Preaching and Preachers

CHAPTER ELEVENThe Shape of the SermonHAVING DISCOVERED THE main message and thrust of your text you. must proceed to state this in its actual context and application. Forinstance, it might be in its application to the particular church towhom the Apostle was writing. You must show its original contextand application.Then you go on to show that this is also the statement of a generalprinciple that is always valid. It was true then in those special circumstances,but it is a spiritual principle that applies always. So youdemonstrate the truth that it had not merely a temporary localapplication but a more general one as well.At this point I always feel that it is wise to enforce this by callingattention to parallels in other places in the Scriptures. This, I believe,is a very valuable and important principle, that you buttress what youfind in a text by similar statements in other portions of Scripture, soshowing that it is not something isolated. This is a wise procedure formany reasons. Heretics are generally people who have got hold of anidea from a particular statement which they have misinterpreted, andhave then allowed it to run away with them, instead of checking itwith other portions of Scripture. It is always helpful to the listener tosee that what is being preached is sound and solid biblical teaching.So you must look for these parallels elsewhere, and show how thissame thing is stated in somewhat different circumstances perhaps,but is essentially the same point. Having done that you can show its2°5