In a shadowed-fold of twisted truth, where souls abide,

Lies error, soft yet stern, on Hyper's falling tide.

Claiming kin to ancient roots, they slyly slide,

Yet distort the very Grace where trust should hide.

With words that mimic scripture’s beat,

They weave a web half-error, full deceit.

Experimental truth, once so sweet,

Now turned to bitter herbs, their feasts replete.

Their credo fervor, strict, with zeal misaligned,

Etch the soul, a misled, darkened mind.

Emotions reign, where once Truth enshrined,

Leaving hearts a labyrinth, entwined.

Coformity’s iron grip, are chains unseen,

Encourages not the soul's growth, but its lean.

Shaming whispers, like serpents, coil, and preen,

Beneath a veneer of Truth, falsity, unseen.

These shepherds, cloaked in ancient garb, do stray,

From the path, where Scripture's light would play.

Their flock, young minds and old, in fear and doubt, they sway,

Far from the comfort of Mercy's tender way.

"Be wary," cries the voice of Truth, "of wolves in guise,

Who speaks of Grace, yet words revise.

For in their midst, hope’s light dies,

And with it, the Person, heaven's prize."

In love for souls, a caution thus I frame,

To those who falsely speak in God's name, yet bring Him shame.

For the harm to souls, they alone to blame,

In this soft, yet harsh, Hyper-painful, game.

"And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers." John 10:5

English Latent Antinomianism

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Engaged Listening: The Hallmarks

1. Reverence for God’s Word:

The listener must approach the preached Word with the same reverence he would give to the Bible in private study. Preaching is a means of grace, where the pulpit delivers the living Word of God, and the heart receives the living Word. “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.” (Ps. 19:7)

2. Active Engagement:

Passive hearing is far from genuine listening. An engaged listener pricks his own mind; he ponders, analyses, and seeks to understand. He uses his discernment, drawing from Scripture itself and the teachings of our forefathers. “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)

3. Open Heart:

One must approach the sermon with a heart ready for transformation. "Speak LORD, for thy servant heareth" is ready in the heart. Some want the Word to "happen" to them in the preaching, but the Scriptures say we are to seek Truth like hidden treasure, leaning in, as it were, with our hearts. Being vulnerably open to the conviction, comfort, and challenges of the message is vital. To own transgressions and admit our sins. As Thomas Watson once said, "Till sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet."

4. Praying Continuously:

A listener should continually lift little, silent, impromptu prayers, seeking illumination and guidance. "Help Lord" is my personal favorite. But others will come to your mind. There's a story concerning George Gillespie, Scottish Commissioner to the Westminster Assembly. It is said that during one particular critical session, as they paused for a break, someone passed by Grorge's desk. Scrawled all over his paper were the words, "More light. More light." One’s heart should yearn for more light, personal application, asking God to “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” (Ps. 119:18)

5. Putting it into Action:

The application of a sermon never happens in the pulpit.

Husband: "Wasn't that a wonderful application dear?"

Wife: "We'll see. Let's go home and live it."

True listening doesn’t end when the sermon concludes. It walks out the doors into action, applying what was learned to life. James admonishes, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” (James 1:22)

Barriers to Engaged Listening and Their Remedies

1. Distractions:

Today, distractions are plentiful. The remedy? Preparation. Let's call it distraction removal. All phones are on "Do Not Disturb." No checking the weather in the pew. No last-minute text. Just as the preacher prepares his sermon, the listener should prepare his heart and mind to hear that sermon. Solace and quietness should be sought before coming to worship and then assembling in silence. Needless chatter and niceties before the service are not a sign of a congregation's warmth but of its chill. "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10. There are six whole days left in the week for as much banter as you would like. This is the Lord’s Day. Let us give it to Him in love.

