§ 1
The word 'homiletics' is of Greek origin and, according to today's common usage, denotes instruction in spiritual eloquence.
Annotation
The unclassical word 'homiletics' comes from the Greek όμιλος which means heap, crowd, tumult. It is found in the New Testament (if otherwise it is not interpolation at this point) only Rev. 18, 17: "And the heap that handth on the ships" (xal πας έπΐ των πλοίων ύ όμιλός). The tense word όμιλος formed by όμιλέίν is found only three times in the New Testament, namely Luc. 24, 14: "And they talked with one another (ὡμίλουν πρὸς ἀλλήλους) of these stories"; Ap. Gesch. 20, 11: "And (Paul) talked much with them" (ίφ ίχανόν τε όμιλήσας) and Ap. Hist. 24, 26: "Wherefore also he often sent for him" (namely Felix for Paul) "and conferred with him" (ώμίλει άυτω). As is evident, in these passages the word stands in the meaning: to converse, to discuss. The noun ύμιλία occurs only once in the N ew Testament, 1 Corinth. 15, 33 in the verse cited by the apostle from Menander: "Evil gossip corrupts good morals" (φ&είρουσιν ηδη χρήσ& ύμιλίαι χαχαί); it means a gathering together and therefore conversation, talk, and is the Latin,sermo',,locutio',,allocutio', that is, a speech or address to a gathering. Thus Augustine, in the preface to the 118th Psalm, says: "But I have determined to do this by speeches delivered among the people, called by the Greeks homilies (όμιλίας)."
First, therefore, has the meaning: conversation, confidential talk, then as a designation of the addresses which the teachers of the ancient church addressed to the congregations, it denotes: a popular, informal address to the Christian congregation, which is not delivered according to the rules of art is designed and structured, but lacks this form as well as oratorical adornment; for since the fourth century the exegetical -practical addresses, which were addressed to the congregations by the bishops, etc., on individual passages of sacred Scripture, usually following the Bible passages read aloud, were called όμώίαι. "It indicates," says Rambach, "the origin of this word, that in such speeches there should be something sincere, familiar, and unaffected." Later still, the unclassical word 'homiletics' arose, by which the art of pulpit oratory, or instruction in spiritual (ecclesiastical) eloquence, was designated.
§ 2
Spiritual eloquence is nothing other than the practical ability, bestowed by God and acquired through certain means, to speak in a proper manner about divine things discerned from sacred Scripture in order to lead the listeners to the knowledge and acceptance of the truth and to blessedness.
Note 1
At all times, voices have been raised in the Church against the study and use of eloquence. It was doubted whether eloquence should be given a place among the theological disciplines, by transferring the odium, which weighed on the old (Greek and Roman) eloquence, and partly quite rightly, to the ecclesiastical eloquence without further ado. As is well known, the Spartan legislation already spoke out against the art of oratory. The Spartans and Cretans denied the entrance to secular eloquence, and the Roman s also did not want to know anything about it in the earlier and better times of the Republic. Gregory the Great († 604) first spoke out against eloquence in the church in a letter to the bishop Leander in Spain in the words: "I consider it quite unseemly to subject the words of heavenly prophecy to the rules of Donatus," and these words have continued to have an effect until recent times. Luther was not so limited in his judgment, but wanted all arts to be made serviceable to the Gospel. Thus, for example, he writes in his preface to the Geistliches Gesangbüchlein: "Nor am I of the opinion that through the Gospel all arts should be beaten to the ground and perish, as some super -spirituals claim, but I would like to see all arts.... in the service of Him who gave and created them." (E. A., B. 52, p. 297; cf. B. 59,
p. 281.). But already Spener spoke out against the eloquence on the Känzel, in that
(Theol. Bedenk., 3. Thl. p. 751) wrote: "The divine truths are of such light and such power that they, even in their simplicity, penetrate the souls themselves and do not need to borrow their power from human eloquence. I assure you that I have always wished the artem oratoriam removed from sermons." Kant also declared himself against eloquence, insofar as it is understoo d as the art of persuasion, i.e. to deceive through beautiful appearances (ars oratoria) and not mere eloquence. And certainly an eloquence would be all the less to be tolerated in the church which could not even stand before the "judgment seat of natural morality. Herder, however, has the right thing to say about this (Kalligone Th. 2, p. 75): "To the ancient world, speech meant the inner as well as the outer mind, reason and language.
