Faithless Preaching

This Sunday, Saint John’s (my church for internship) begins a three-week sermon series on stewardship. Thinking about the Church’s message in relation to stewardship, I’ve been fighting a peculiar temptation. That temptation is to turn the gospel into a petty how-to speech.

Let me explain. Throughout the New Testament, the Christian message has two parts: (1) repent, and (2) believe. That’s the Christian life in a nutshell: (1) turning away from false gods, and (2) falling into the mercy and lordship of Jesus Christ, the Son of the one true God. And so the twofold Christian message functions both to kill the old Adam and to bring forth the new Christ.

But what does this mean for a sermon on stewardship? It’s tempting to change the Christian message from, “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Repent, and believe the good news,” to, “The Kingdom of Heaven needs to be built by you. Repent, and be a good steward.” I’ve heard such sermons before, and they usually conclude with some sort of petty instruction that aligns with the given preacher’s personality traits or political leanings.

Of course, this is nothing but being “ashamed of the gospel.” It is faithless preaching, and it’s rooted in disbelief that the gospel of Christ is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith.” (Romans 1:16) Ultimately, faithless preaching knows neither the depth of sin nor the power of God. The problem of sin is not just that we do the wrong things, but that we trust in false gods.

Hence, the Christian message – even and especially in relation to stewardship – is not, “Repent, and do this or do that with your time, talents, and money.” Rather, it is always, “Repent, and believe the good news.” Yes, that message unfolds in ways that shape our lives and make us faithful stewards of God’s gifts. (We cannot say, “I believe,” as we persist in sin.) Nevertheless, the Church’s proclamation is not fundamentally about the things that we do, but about the One we believe in and what He has done.