2. Preconceived Notions:

To listen with prejudiced ears, due to disagreements or past hurts, is a disservice to oneself and God. Someone once said, “If you want to dislike your minister’s preaching, get to know him.”The best of men are men at best. It's paramount to leave these outside the church doors, seeking unity and growth in the body of Christ. Men will disappoint, but beneath and behind his words stands Christ. "And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling." 1 Cor. 2:3: "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." - 2 Corinthians 4:7

3. Over-Reliance on Feelings:

One’s feelings can be deceitful. One may not always "feel" the sermon's impact immediately. Like the nutrients of a meal, it takes time to impact the body’s metabolism. Regardless, one should trust that the Lord uses His Word powerfully and in His timing. As the Scriptures remind us, the efficacy of the preached Word does not lie in the man who preaches but in the Spirit of God. "And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." - 1 Corinthians 2:3-5

The Reward of Engaged Listening

Listening with an engaged heart ensures that the Word of God, the divine manna, doesn’t just touch the tongue but is eaten by the heart. Engaged listening fosters growth, transformation, and a closer walk with Christ. It’s not merely the right kind of preaching but the right kind of hearing that brings about the fruit of salvation. So, cherish your preacher, but also cherish your ears, mind, and heart as an engaged listener. That's what preaching is. It’s a divine conversation. May our Lord continually shape our hearts to be receptive soil for His saving Word.

From a Puritan and Reformed perspective, experiential preaching is considered a crucial element in the Christian life, emphasizing the importance of personal tasting of law and grace and the life of holiness within. Our forbearers believed that the gospel should be preached in a way that touches the pith and marrow of the listener’s heart, leaving the Holy Spirit to do His sovereign work upon them. He is the only true Preacher.

As the Puritans demonstrated, experimental preaching often uses vivid imagery, real-time problems, and personal testimony to engage listeners and help them understand the gospel's message in a way that doesn’t leave them alone. But more than this, this preaching realizes that a preacher cannot save a soul. Underneath all man’s preaching efforts, the Holy Spirit alone brings about brokenness for sin, repentance and faith in the heart, and a desire to walk in newness of life according to the pattern shown to us in the life of Christ.

In this preaching, the Covenant of Grace is the central theme, and Christ is that Center's center. We believe that the gospel is a message of God's covenantal love and grace toward sinful people.

The gospel is not a set of theological concepts and moralization of life. Nor is it primarily an emotional exercise of soulish metaphysics void of boundaries. Rather, it is a fitted message of grace to sinners by Christ, and a personal transformation and renovation that changes hearts and lives forever by sovereign grace. Experiential preaching, in the hand of the Spirit, links heaven to earth, bringing God almost unbearably close, but never near enough, until faith passes into sight in glory.

Like the Dutch word “gezellig,” preaching is hard to define. But, as I’m so very often reminded, you’ll know it when you feel it, or, in our case, hear it. I know that’s a poor definition of preaching, but I think you get my point. The basic definition of preaching is the heralding of the good news. (Rom. 10:13-15) I could quote 20 different definitions from twenty different authors, I suppose. There are probably as many definitions of preaching as there are emphases.

So what is it? What’s the je ne sais quoi of preaching that makes it preaching?

I answered this question myself long ago. I decided that true preaching and Florida sunsets go hand in hand. They are both indescribable. But for two very different reasons. A sunset is God’s imagination on display (Ps. 19); true preaching is the mysterious proclamation of Emanuel, God with us. (Mat. 1:23) Yet both, for different reasons, have no adequate words. I suppose that’s why Christ’s riches are called “unsearchable” (Eph. 3:8) and “pass knowledge” (Eph. 3:19), and why God’s gift is “unspeakable.” (2 Cor. 9:15) No human language is deep enough to describe the indescribable, be it concerning God’s depth of artistry or how He saves a soul. (Ps. 19:1) (Eph. 3:8) Oh, we try to describe it. And we should, for a variety of reasons we wont get into now. But let’s be honest: even the most beautiful photo, or the cleanest recording of the most powerful sermon, can’t recapture the original. You must be there personally to grasp their inborn powers. So, in God’s eyes, the average preacher can do as much kingdom work as our favorite world-class preacher. Why? Because God’s preaching means, are lively means. For the present listener. (Hebr. 4:12) (WCF 25.3) Preaching is not static, it’s alive (Hebr. 4:12), present, and active. (1 Cor. 2:16)

