Reclaiming Biblical Relevance in Preaching. The Necessary and Sufficient Conditions of Biblical Relevance in Preaching

Abstract

The desired outcome of biblical communication is application – the process of the listener relating his or her life to the truth of God’s word. Consequently, the goal of biblical communication is relevance – the process of relating truth of God’s word to the listener. At the heart of the biblical equation of communication stands the question of the necessary and sufficient conditions which must obtain for a sermon to count as being biblically relevant. The article analyzes the content and form of biblical communication seeking to determine its relationship to the consciousness of the listener (intellect, affection and will). The paper contends for an objective foundation of biblical relevance found in the biblical content always aiming at the will of the listener and the biblical form framing the content for the intellect of the hearer. The sermon is biblically relevant to the extent to which the above relationships obtain in the process of communication.