Preaching apologetically

Is it possible to preach mystery in an age of information, hope in an era of skepticism, confidence in a time of doubt, truth in a climate of relativism? 

The ultimate question becomes, can we preach Christ in a postmodern world?  My answer, of course, is yes.  My suggestion is that it is time to apologize for God.

This is Craig Loscalzo in his Apologetic Preaching, page 22.  Strong stuff. In case you are worried by that last line, let me quote a bit more:

Far too many pulpits have been, for too long, apologizing – that is, making excuses – for God.  Timid sermons that dismiss the sticky issues of Christian faith, sermons that water down the demands of the gospel, pabulum preaching pleasing to people’s ears but unable to offer transformed lives will be transparent to the skeptical lenses of postmodernity. . . .

Apologizing for God means apologizing for God, not making apologies for God.  In other words, it means making a case for the gospel in all its scandalous reality.  Apologizing for God means rightfully reclaiming the apologetic role of the pulpit for the cause of Christian faith.

[destacate]Preach God’s Word with an emphasis on its relevance to your listeners, so that the scandalous reality of the gospel can shine into darkness of the contemporary milieu [/destacate] I agree with this.  But I am also wary as I write this.  I am wary because too often it seems that a move toward apologetics is somehow a move toward theology, philosophy, academia, but somehow also a move away from the Bible.  By no means! 

The Bible is inherently apologetic. Our apologetics are our attempts to speak for God into this world, but the Bible is God’s Word spoken into this world. 

Let us not feel stirred to our apologetic role and thereby drift even slightly from expository preaching.

Preach the Word, God’s Word, preach it with an emphasis on its relevance to your listeners, so that the scandalous reality of the gospel can shine into darkness of the contemporary milieu!

Peter Mead is mentor at Cor Deo and author of several books. He blogs at Biblical Preaching.