This means that when a sermon is being preached, it has spiritual qualities about it that can’t be excised from the moment. Its original power is time-sensitive. It has an expiration date, so to speak. Want proof? How many of us have heard a sermon from years ago that moved us then but not so much now? Or how many of us listened to a sermon that a friend sent us from his minister only to find it so-so? In part, it’s because recorded sermons and, to a lesser degree, written sermons are preaching leftovers. It was a meal made for another family by a different chef. Does the LORD still use these sermons? Yes, it may still taste good and nourish you. But even then, it’s not what it once was. Why? because it was served hot at a different table made from local ingredients. And that’s where its lasting savor belongs: in the mouths of the people it was prepared for.

If you have a preacher of your own, listen to him. You can hear others but listen to him. He is the sent messenger from Jesus to your ears. Hear Him. (Lk. 9:35)

Four Corners

In his monumental lectures on preaching at Westminster Seminary in 1969, Lloyd-Jones said, “I will tell you what preaching is by telling you what it is not.” That about sums it up, to me. Preaching is outright mystifying. “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory.” (1 Corin. 2:7) So be it.

That’s not to say that there are no general guidelines to follow. Dr. Beeke has an excellent article on experiential preaching that I would commend to you, as well as one giant book!

But as a writer for The Listener’s Guide to Preaching, my focus is on you. As listeners, we might compare preaching to a four-cornered house.

Corner 1: Preaching should be text-bound

Corner 2: Preaching should be flowering

Corner 3: Preaching should be enlivening

Corner 4: Preaching should be personal 

Text-Bound Preaching

Here, I mean regular, old-fashioned preaching. There’s a time and place to talk about the importance of systematic, thematic, or catechetical preaching, but this isn’t it.

When I say that regular preaching should be text-bound, I mean that both the preacher and the hearer become willing captives of the Word of God. More precisely, they both become listeners to the immediate text(s). The text then becomes the garden, the canvas, or the bakery of the sermon, depending on your perspective. Its structure is made of the “stuff” of the text and other passages that are close to it or talk about it. All of the texts’ elements are made up of sections, slices, chunks, and fractals of itself. Think of the text as the Home Depot of sermon supplies, and its supporting passages as Sherwin-Williams Painting Co. As such, the text opens the viewscape, builds up knowledge, reveals its main truth, and hopefully highlights things both old and new in itself…if the preacher is paying attention. (Mt. 13:52)

So the text is primary, secondary, and tertiary.

Also, a text should never be a pretext. A pretext passage is where, like a cliff diver, the preacher uses a text to launch into the deep pool of personal musings and never returns to it. I’ve been transfixed by preachers pitching and rolling, twisting and somersaulting into a splashless landing from a pretext. But when the show’s over…crickets. Nothing for the listener to grab onto in the text. Nothing to take home from the text. Every now and then, pretexting works despite its flawed methodology. The LORD can strike a straight line with a crooked stick. (Luther) Yet most of the time, consistent pretext preaching leads to cold sermons from a shallow repertoire that don’t help the listener or preacher grow (2 Pet. 3:28) Here’s a better idea. Since the text already comes with a preinstalled message, dig it out. Your minister should show it off in all its gilded light (as we will see next). There’s far more in any given passage than he will ever find.

Truth in the inner parts begins with text-bound preaching. (Job 38:36)( Ps. 51:6)

Flowering Preaching

Flowering preaching is when the passage’s context, doctrine, and application open up like petals. (Lk. 24:27) Not only is the text set forth as the centerpiece of the sermon, but the curtains of context are occasionally drawn to give the lay of the spiritual land. Only then should the main text be supported by similar texts that draw attention to its theme by giving it texture and color through commentary. As a result, flowering preaching shows us that our hearts have been in cardiac arrest since the dawn of time (Rom. 5:12) (Rom. 6:23) and, at the same time, lavishly distributes the remedy for all its ills. (Ezek. 36:26) (Is. 45:22) The ability to “flower” a text is a gift truly bestowed on precious few. Others of us have to work quite hard for it. At any rate, flowering a text goes beyond rote hermeneutics or the science of preaching. It prepares the listener for holy adventures with God by informing, illuminating, and moving the will.

