The Word Did It All
by Steven J. Lawson
For every biblical preacher, the sufficiency of Scripture mandates his commitment to exposit and expound its truths. Paul wrote, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). The word “adequate” means complete, and “equipped” means thoroughly furnished. This verse says that the Scripture makes the preacher capable of doing everything he is called by God to do. He is enabled to meet all the demands of righteous living and godly ministry.
This present generation of preachers must be men who are fully persuaded of both the purity and the power of Scripture. May God raise up such men in this hour, men like the great German Reformer, Martin Luther, who trusted the outcome of his ministry to the supernatural ability of Scripture to perform its sacred task. Luther was once asked to explain the phenomenon of the Reformation. The Magisterial Reformer answered this way:
I simply taught, preached, wrote God’s Word; otherwise I did nothing. While I slept . . . the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that never a Prince or Emperor inflicted such damage upon it. I did nothing. The Word did it all.
This must be the unshakeable resolve of every preacher today. Now more than ever, men of God must preach the Word (2 Tim 4:2) in the power of His Spirit (1 Thess 1:5). May God raise up a new generation of preachers who will teach and preach the Word with growing confidence in its all-sufficient power to perform all that God intends. And may they say as Luther thundered in his day: The Word did it all.
It is to that end that OnePassion Ministries exists. As our name indicates, the strategic goal of this ministry is to enflame hearts with an all-consuming desire for Jesus Christ and His gospel. OnePassion is committed to training pastors in expository preaching that is firmly anchored in proclaiming God’s Word.
Introducing Expositor Magazine
It is my great privilege to introduce to you the inaugural issue of Expositor Magazine, the print magazine of OnePassion Ministries. Through the bi-monthly publication of Expositor, we desire to address the historical, biblical, and theological dynamics and practice of expository preaching. In addition, Expositor will serve pastors, preachers, students, teachers, and lay people by examining historical and current issues related to biblical exposition. Please visit our website: expositormagazine.com for more information and to subscribe.
We live in a day in which there is a famine in the land for the hearing of God’s Word. In response to this spiritual drought, this ministry and magazine is devoted to calling those who stand in pulpits to the high standard of biblical preaching. If we are to see a new reformation in this day, there must, first, be a reformation in the pulpit.