to just defend the Bible and, “Open the door and let the lion out!”  What a great image for the Bible.  It is the Word of God.  It must be what we preach.  It is powerful.  It has authority.  It always accomplishes its purposes.  Spurgeon went on to say, “The answer to every objection against the Bible is the Bible.”  So our sermons must be filled with the Bible.  Not our thoughts or even concepts in defense of the Bible, but the actual truth and teaching of the Bible.  Paul put it this way, “Preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” (2 Timothy 4:2)

Second, I read concerning the Puritans of the 18^th and 19^th centuries, that whenever they would greet each other and ask how each other were doing, they would always answer concerning the state of their souls.   Not concerning the weather, their physical condition, nor concerning the condition of their churches, instead concerning the state of their souls.  In other words, their replies to each other would be concerning their walk in Jesus, their trust and faith in Jesus, their obedience or disobedience to the Lord of their lives, their recent battles and struggles in the Christian walk, their communion/abiding with Jesus.  I think we have much to learn from this.  This could help us move toward true fellowship within our churches.  This would most certainly deepen the conversations we have with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.  Let alone that it would force us to know the condition of our souls.

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Dave MacKinnon

About the Author:
Dave serves on staff at Westchester as Senior Pastor