A person of fidelity and truth was called honest, eloquent. He who could express his heart's thoughts powerfully was called eloquent. He who is serious and concerned about a thing, it was said, must not care for words. Pectus disertos facit was the proverb of all natural men. When the ancient Greek orators generally allowed t hemselves to make "a business of the play of imagination," from whom did they learn this art? Before whom did they practice it? Before the ignorant, curious people, who could not, nor should not, make judgments about such things. It was not the essence of art, then; it was the misuse of the speech of an evil institution of state, when by exciting the emotions that which belonged to clear reason alone was directed, when a business was made the play of the imagination. That not all Greek and Roman orators were histrions of the kind, however, we know from several of their surviving public lectures; the laws of these amounted to something other than a game."
However, even in the first centuries of the Christian church, the eloquence of worldly, vain clergymen was abused. When, for example Paul of Samosata, bishop of Antioch around the middle of the third century, tried to shine by pompous speeches and liked it when the audience showed their applause by waving their cloths, exclaiming and clapping their hands; when the latter happened even in Constantinople with one Chrysostom, and that great orator, in a homily on the Acts of the Apostles, asked his congregation not to applaud his sermons in such a way, but in silence, since neither Jesus nor the apostles would ever have tolerated such expressions of wonder; if, therefore, in this respect the church approached the theater, it was well in time to resist such a charge of clergymen as well as laymen in the holy place;
but because of this evil use of eloquence itself to to reject it, as Palmer *) has done at least in part in recent times, is to go far beyond the correct limit. Furthermore, sayings of t he Holy Scripture have been cited to show the reprehensibility of eloquence in the church. Let us take a closer look at these sayings! 1 Corinthians 1:17 Paul writes: "Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel; not with wise words (ούχ έν σοφία λόγου), lest the cross of Christ come to nought." But by the ούχ έν σοφία λόγου the apostle does not reject eloquence per se, but the eloquence which at that time was cultivated and praised among the heathen Greeks and Romans, and which had a philosophical character in content and form, and which even approved of evading the truth, and of attaining the purpose intended by means of sham reasons and fallacies. Such a wisdom of speech, however, has no place in the church; for by it the preaching of the divine word would be transformed into a philosophical, deceptive speech, and the cross of Christ would be rendered nugatory, that is, deprived of its divine, beatific power. The content of the sermon would no longer be the crucified Christ, who is th e "nucleus et medulla" of it (Calov), but a philosophy and loose seduction according to the doctrine of men and the statutes of the world and not according to Christ (Col. 2, 8). - Marci 13, 11 says the Lord: "Now when they shall lead you and deliver you u p, be not anxious what ye shall speak, neither consider beforehand: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost." It can be seen at first glance that in these words the Lord does not condemn e loquence in the proclamation of His word, but gives His disciples the promise that in times of persecution He would put the words of responsibility into their mouths. Only gross ignorance can want to lead from these words the proof that the eloquence in th e proclamation of the divine word is forbidden.
As certain as it is, therefore, that the Word of God needs no artistic ornament or finery to exercise its power upon the hearers, so little does genuine eloquence contend with simplicity and *And Gaupp, who (Homiletics, p. 53) writes: "It is time for the evangelical church to cast off the fetters, unworthy of her preaching, of an oratory which has not a little hindered the Holy Spirit from letting his light and power work." Admittedly, if one, according to the rhetoric of the ancients, brings the invented schemes of topics to one's cause (the text) and imposes them on it, as Gaupp assumes, what Ziegler, unfortunately also Hüffell, (s. Wesen und Beruf, ß 46) did and is still done by many even now! But that this is by no means necessary, on the contrary, entirely from the text, the disposition can be developed without constraint and impetuosity, and should always be developed, so that unworthy fetters do not exist at all, about this see Chap. V, especially pp. 140 ff. and 165 ff.
Simplicity of the same. How much both are in harmony, we can see not only in Apollo, in whom Ap. 18, 24, and not only in the apostles, whose individual speeches are the most glorious examples of true eloquence, but above all in the Lord Christ Himself. Is it not said of Christ in John 7:46: "No man ever spoke like this man", and in Matthew 7:28: "The people were astonished at his teaching, for he preached powerfully and not like the scribes"? That not only the content of the speeches is meant here, but also the form in which Christ delivered them, cannot be doubted with reason, but rather becomes a certainty when we read his speeches themselves. For these are "full of genuine oratorical power and fullness, full of lively images, and there are probably few figures and tropes in rhetoric which Christ and his disciples would not have used" (Hüffel, Wesen und Beruf, p.