Ministers should foster this method, and hearers should pant after it.

Enlivening Preaching

Preaching that enlivens is two-directional. Usually, it begins with the preacher and transfers to the hearer. He is, after all, the bearer of good news. Still, I have experienced my heart being set ablaze by my congregation’s singing just before the sermon. What a blessing when the Spirit rekindles the preacher’s cold heart by the praises of His people! (Ps. 22:3) So, it’s not always the minister who is enlivened first. But usually.

However, both the preacher and the hearer are aware of it when it occurs. The Apostle says, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebr. 4:12) That’s enlivening in the hands of the Spirit! And when the living Word animates the preached Word, the Spirit will take it and awaken us to listening. At that very moment, something almost tangible flies back from the pew into the pulpit, which heartens the preacher, who heralds out again in his next ministering thought. “Deep calleth unto deep,” so to speak. It’s beautiful. Enlivening preaching is the romantic banter between hearts aflame, which makes any gospel dinner delightful. And the preacher can sense it. At times, it’s strangely palpable.

One final word here. Enlivening preaching is not necessarily loud or animated. In a performance-driven age, we’re not looking for entertainers. (1 Cor. 2:4) Sure, John the Baptist preachers are out there. More power to them! There are, however, many more John the Beloveds, quietly laboring in love on their Patmos’. My beloved mentor and pastor, the late Rev. D. Beattie, used to say to me, “Christ has ever sustained His church with blue-collar preachers. Jerrold, you will never be an Owen or a Whitefield. Consider yourself blessed to live, preach, die, and be forgotten.” Back then, I thought a sarcastic, “Thanks!!” Today? Truer words have never been spoken. Words that comfort my soul.

Enlivening preaching is simply text-bound preaching that genuinely emotes. And that can come from almost any personality type.

Enlivened listening does the same.           

Personal Preaching

Personal preaching has everything to do with what our forefathers called “experience.” Ah, the crown jewel and diadem have finally arrived! Let’s all just pause for a moment and take it in, shall we? 

Yes, we love experiential preaching. If it’s text-bound. Experiential preaching is not preaching the heart of the hearer, the experience of the minister, or the miracle of someone else’s. These may be brought in carefully as supporting elements. Personal preaching brings the text to life! When that happens we encounter the power of the text in our hearts. Under the preaching of the Word applied, we might all leave with the same heart message (at times), or, what’s more likely, we might individually treasure different parts according to our needs.     

Personal or experiential preaching is vital. It stains spots crimson on the hearer’s conscience, not easily washed out. Experiential preaching is nothing more than the lasting scent and savor of the Lord upon my heart. Which reminds me, if the sermon is compared to a meal, and the meat-and-potatoes are the text, the application’s not the gravy—it’s the marinade. It lies all over the outside, and deep inside the text. That’s why ministers are to labor in word and doctrine (1 Tim. 5:17) You should long to hear marinated preaching. Here is where some preachers are tempted to disconnect from the page and go places they shouldn’t. I repent for every time I’ve done it in the past! Because the text will bear its own applicatory fruit. Hello, full counsel of God’s Word! Who knew the old adage, “A place for everything and everything in its place,” had hermetical wisdom? 

