This is a book about what matters in the church, not about what is trendy, weighty, or popular. Preaching the Cross is a book about what endures, not what is momentarily successful. It is about what God intends for the churchthat we preach his Word with its center in the person and work of Christand it is about what the church needs most to hear. These essays are written with wisdom, winsomeness, practicality, and biblical fidelity.
DAVID F. WELLS, Andrew Mutch Distinguished Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology,
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
This book on preaching the cross is written by the best of men who know the grace of the crucified Christ and serve in the power of his resurrection. It is a call for other ministers of the gospel to faithfully proclaim the message of the cross and the empty tomb. It is also an invitation to share in the fellowship of godly pastors who stand together for Jesus in a world that needs the gospel.
PHILIP G. RYKEN, Senior Minister,
Tenth Presbyterian Church
Preaching the Cross
Copyright 2007 by Together for the Gospel
Published by Crossway Books
a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers
1300 Crescent Street
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law.
Cover design: Josh Dennis
Cover photo: iStock
First printing 2007
Printed in the United States of America
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible,English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Scripture quotations marked NASB are from The New American StandardBible. Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.
Scripture references marked NIV are from The Holy Bible: New InternationalVersion. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
The NIV and New International Version trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society.
Scripture references marked NKJV are from The New King James Version. Copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.
All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the author.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Preaching the Cross / Mark Dever... [et al.].
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
1. PreachingCongresses. 2. BibleHomiletical useCongresses. 3. Pastoral theologyCongresses. I. Dever, Mark. II. Title.
BV4211.3.P735 2007
251dc22
2006035949
LB 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07
13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For the next generation
of preachers of the cross
CONTENTS
Mark E. Dever
J. Ligon Duncan III
R. Albert Mohler Jr.
R. C. Sproul
John Piper
C. J. Mahaney
John MacArthur
Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshippers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become unity conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship. A. W. Tozer
Dear Brothers,
We welcome you. We have come together for the gospel, which is the desire and passion for our lives and ministries. We pray that your lifes passion and calling are the gospel of Jesus Christ.
So began our letter of welcome to the pastors attending the 2006 Together for the Gospel conference. One of the unusual features of the conference was the public conversations between Ligon, C. J., Al, and me (Mark). We conversed onstage, not because our comments are necessarily profound but because the fellowship between us is so warm. Then and now we want to demonstrate to you, our fellow pastors, that we care about our individual ministries only as far as they are a reflection of our caring about the gospel. When we have the gospel in common, we have all thats essential for time and eternity (though still maybe not enough to join each others churches! But thats another conversation, and maybe one well have in front of you some day.).
The four of us richly benefit from our interactions with one another. I am still trying to learn graciousness at the feet of that most gracious of men, Lig Duncan, and I know that Lig would say that he has been encouraged and instructed in everything from complementarianism to humility by C. J. Mahaney. I know also that C. J. sees Al Mohler as about the most heroic man hes ever met, and I think Al likes the way that I try to encourage others to befriend his scary self! I could go on, but you get the idea.
Additionally, the four of us have learned much over the years from the special men who spoke along with us at the conference and whose talks appear in the chapters following. R. C. Sproul has had an influence for a generation now that is unusually wide and deep in upholding the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. John Piper has been used by God to bring freshness to our understanding of Gods sovereign goodness. And John MacArthur has been providing a model of faithfulness in biblical preaching since before most of us were even converted.
Every once in a while God uses a conference such as this in a strategic way to put new heart in his under-shepherds and so bless his people. We prayed that this would be such a conference, that through it God would tune our hearts and minds to him as we thought and talked together about preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We prayed that those who attended would know great blessing from it.
Now, long after the conclusion of that event, we want to give thanks to God for the encouragement many did indeed experience as a result of that gathering and for the instruction given and friendships made there. In introducing this volume, which is comprised of the conference addresses, I want to say a little bit more about the history of the conference, the heroes we invited to join us, and the hopes that we had for the conference attendeesand for you as you prepare to read these messages.
A Conference with History
The conference is rooted in the unusual friendship that the four of us enjoy. Were all about the same age (except for C. J., who is old enough to be our dad, but he has exceptional athletic ability!). I met these extraordinary men one by one. Al Mohler and I became friends more than twenty years ago when we were students at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The depth and range of Als knowledge was apparent from our first conversation. I remember telling David Wells not long afterward that he would hear about this young friend of mine one day! The intensity with which Al lives was evidenced in the number of times he rang my phone after midnight, asking, Mark, are you up? (Given the hour, the question begged for a smart response, but I dont think I ever gave one.)
Next page