195). Is there not truly oratorical decoration in the Lord's Sermon on the Mount? Is not the form of presentation in which Christ Luc. 7, 24 f. gives that description of John the Baptist oratorically sublime? "What went ye out into the wilderness to see? Do you want to see a reed moved by the wind? Or what have you gone out to see? Do you want to see a man in soft clothes? Behold, those who live in glorious garments or lusts are in the royal courts. Or what have you gone out to see? Do you want to see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, he who is more than a prophet!" And what eloquence, entirely different from that of the Sophists, but quite natural and therefore all the more powerful, we find in the speeches of Paul and Peter! Just read the speeches of Paul, Ap. Hist. 17, 13 ff; 20, 18 ff; 22, 1 ff; 24, 10 ff; those of Peter, Ap. Hist. 2, 14 ff; 3, 12 ff; look toward this side at the 13th Cap. in the 1st Ep. to the Corinthians, the 11th to the Hebrews, the 8th in the Epi stle to the Romans. Of the passage, Rom. 8, 31 -39, which contains the commentary on v. 28, even a eulogist like Erasmus confessed: "Quid unquam Cicero dixit grandiloquentius!"
Bengel rightly remarks on Ap. G. 18, 24: "All arts can be used usefully in the kingdom of God, if pride stays away." Eberle's statement that a different standard is to be applied to a preacher than to an orator is fully correct. "The task of a preacher," he writes, "is not to be an orator, but a living witness of Jesus Christ; for whi le the direction and determination of the will in an assembly in a certain direction is the triumph of the power and persuasion of the orator, the conversion of men to Christ is a work of God and of his Spirit.... There is a difference between the eloquence of a speaker and that of a Preacher who is a witness of faith according to origin and manner; the former is of nature, the latter of the spirit. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit.... Experience shows that the preacher exerts the most powerful effect who appears not as an orator but as a witness of the Spirit and faith, for the power of the sermon rests, on the part of the preacher, on the measure and strength of the faith in his own heart.... Luther's sermons give the best proof of this. Their power lies in the faith to which they bear witness."
Note 2
"The genre to which spiritual eloquence belongs," writes Rambach, "is named by various people in different ways. It is sometimes calle d a practical science, sometimes a cleverness of speaking of divine things, sometimes an art of speaking of divine things, therefore they also have all kinds of rules of art, by which they resort to artificial inventions, artificial dispositions and artifi cial executions, by which edification is more hindered than promoted." By the more recent theologians, homiletics is almost universally referred to only as a science and an art. Schott writes (brief outline of a theory of eloquence): "We rightly call eloquence an art, and speech a work of art, inasmuch as by that term we designate the faculty (ability or skill) of producing something which always possesses unity determined by the idea of purpose.... It belongs to the genus of directly useful arts and treats the beautiful not as free, but as adhering... beauty." (p. 20, § 11; cf. Theorie der Bereds., Thl. 1, p. 207 ff.) Ammon defines: "Homiletics is the scientific instruction to deliver a sermon, i.e. a coherent religious lecture for the instruction and edif ication of the congregation (Anleitung zur Kanzelbereds., p. 3). Hüffell also agrees with these, writing, "The sermon is and remains, according to its outer and inner design, a work of science and art, and would give up its purpose if it no longer wanted to be that." (Wesen und Beruf, p. 200.) And Gaupp defines:
"Homiletics is the science of the nature and essence of Christian preaching. Homiletics is the science of the nature and essence of Christian preaching as an independent part of the Christian cult." (Die Homiletik von Dr. Karl Fr. Gaupp, 1. Bd., p. 1.) The older Lutheran theologians were different. As is well known, Melanchthon said: "I do not consider preaching to be an art, otherwise I would have learned it along with other arts, but I consider it to be a special gift of God. Similarly, J. Hülsemann, Methodus Condonandi, p. 1 ff. and A. Rambach define spiritual eloquence as "a spiritual ability to speak properly of divine things. so that the hearers may know and accept the divine truths and be brought to eternal life. This definition is based on the clear testimonies of the Holy Scriptures 2 Corinth.