But let’s remember our first corner: we should be looking for text-bound preaching. Here’s a bit of boring logic. If preaching should be “text-bound,” and application is preaching, then the application should be text-bound too. In other words, personal preaching arises organically from the passage and rests on the hearer. Indeed, the passage was chosen for a reason. And whatever the reason, all streams of its application should flow from the text into the river of Christ’s Person and Work (Ps. 46:4) (Joh 5:39); (Joh 6). This can be as practical as everyday family dynamics (Eph. 5:27) or as ethereal as the new birth (John 3:6). In other words, every constellation of application should orbit around Emanuel. This is where it becomes personal. We are listening when we are pricked to the heart, considering some aspect of Christ’s dying love. (Acts 2:37)

Before we move on, I also want you to know that when something in the sermon comforts, bothers, alarms, or makes us happy because of Christ, even in the slightest, we are hearing His voice. We’re listening to His words. That’s an unfancy way of saying we’re experiencing the applying work of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, all preaching should be text-bound, flowering, enlivening, and, most importantly, personal. 

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There are plenty of books on the “who, what, where, why,” and especially how of preaching. The preacher is well-furnished to keep himself busy for a lifetime. But what about the listener? I don’t know of many instructional books for them. Yet Jesus placed a premium on hearing. He said over and over again, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” (Matthew 11:15; 13:9, 43; 4:9; Luke 8:8; 14:35; Rev. 2:7, 17) So listening must be important.

Let’s take a moment and look at the nouns “he” and “him” in this text. The pronouns “he” and “him” are possessive of the present active tenses of the verbs “hath” ἀκούω and “let” ἔχω. Now, stay with me here. “He” and “him” either take in or repulse the hearing. That may not mean much to most, but some will find it quite challenging indeed. This means the listener owns their hearing outright as the preaching comes. Some are tempted to react passively to this text, excusing themselves by saying, “Oh, well, if the LORD wants me to hear, He will give me listening ears.” That’s not what the text says. The text does not say, “To whom I give listening ears, let him hear.” Of course, that’s true. It’s also not the Lord’s point. His words are designed to make people own (or reject) what they hear and respond accordingly. We will not shift the burden onto another’s shoulders by blaming God for our lack of hearing. There is no neutral ground for Jesus in this text. We are either doing or not doing, listening or rejecting. Emphasis on the “we.”

Often, we come to public worship feeling cold. Let’s be honest, and for good reason. The past week has been busy, if not lousy. There are intricate problems at home and work; our loose ends are having babies, and the weekend arrived far too quickly. On Sundays, we hurry through our morning breakfast, get ourselves and perhaps several others ready, rush out the door, pile into the car, and drive to church. Upon arrival, we hang up our coats, pick up a bulletin, and quietly settle into our regular pew (if no one’s already in it. The gall!)

Seven minutes to spare? OK, there’s enough time to do some people-watching and bulletin reading. Before you know it, the service has started. That’s the extent of many of our preparations before we listen to the voice of God. We frequently come to worship…cold.

Hearing or Listening?

But if the Lord said, “Be careful to hear,” shouldn’t we be? He actually says, “Let him who has ears to hear.” Ears to hear are different from run-of-the-mill ears. Jesus’ phrase is actually the key to all knowable spiritual mysteries. “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Col. 2:3) In other words, ears to hear are ears that listen. Listening ears hear whispers from the Spirit of God in His Word. They learn mysteries, old and new, truths deep and wide, and thoughts so transcendent that they deserve eternal, worshipful silence.

We might be tempted to walk away from a middling sermon saying to a friend, “Something was missing from the sermon, right?” And there very well might have been. Let’s be honest. The minister could have entered the pulpit with pride. Or fear. The minister could have missed key textual points or low-hanging applications. He may have been distracted in his preaching; he could have some difficulties at home or with his consistory. He may have lost personal fellowship with God for a variety of reasons, or he may have spent too few hours in his study truly pouring over his message. Believe me, the possibilities are endless, I know. And suddenly, we see that, just as there is a difference between hearing and listening, there’s a difference between a sermon and preaching. So yes, it certainly could be the minister.

