We should certainly preach about the blessings God bestows, so long as we teach that the purpose of every one is the praise of God’s glorious grace (Eph. 1:3–6). He secures an inheritance for us, not ultimately for our comfort, but for his glory (Eph. 1:11–12, 14). He saves us in such a way that he alone receives credit (Eph. 2:8–9). He works his power within us through every step of sanctification for his glory (Eph. 3:20–21). Our sermons must shine light on the glory of God, not on the glory of man. 

Ever since the Reformation of the 16th century, Protestants have been accused of rampant schism. We weren’t even out of the 1500s before Protestantism in Europe was divided into four religious camps. Churches splintered over issues such as the nature of worship, the sacraments, the relationship between church and state, the details of Christ’s return, and much more.

This “scandal of division” has produced 9,000 Protestant denominations today (if “denomination” is defined broadly enough). Catholics have their varying rites and “denominations” as well, though not nearly as many. But they would say their unifying factor is Rome. And they would say that unifying factor is what Protestants lack.

Yet for evangelicals, the unifying factor is the gospel. The reformers designated themselves as “evangelical” before terms like “Lutheran,” “Calvinist,” or “Zwinglian” arose.

The five solas of the Reformation are, in many ways, the bedrock on which evangelicalism is founded. They act like guardrails to keep us on the road.

Evangelical preaching, then, should bear the marks of the five solas: according to Scripture alone, we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.

Sola Scriptura in Our Preaching

Evangelical preaching must demonstrate that interpretation is not done in isolation. Scripture alone does not mean I interpret it alone. Individual interpretation does not carry equal weight with the consensus of a believing community. Creeds and confessions only have derivative authority, true, but they are vital nonetheless, since they represent an interpretive consensus.

The preacher is not the sole interpreter God has given the church. Therefore, mere exposition is not enough. We bear a responsibility before a priesthood of believers to demonstrate how we get our conclusions from the text. We model hermeneutics in our sermons because we are teaching a body of interpreters.

Sola scriptura means that we do not ask our congregations to simply take our word for it.

Sola Gratia in Our Preaching

Evangelical preaching must teach that we do not achieve righteousness; we are are declared righteous in Christ. Self-motivational preaching has no place in evangelical pulpits. If we were able to motivate ourselves we could survive under the law. But we can only live by faith. In his 26th thesis of the Heidelberg Disputation, Luther put it well:

The law says, “Do this,” and it is never done. Grace says, “Believe this,” and everything is done already.

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