3, 5. 6; 2. Timoth. 3, 17 and Hebr. 5, 12. For if the ability to preach in general is called a "skill" and ability or ability that is given by God, then this certainly also applies to the ability for the most noble and important part of this office, the preaching of the divine word. And by this very fact that spiritual eloquence is a God- given ability (ίχανότ-ης), it differs from secular eloquence. The ancient Greeks and Romans had three types of art speech: political, judicial, and demonstrative. The political speech, which was held before the senate or the people's assembly, wanted either to advise or to dissuade; to advise to what was r ecognized as beneficial for the common good, to dissuade from what was recognized as harmful. The judicial speech, delivered before the court or, depending on the circumstances, before a popular assembly, either accused or defended. Deliberative speech had the purpose of censuring or praising and took as its object not only individuals and entire communities, but also lords and gods, sometimes even animals. The rhetors in their schools gave instruction in these types of artistic speech. The purpose of these speeches was to influence the persons to whom they were addressed or before whom they were delivered, in order to win them over to the view represented by the speaker. But none of these speeches aims to achieve that which is salutary and beneficial for all people in itself. The political speech wants only what is useful or harmful for a certain community under certain circumstances; the judicial speech wants what is considered 'right' or 'wrong' according to the laws of the state; the deliberative speech w ants to bring about the acceptance or rejection of what is morally beautiful or ugly, depending on the figures it presents. The rhetor Hermogenes freely confesses: "To work towards what is really or badly good or salutary or suchlike is not the task of oratory."
From this arises the essential difference between worldly speech and Christian preaching: the former takes its subject from life, the latter from the Scriptures; the latter deals with earthly things, the latter with heavenly things; the latter deals with a subject that is only salutary for a certain community and even for this only good in a certain way. The latter deals with earthly things, the latter with heavenly things; the former treats a subject that is only salutary for a certain community and even for this community is only good in a certain way, the latter treats what is good and salutary par excellence and for all people without distinction; the latter does not want to transform people, but only to win them over for a certain purpose, the latter wants to convert people; the latter wants to achieve its goal through the power of speech, through the use of rules of art and often enough through artifice, the latter only through the power of art and artifice that is appropriate to the person.
Words inherent divine power. This is therefore different from that according to content, way and purpose. But it is also this, above all, according to its origin. For worldly eloquence is purely natural; i.e., to attain it, only certain natural gifts and the training or development of them by suitable natural means are necessary; this is spiritual, which cannot be attained without the grace of the Holy Spirit. This is a spiritual gift that cannot be attained without the g race of the Holy Spirit. The apostle's words, "Who is able?" also apply to it. (2 Cor. 2:16); "That we are able is of God" (2 Cor. 3:5).
§ 3
The form of sacred eloquence consists in being able to speak about divine things in a right way, but this is only possible if one has first learned to think about them correctly.
Note 1
The subject matter with which sacred eloquence is concerned is divine truths, which must be drawn from sacred Scripture through illumination. "From all this," says Luther, "we see how a Christian, evangelical sermon, which teaches the true faith and the right way, should be equipped. It should have Christ's word first, and then the apostle's story and examples, which agree with Christ's words and works; these are the apostle's garments and branches. After this also out of the OT shall be led examples and sayings, which are the people's garments and branches, so that out of both testaments sayings and examples shall be driven into the people." (XI, p.
57.) And Melanchthon: "The church is bound to the gospel of God, and in order that this may resound in the preaching ministry, God always raises up some who teach rightly, even if among these some have more light, others less. But if the preachers, or the bishops, or colleges, or others teach things that conflict with the Gospel and the teaching of the apostles, then Paul's rule must be followed: If anyone teaches another gospel, let him be accursed." (Loc. praec. Theol, p. 349.) A speech which does not draw its material from Scripture and present it in a scriptural manner, i.e., which does not present the pure, truthful teaching of the Gospel, is not a sermon in the proper sense of the word, however much it may otherwise conform to the rules of eloquence.
