Philip Arthur Bence PhD Thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

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people aware of what God has done and will do.
V. COMMUNICATION--ADAPTABILITY
To what degree does the hearer determine sermon form (and
content)?
Sermon form (and con-
tent) are unchanging.
One message suffices
for all people.
The preacher must adapt
sermon form (and content)
for each congregation.
/ HF&PT KR RB JS KB LJ
Every preacher seeks to communicate truth to his
people. This desire, however, contains an inescapable
tension. He wishes to communicate truth. But mere
statement of the truth may not communicate the truth.
While the truth exists objective to humanity,
communication requires a subjective reception. The
obi ctivity of truth calls for a certain permanence in
preaching, at least in terms of content. But, the
sublectivity of people mandates a flexibility in
preaching. How does one find balance in this tension?
The seven preacher-theologians have found their balance
in different places along this adaptability spectrum.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones takes the position on the far
right. Because of his belief in the complete revelation
found in Scripture, he saw the least flexibility in the
message of preaching, believing men of all times and
places possessed like natures. "Jesus . . . came to
. . proclaim that all men and women are one in nature
and that all have the one great need, namely, knowledge
of God."'