Q & A with Dr. Lawson

Question: Where do you place the importance of preaching in the grand scheme of church life?

I place the preaching of the Word of God in the very center place in the life of the church. To be sure, the Scripture certainly assigns the pulpit this primary role. Preaching is what was primary in the public ministry of Jesus Christ (Mark 1:14-15, 38-39). Contained in the Great Commission is the primacy of preaching, specifically, preaching repentance (Luke 24:47) and teaching all that Christ taught (Matthew 28:20). When the church was birthed on the day of Pentecost, it was the result of the preaching of Peter (Acts 2:14-40). Further, preaching and teaching the Word immediately became the primary ministry in the first church in Jerusalem (Acts 2:42). “The apostles’ teaching” is listed first for a reason. In addition, the missionary journeys of the apostle Paul reveal that preaching was central in his extended ministry (Acts 13-19). Moreover, the pastoral epistles assign preaching the place of first importance (1 Timothy 4:13), and it was Paul’s dying charge to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:2). Finally, ministering the Word is what Christ assigned to the pastors of the seven churches of Asia Minor (Revelation 2-3). They were messengers of the divine revelation entrusted to them to those congregations. From all these passages, it is clear that the primary responsibility of the church is to minister this Word, for it is “the pillar and support of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15).