The scriptural truths to be treated from the sermon are now either dogmatic or ethical. Both are by their nature connected with each other and therefore must not be separated, because the Doctrines of faith condition the duties of life. The Christian religion has no other mysteries than mysteries of godliness (μυστήρια τής έυσεβείας) and the whole doctrine of faith is, according to Tit. 1, 1, the truth for godliness (αλήθεια χατ ίυσίβειαν). But if the ecclesiastical eloquence has to do with divine truths, then all human inventions, philosophical disputes and subtle reasoning are excluded. Above all, however, those things must be banned from the pulpit with which worldly eloquence flaunts itself; time must not be spent "with histories, antiquities, emblems, and such rarities," as Rambach expresses it. The Word of God offers such a wealth of material that a preacher does not need to borrow a vain tinsel state from the treasuries of the rhetors.
Note 2
To speak in a right way about divine things is only possible for those who have gained complete clarity about them. "Whoever understands a thing well," says Luther, "and has a right understanding of it, can easily speak of it; for after the knowledge of things the work of ar t follows, that one can write and speak rightly in it." All speaking presupposes thinking, because words are nothing but the expression of our thoughts. Concerning this point, Rambach writes first: "As far as
1. is concerned, namely to think rightly, it belongs to this that one has exact ideas of
the spiritual truths of which one wants to speak, which are conformable to the word of God, and that one understands them rightly, and because a preacher has to speak most of all about repentance, faith, regeneration, justification, sanctification, and so on, it is necessary above all that he have an exact, proper and clear understanding of all these things, from the doctrine of faith and morals, which he will not sufficiently attain without his own experience, from merely hearing the colleges, attending the sermons and reading the books", and counts this right thinking in detail: a) that the compound concepts, which are composed of several parts, are clearly and separately presented, so that the whole can be resolve d into its parts, which is a great advantage in spiritual eloquence. (Cf. Cap. VI, § 6, p. 240);
b) that one knows how to distinguish synonymous terms, e.g. satisfaction and merit of Christ; c) that one compares two concepts with each other and makes a sound judgment about their agreement or disagreement, from which comparison all propositions flow which are either affirmative, as "God is love" or negative, e.g. "God is love": God is love', or negatively, e.g. 'With God there is no respect of love': "With God there is no respect of person" (Rom. 2, 11); d) that one gets used to making correct conclusions, as one derives others from one proposition, e.g.: He who forbids the denial of all worldly lusts and the equality of the world, has also forbidden voluptuous dancing and gambling. (Cf. Cap. VI, § 9, p. 250);
e) that one knows how to arrange one's thoughts, concepts, and judgments in an orderly and unconstrained manner, as one follows naturally from the other.
§ 4
The standard of holy eloquence is the holy scripture, this inexhaustible source of heavenly truths. The preacher, who wants to administer his ministry properly, must therefore above all be diligent to investigate the actual true meaning of the Scriptures.
Annotation
It is true that there are some truths in the Christian religion which can also be recognized from the light of natural reason, e.g. the doctrine of the existence and attributes of God, of divine providence and government, of the immortality of the soul, etc.; but these can also be recognized much more clearly and perfectly from the revealed light of the divine word. From this, therefore, the preacher should prove them. The written Word of God must not only be the source from which he draws the knowledge of the divine doctrines of salvation, but also the standard that determines his thoughts and words. It must also always mean with him: as it is written (χαϋως γέγραπται) Matth. 4, 4. 7. 10; Rom. 3, 9; 4, 6. 17 and others; or as with Paul Ap. Gesch. 26, 22: "And. say nothing, save that which the prophets said should come to pass, and Moses." For this reason, indeed, every sermon is based on a text from the sacred Scriptures. Cf. Cap. II, p. 21 ff.
