Preaching and Preachers

The Sermon and the Preachingdiscussed or debated. God is not a subject for debate, because He isWho He is and What He is. We are told that the unbeliever, ofcourse, does not agree with that; and that is perfectly true; but thatmakes no difference. We believe it, and it is a part of our very case toassert it. Holding the view that we do, believing what we do aboutGod, we cannot in any circumstances allow Him to become a subjectfor discussion or of debate or investigation. I base my argument atthis point on the word addressed by God Himself to Moses at theburning bush (Exod. 3:1-6). Moses had suddenly seen this remarkablephenomenon of the burning bush, and was proposing to turnaside and to examine this astonishing phenomenon. But, immediately,he is rebuked by the voice which came to him saying;'Draw not nighhither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thoustandest is holy ground.' That seems to me to be the governingprinciple in this whole matter. Our attitude is more important thananything that we do in detail, and as we are reminded in the Epistleto the Hebrews, God is always to be approached 'with reverenceand with godly fear: for our God is a consuming fire' (Heb. 12:28and 29).To me this is a very vitalmatter. To discuss the being of God in acasual manner, lounging in an armchair, smoking a pipe or a cigaretteor a cigar, is to me something that we should never allow, becauseGod, as I say, is not a kind of philosophic X or a concept. We believein the almighty, the glorious, the living God; and whatever may betrue of others we must never put ourselves, or allow ourselves to beput, into a position in which we are debating about God as ifHe werebut a philosophical proposition. To me this is an overriding considerationwhich is enough in and of itself.There are further supporting reasons which arise inevitably out ofthat. The second argument I adduce would be that in discussing thesematters we are dealing with the most serious and the most solemnmatter in life. We are dealing with something which we believe is notonly going to affect the lives of these people with whom we are concernedwhile they are in this world, but also with their eternal47