Beloved,
Last week, our President and Vice President met with the President of Ukraine to sign a deal that was proposed as a path to ending the war. But to everyone’s surprise, the deal wasn’t signed. Whatever you think about Trump and Zelenskyy and the engagement that unfolded in the Oval Office, it was clear that Zelenskyy didn’t understand who he was dealing with. He failed to wear a suit and tie. More importantly, he failed to exercise the restraint necessary to withhold his objections to Trump’s foreign policy until after the media was dismissed. Zelenskyy may have been accustomed to arguing with the words and policies of inferiors, but he was sitting next to one of the most powerful men on the planet, engaging in a conversation broadcast all over the planet. Challenging the Trump administration in that setting was asking for disaster. And disaster is what he got—essentially being kicked to the curb outside the White House.
Don’t worry, I haven’t exchanged my pastoral calling to become a political commentator. But this fascinating interchange in the Oval Office wonderfully illustrates the fact that when it comes to how we respond to someone’s words and ideas, we first need to know the someone we are dealing with. That is especially true when we are dealing with the words and ideas of God.
For several weeks now, we have been considering how God would have us respond to His thoughts in the Scriptures, particularly as they are preached. God is not our ontological equal, and He certainly isn’t ontologically inferior to us. He is our superior to an infinite degree! As our Creator and covenant Lord, His word possesses absolute authority over us. To the extent that the sermon we hear accords with that word (testing it like the Bereans), we are duty-bound to, in the words of Larger Catechism 160, “receive the truth with faith, love, meekness, and readiness of mind, as the word of God.” This is precisely what the Thessalonians did as they sat under Paul’s preaching: “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” They received the truth preached as the word of God.
Let’s briefly unpack the four “withs” that the catechism tells us must characterize our reception of God’s word.
First, we must receive the preached word with faith. Speaking of the wilderness generation, the writer of Hebrews states, “For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened” (Heb. 4:2). Do you remember what happened to that generation for their unbelieving rejection of God’s word? They forfeited the promised rest and came under God’s wrath. If the preached word is not met with faith, it only serves to seal our judgment.
Second, we must receive faithful preaching with love. Paul refers to unbelievers as “those who refuse to love the truth and so be saved” (2 Thess. 2:10. In contrast, those who exercise faith in Christ affectionately treasure His word. They declare with the psalmist, “I find my delight in your commandments, which I love” (Ps. 119:47). If preaching is a soul feast served up by God, and faith is the instrument by which we feast, then you better believe that those who have tasted that the Lord is good will delight in this rich fare! If there is no delight, it may be because we have never truly tasted, and if we have never tasted, it is because we have no faith.
Third, the catechism calls us to receive the sermon with meekness. We do not stand over God’s word as judge. God is the authority, and we come under His word in a posture of believing submission. That is why James commands us to “receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (Jas. 1:21). That is why God declares His special blessing upon the meek: “This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word” (Isa. 66:2). It is a weighty thing to have the living God speaking to us, even when He chooses to do so through the lips of a weak man. A humble trembling before the Scriptures befits both the preacher and the hearers.
Finally, we must receive the word with readiness of mind. This is not a time to catch a nap, daydream, plan your week, or strategize for an upcoming meeting. If you were in the Oval Office for a conversation with the President, you would be fully engaged! How much more so should we be when we have ascended God’s heavenly mountain to commune with Him through His word? The Bereans received the word “with all eagerness” (Acts 17:11). They were on the edge of their seats. They were aggressively attentive. So must we be if we would receive God’s word as we ought.
It should be obvious, friends, that all of this requires the powerful grace of the Holy Spirit in our minds, hearts, and even our bodies! That is why, as we saw earlier in the catechism’s answer, we must pray, pray, and pray some more as we prepare for and sit under the preaching of the word. Accompanying that prayer must be a zeal to put to death unbelief, indifference, arrogance, and sleepiness toward God’s truth.
At the end of the day, all of our disrespect toward the truth communicated from the pulpit is a failure to reckon with the Person who is ultimately speaking that truth. We must never tire of telling ourselves, “God is speaking to me!” To the degree we truly grasp that reality in our souls, it will fundamentally change our lives.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Nick