"But if," Rambach remarks, "the holy Scriptures are to be the standard of eloquence, then it is easy to consider that a preacher must concern himself with the true meaning and scopus of the holy Scriptures. Now it is true that in most places the sacred Scriptures are so clear and explicit that the meaning of the words soon shines in the eyes of an attentive teacher. But there are also many difficult passages in it, for the explanation of which the hermeneutical rules must offer the hand. And even in the easy passages there are many things hidden, which can be discovered by the correct use of the hermeneutical rules. From this it can be seen that hermeneutics is an indispensable instrument, and both studies, the study of hermeneutics and homiletics, must always be linked to each other." For the most important hermeneutical rules, see Cap. VI,
p. 208 ff. On right interpretation p. 215 ff. It is bad when the preacher is himself
ignorant of the meaning contained in his text, still worse when he puts his own wrong meaning into the text, for then, with all appeal to Scripture, it is not Scripture but his foolishness that is the norm. "We believe, teach, and confess," begins the Epitome of our Concordia formula, "that the only rule and guide by which all teachings and teachers are to be judged and evaluated are the prophetic and apostolic writings of the Old and New Testaments, as it is written: Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path, Ps. 119. And St. Paul: If an angel came from heaven and preached otherwise, he should be accursed. Gal. 1. But other writings of the old and new teachers, as they have names, are not to be held equal to the holy Scriptures, but are all to be subjected to them, and not to be accepted otherwise or further than as witnesses, in what form after the apostles' time and in what places such teachings of the prophets and apostles have been preserved". (Müller, p. 517.)
§ 5
The purpose of sacred eloquence is not to acquire fame, acclaim, and other temporal benefits, but to lead the listeners to the knowledge and acceptance of the truth, and in this way to eternal life.
Annotation
A preacher who, as in his ministry in general, so also with his eloquence seeks fame and honor among men, or riches, or a quiet, leisurely life, has thoroughly reprehensible purposes, and stands in cutting contradiction to his ministry. His words contradict his purpose, his striving. By his words he wants to move the listeners not to seek glory with men but with God, and he himself has glory with men in mind; he points the listeners to the eternal heavenly goods, while he himself uses his eloquence as a net to fish for the temporal, earthly goods.*) When the Lord Joh. 5, 44 said to the Jews: "How can you ---- *Cf. Luther's 65th thesis: "Therefore the protectors of the gospel are nets, with which one fished before times the people of wealth"; and the 66th th esis: "But the treasures of indulgences are nets, with which one fishes now the wealth of the people".
Do you believe, you who take honor from one another? And the honor, which is of God alone, ye seek not," this applies rather to a preacher of the divine word. The fear of losing one's good name, the desire to be honored by one's fellow men, cannot give rise to faith, or, where it exists, it must stifle it. Only he can believe with all his heart who strives unswervingly to win honor with God and does not care about the praise and blame of men. Lutheran preachers have to be all the more wary of this seeking of honor from men, since in this country so many sectarian preachers openly vie for this honor in the pulpits, and the taking of honor from men is very deep-seated in the whole of modern theology. Woe also to those who st udy theology in order to gather riches as preachers or to lead a leisurely life. There is a widespread opinion among our people that pastors lead a pleasant life or have good days. Many think that a merchant, farmer, craftsman, etc. has to work six days an d has only one holiday, but the pastor has six holidays and one working day. Whoever allows himself to be moved by this error to study theology will soon enough find himself bitterly deceived, since he will soon enough learn that studying is also work, and indeed work that tires the body and mind much more than physical exertion; And to anyone who enters the ministry under this misapprehension, especially in the Lutheran church in this country, the incessant toil and labor that the preaching ministry demands of him, the constant self-denial that it demands, would seem to be unbearable burdens that he either bears only with grumbling and reluctance, or seeks to throw off as soon as possible. "All these final ends are good for nothing," says Rambach very truly, "and where they are allowed to reign, all the effort which one turns to holy eloquence is abominable and detestable before God. Such a man would usually have a thousand times less responsibility if he had otherwise learned a profession, than if he had become a preacher who desecrates the honor of God.
One commits the most shameful abuse of God's name when one makes that which is supposed to be a means to salvation the instrument of his shameful desires. In this case, such people are usually enemies and pe rsecutors of righteous servants of God, by whom they are shamed by an edifying way of speaking. If one is now aware of such false intentions, one must banish them from one's mind, otherwise the whole study of sacred eloquence will be stained and will be an abomination before God's eyes." Luther writes: " He who strives for honor in the ministry of preaching and wants to be great, learned and wise in the eyes of the world is unbelieving. If he himself is unbelieving, how can he preach rightly? He must keep silent about everything that is detrimental to his honor and If this is the case, then the pr eaching ministry is not pure. Therefore there is no greater harm nor poison than vain honor, as St. Augustine says: Ambitio mater est omnium vitiorum Honor is a mother of all vices, it is the devil's bride. This vice does great harm to preachers. For that is why people say, "Well, you have to preach something special, so that people will say, "This one will become a fine man: This one will become a fine man. He cannot preach the word in harmony with the others, but he brings something special and new, so that people open their mouths and noses and say: "Traun, this is a fine preacher, he knows how to hit it, I have never heard it like this from anyone before. So he puffs himself up and panders with it and thinks he is an ox, since he is hardly a toad. After that, he must do his utmost not to spoil things for the people, and because they praise him, he must praise them again.
