A preacher proudly boasted that he does not preach doctrinal sermons. They
are boring he asserts and people do not understand or relate to them.
Further, he claimed, I am a preacher and not a theologian. I get down do the
practical issues and simply preach Christ crucified.
His thinking is faulty at several points. First, he is wrong when he says
that he is not a theologian. The fact is that everyone to a certain extent
is a theologian. Theology is nothing more than what you think about God.
"Well," shouts one person, "I don't believe In God." That then is your
theology.
I would also take issue with him when he claims that he does not preach
theology but gets down to practical issues. In my thinking there is no
difference in good theology and good practice. Good, solid theology gets
down to the very core of our existence.
Finally, I would disagree with him when he says that we should only preach
Christ crucified. I know that is what the Apostle Paul said but this
preacher doesn't mean what Paul meant. He is saying that he only preaches
about the cross and saving the sinner. I submit to you that the cross is not
central in Paul's theology; rather, it is Christ. It has always puzzled me
why some ministers preach the message of salvation to people who have been
sitting in the pews all their life when they need so much more of Christ's
teaching on life's other issues. There are many strings on a guitar. To make
beautiful music all of them must be played and not just one. That is why in
the United Methodist Church we honor the lectionary and the seasons of the
church year. That insures a witness to the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ. How
can one go through the season of Advent and not touch upon the doctrine of
the incarnation. How can one go through Lent without touching upon the
doctrine of the resurrection? Likewise, how can we embark upon the season of
Pentecost, as we did last week, without mentioning the doctrine of the
Trinity?
Today is Trinity Sunday. This is a day that has been celebrated in the
Christian church since the 10th century. It is on this occasion that
ministers around the world address themselves to the subject of the triune
God.
Let me begin by saying that the doctrine of the Trinity does not attempt to
explain God. It only explains to us in a very elemental way what God has
revealed to us about himself so far. To describe the tip of the iceberg
above the water is not to describe the entire iceberg. So we Christians
affirm the Trinity, not as an explanation of God, but simply as a way of
describing what we know about Him.
The idea of the Trinity is not emphatically stated as a doctrine in the
scriptures. Yet, by implication, it is stated many times. The early
Christians soon discovered that they simply could not speak of God without
speaking of the three ways in which he had revealed himself to them. This
does not mean that there are three Gods. It means that there is one God who
has shown himself in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Let's look
at these this morning:
1. First, we affirm God the Father.
2. Secondly, we affirm belief in the Son, Jesus Christ.
3. Finally, we affirm belief in the Holy Spirit.
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