Witness JULY/AUGUST 2009 ISSUE - Free Church of Scotland ...

The Grand End of Ministry
Sermon preached by the Rev John W Keddie (Bracadale) as retiring Moderator of the
Free Church (Continuing) Assembly, Edinburgh, 18th May 2009
Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this
grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the
unsearchable riches of Christ (Eph.3:8).
Preaching is not highly regarded these days. Yet
traditionally, and more importantly biblically, it is
a grand end and function of the Christian church.
One way or another the church’s task is the offer of Christ as
all-sufficient Saviour, preaching the good news of salvation
to sinners. Like setting up a ‘rescue shop’, in C T Studd’s
picture:
Some wish to live within the sound
of church and chapel bell,
I want to run a rescue shop
within a yard of hell.
Is that not one ambition of everyone who takes Jesus’
teaching seriously, as long as there is a ‘broad road’ to
destruction and many on it, and a new and ‘narrow way’
to point the sinner towards? ‘Knowing therefore the terror
of the Lord, we persuade men’ (2Cor.5:11). The urgency
and necessity of gospel preaching will be motivated by this
context – judgment and hell. The Apostle Paul faced this. At
times he had to vindicate his ministry, as there in Ephesus.
There is this ‘digression’ in Ephesians 3:1-13. He speaks of
his part in bringing the gospel to them. His approach is
Christ-centred. In these verses the theme is the glory of the
ministry and the glory of the message. The basis, content
and goal of his work is the glory of Christ. The mystery of
Christ (v4) is now revealed by the Spirit (v5). By preaching
Him (v8) the manifold wisdom of God is made known
through the church (v10). I would like us to consider verse 8.
There are three elements here, one focussing on the preacher
(the man), another focussing on the primacy of preaching
(the method), and the third focussing on the content of the
preaching (the message) and its implication for the church.
1 . The Man (Character)
‘To me, who am less than the least of all saints’. Is Paul in
the ministry because he is more extrovert than others? Or
because he has more of that air of authority as a public
speaker? Even if we answer, no, to these questions, doesn’t
he often claim apostolic authority in his work? And we
after all claim authority for his writings. We look to his
Spirit-inspired exposition of the person and work of the
JULY/AUGUST 2009 ISSUE
blessed Saviour. But then it shocks us when we read that he
considers himself ‘less than the least of all saints’. He doesn’t
just say, ‘least of saints’. There is here a double diminutive:
less than the least! He might for all we know have been an
extrovert with an air of confidence and authority. But as he
reflects upon himself he sees himself thus: less than the least
of all saints. What sort of characteristic is that? Humility.
Is this a false modesty? We think not. In writing to the
Corinthians he speaks of himself as the least of the apostles.
Why? ‘Because I persecuted the church of God’ (1Cor.15:9).
He is genuine in his feelings about himself. He remembers
his past, the persecutions he inflicted, and his past hostility
to Christ and the church. This gives him a deep feeling
of humility – evangelical humility. Like John the Baptist:
‘(Christ’s) shoes I am not worthy to bear’ (Mt.3:11). ‘He must
increase, but I must decrease’ (Jn.3:30). There will be feelings
of weakness. As C H Spurgeon put it: ‘The fuller the vessel
becomes’ [not the better it thinks of itself, but] ‘the deeper
it sinks in the water’. That was Paul’s experience, and it is a
characteristic to exemplify, for every Christian, not just the
preacher and elder. Spurgeon again: ‘I prescribe to any of
you who seek humility, try hard work; if you would know
your own nothingness, attempt some great thing for Jesus. If
you would feel how utterly powerless you are apart from the
living God, attempt specially the great work of proclaiming
the unsearchable riches of Christ!’
But where can you go when you feel ‘less than the least of
all saints’? Paul knew. ‘Unto me…is this grace given’. What
grace? Enabling grace, divine grace. How did he become a
minister? Naturally extrovert, authoritative, confident? No,
but it was the gift of grace (‘this grace is given’). And the
calling of God (‘unto me … that I should preach’). This is
treasure, treasure in earthen vessels, ‘that the excellency of
the power may be of God, and not of us’. So, we have here
the character of the gospel preacher. Self confident? Omnicompetent?
Standing on the mountain tops? No, but rather
deep humility, with the calling and empowering of God.
2 . The Method (Commission)
What about Paul’s method in his work? First of all there was
this:
(1) Preaching – ‘that I should preach among the Gentiles’.
Paul had a commission to preach. It was from the Lord. It was
by grace. He is called to announce the good news of salvation
for sinners. It was his responsibility, his constraint: ‘Necessity
is laid upon me’, he says (1Cor.9:16). And, yes, ‘woe is unto
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