So they praise each other until one goes to the devil with the other. Then it has honored itself very well." (E. A., B. 44, p. 266 f.) A righteous preacher has a very different purpose in mind. This purpose is threefold and is expressed in the words 2 Timothy 3, 14. 3, 14: "Because you have known the Scriptures from childhood, they are able to teach you salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. The next purpose is to bring the listeners to the knowledge of the truth, as Paul writes 1 Timothy 2, 4. 2, 4: "God wills that all men be helped and come to the knowledge of the truth." This truth is none other than the truth revealed in the Gospel, Gal. 2, 5. 14; 5, 7, or the way of salvation revealed in the Gospel, Acts 4, 12. This can only be achieved by the preacher who knows this truth himself, has trained senses and is convinced of this truth; otherwise he is a blind guide for the blind, Matth. 15, 14; Luc. 6, 39. The further purpose is to move the listeners to accept the truth. Therefore, the sermon must be addressed not only to the mind, but also to the will. "A teacher must not only instruct the minds of his hearers, but also try to incline their wills toward the good, and give the right emphasis to this inclination by his good example, and in such a way reproach them on the path of life that they have in him an example to follow, Phil. 3, 7. For such preachers will probably bring few to obedience to the truth, who themselves will not become obedient to the truth, and who cry out with all their might: "Do according to my words, and not according to my works and deeds." However, a distinction must be made between natural affects, which even an ungodly preacher can move by his eloquence, and the spiritual, which is more important and of which more instruction is given in moral teaching. (Cf. Chap. VI, § 1, Note 2, p.
215 ff.) The greatest mystery, however, comes from two things, 1. that the mind of the speaker himself is quite affected by the divine truth, and that the love of Christ urges him to lay it on the consciences with divine joy. Where there is fire, one can set others on fire. 2) That one may use true prudence. Jer. 3:15: "I will give you shepherds to feed you with doctrine and wisdom." (Rambach.) Stier writes about the purpose of preaching: "The purpose of such preaching is always threefold according to Apost. 20, 20. 21 is always threefold:
1. to proclaim to man everything that is useful for salvation, so that he may
know it; which first of all corresponds to the divine counsel in itself as a fact that is still secret (the great mystery, 1 Timothy 3:16).
2. to teach him the right and whole counsel of God concerning him, that he
may understand it; whereby the mystery, in so far as it can be, is more truly made known and revealed to us. What God has decreed in eternity and done in time is proclaimed, and what he now speaks to us about it is taught.
3. to testify to man, or to awaken and exhort him to the way of repentance and
faith, so that he may walk it willingly, or be converted, and be edified by ever-growing renewal until the perfection of the man of God. In the end, this corresponds especially to the order of salvation and increases its teaching, as befits eternal salvation, to practical exhortation. Thus the sermon proceeds from the eternal counsel of God before the foundation of the world and concludes with our preparation and preservation for future blessedness after the same. (Grundriß einer biblischen Keryktik, Halle 1844,
p. 4.)
The ultimate purpose with regard to people is the beatification of the listeners, which a preacher must strive to achieve through eloquence, and with regard to God, His glory. "If I did not see God's honor and the people's benefit," says Luther to Psalm 7:7, "I would not want to preach for the rest of my life." "Whoever wants to be a preacher, let him mean it with all his heart, that he alone seeks God's honor and his neighbor's betterment (edification) (3, p. 385). - What we do with preaching, suffering, we do all for God's honor and for the salvation of the elect." - Right preachers should only teach God's word diligently and faithfully and seek His honor and praise alone" (16, p. 270).