Anyway, for whatever reason, you tell your friend that in your mind, the sermon was a “D+” to a “C-.” And he usually preaches between a “B-” and a “B+.” Unacceptable! Stop. Now’s the time to pause and ask a personal question. Is it the minister? It could be. We’ve already established that. But it could also be you, the hearer. Which of the minister’s struggles just mentioned does not also apply to you? You see, preaching does not just happen. It’s bidirectional. It’s pouring and filling. Where the Spirit by His Word is being poured into a clay jar (2 Cor. 4:7), out of which all the other vessels are filled. All by the power of His might (1 Cor. 2:4). It’s flat-out miraculous. It’s a mystery proclaiming another mystery (1 Cor 1:21; Rom. 16:25). This is not a preacher holding forth, and we joyfully collect any fragments that fall nearby, like children do candy at a parade. No. Preaching is dinner for two. Any preacher called by God knows this. Preaching is a spiritual conversation between the messenger and the listener, or more accurately, between God and the soul through His Word. And that doesn’t really even capture it. Preaching is, to one degree or another, otherworldly. And if the minister has come prepared and hungry, willing to give to serve with his limited skills, rightly dividing the Word of Truth, each according to their eating (Ex. 16:16), then let the hearer come prepared and hungry. Then they both eat together, the preacher and the congregation. This is most reasonable.

Matthew Henry says of the gospel being heard,

The things of God are of great and common concern: every one that has ears to hear any thing, is concerned to hear this. It intimates, that God requires no more from us but the right use and improvement of the faculties he has already given us. He requires those to hear that have ears, those to use their reason that have reason. Therefore people are ignorant, not because they want power, but because they want will; therefore they do not hear, because, like the deaf adder, they stop their ears.

Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary, Matthew 11:7–15

I don’t think the last part fits our subject because very few come to church with fingers in their ears, so to speak. But then again, Henry’s principle holds true; there is either active or passive listening going on. The responsibility of which lies exclusively with the hearer.

Listening is Investment

We know the difference between hearing and listening. At least, I hope we do. Hearing is the half-zoned-out expression we give to someone talking about uninteresting things. We’re there but not there. That is called passive listening. It’s hearing on some level because when the speaker notices our divided attention (ahem!) and asks, “Are you even listening to me?” we have enough gray matter between our ears to recall their last sentence and perhaps retrace another thought or two. That, however, is not listening. Listening is active hearing. Listening is investment. When someone we care deeply about is talking about the most intimate matters of their being, we’re invested. Especially when it involves us! We become so dialed in on that conversation that everything else becomes white noise. Our mental and emotional energies are focused like a laser on our loved ones’ words. That’s listening. See the difference? There’s no “i” in hear, but there are two in listening.

This means that in worship, the Triune God is speaking to me. He’s asking for my response. This means I should be deeply invested in what He is saying. We need to understand that when the Word is preached, Jesus tells us everything wrong in us, and gloriously right in Him (Col. 1:19) When the Psalms are sung, the Spirit writes our weary hearts in prose, filled with supplication, and we sing it back to Him in praise. (Ps. 57:7; WCF: Chapter 21) When the Word is read, God is both instructing His bride and parleying with sinners, inviting each to His wells of salvation. (Isa. 1:18) In prayer, we commune with the Triune God, the LORD of heaven and earth. Therefore, the whole act of worship is a holy two-way conversation laced with divine music. No wonder Jesus said, “Let him that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” (Matthew 11:15)

We want to remove every passive excuse the natural hearer will use. Only active, full-willed, and disciplined listening will do. When we gather before the throne of grace, we should seek the inner amen and commit to do everything the Holy Spirit prompts us to do through His Word. But that only happens when we arrive focused on Sunday. We must come prepared. Preparation starts on Monday morning. It culminates on the Christian Sabbath, where, God willing, the furrowing blade of the Word has already turned over the crusty soil of our weekly lives. Then, the good seed falls on the good ground. That’s the ground prepared by the LORD. True, the Lord might surprise deaf ears with listening ears someday. But who wants to wait on a might? Who wants to pine away week after week for a surprise that may not come? Dear one, “Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it,” says the LORD. (Ps. 81:10). Friend, we must anticipate and actively listen to what the Lord will say (Rom. 10:17). So there is a lot to learn about the art of hearing. I hope to write much more as time permits. 

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