Regarding John 7:18, Luther wrote: "The gospel was not given for us to seek our own praise and glory, so that people would honor us as His servants, but so that the glory and good deeds of Christ might be p reached, so that the Father might be praised for His mercy, which He showed us through His Son, Christ, whom He gave up for us all and with Him gave us everything. Therefore the gospel is such a doctrine that we should seek nothing less than our own glory. It holds out to us vain heavenly and eternal goods, which are not ours, which we have neither created nor earned; but without all our merit and worthiness the gospel offers them to us, out of the pure grace of God; why should we have to boast of them? The refore it is certain that all who seek their own glory in the gospel speak of themselves; but he who speaks of himself is a liar and unrighteous; whereas he who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and there is no unrighteousness in him." (VIII, p. 2775.) Concerning the blessing which a faithful, pious preacher, who seeks not temporal gain but the eternal salvation of his hearers, not his own but God's honor, Luther writes in his interpretation of the 82nd Psalm: "Many have sought the glory of God. Psalm: "Many kings and princes have founded great, glorious churches and built temples; and if another king could build a church of pure gold or of precious emeralds and rubies, what would all such great, glorious things be compared to a right, pious, God-fearing pastor or preacher? He can help many thousands of souls, both to eternal life and also in this life. For he can bring them to God through the word, and make them competent, skillful people, serving God honestly, and also beneficial and useful to the world. A church or temple, however, cannot prepare a man in this way; indeed, it can help nothing everywhere, but stands there and allows it to help and adorn itself....
It does not seem and shine, and it is a very small thing to nourish or protect a poor miserable priest or preacher; but to build a jam church, to give golden jewels, to serve dead stones and wood, that shines, that seems, that bites royal, princely virtue. Let it shine, let it shine; but my ungleaming priest does the virtue of increasing God's kingdom, filling heaven with saints, plundering hell, robbing the devil, preventing death, saving sins; then he instructs the world and comforts everyone in his position, maintains peace and unity, finely educates young people, and plants all kinds of virtue in the people; and in short: He creates a new world, and builds not a perishable, miserable house, but an eternal, beautiful paradise, where God Himself delights to dwell." (E. A., B. 39, p. 238 f.)
Furthermore, Luther writes to Ps. 45, 9: "A poor village priest is now the most contemptible man; but if he has God's word and teaches Christ purely, he is a precious gem, a diamond or emerald in the sight of God. For God's word is such a precious and valuable gift, which God holds in such high esteem that he considers heaven and earth, sun, moon, and stars to be nothing in comparison with this word; for by the word all creatures were created and are preserved. Therefore a minister who has God's word and teaches faithfully is more beautifully adorned than the sun and all the stars, as Daniel Cap. 12:3 also says. Because I believe in Jesus Christ, I will have one who will honor me, despite the despisers; for my honor and adornment are of the Lord, who is called Christ. It is much better for me if the angel Gabriel looks at me for a moment than if ten kings hold me high and dear and carry me on their hands. This is what the Holy Spirit calls ivory palaces, for it is the custom of Scripture to call the most beautiful and glorious buildings by this name. But who would believe that the church or congregation, being the Word of God and baptism, are ivory palaces in the sight of God? And yet in truth it is so. For the Word, preaching, absolution, baptism, and the Lord's Supper, which Christ instituted and commanded the church, are the noble, precious treasures which adorn and sanctify the church, and by which it is to be kept so glorious. So even the smallest village is an ivory palace, in which there is a godly pastor and a number of faithful Christians. But that thou mayest see such glory, it needs other eyes than eyes of flesh. For that this is such a precious thing must be judged from God's word, namely, that there is God's word, that there is baptism, the sacrament of the altar, God's order and government, comfort of conscience, fear of God, trust in God, patience and following of Christ.
These pieces must be looked at. For this is why the Holy Spirit is given to us, that we may know what has been given to us by God, 1 Cor. 2:12. The gifts of God are indeed with us and in us, but it is a greater gift to recognize them and to hold them high and dear. If one could recognize these gifts above all gifts, the Word and Christ, and see them as in a mirror, that would be just as much as if a man were resurrected and in paradise, and had a better life than Adam had in it. But the devil does not allow us to see it completely. If then the peasants, burghers and noblemen despise the good word and preachers, it hurts us, if we should say: what is it about a sack full of angry princes, kings, Turkish emperors, even a sack full of devils? If you look at the fruits and effects of the Word, the consolation of wretched consciences, the keys of Christ by which you can unlock heaven and shut hell, you would not let yourself be challenged. But the Holy Spirit belongs to it, that you may thus see this gift." (Eberle, Luther's Psal. Exl. Vol. 1, p. 569 f.)