{"id":27050,"date":"2023-03-27T16:28:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-27T16:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/2023\/03\/27\/how-humility-can-transform-our-preaching\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T16:17:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T16:17:31","slug":"how-humility-can-transform-our-preaching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/how-humility-can-transform-our-preaching\/","title":{"rendered":"How Humility Can Transform Our Preaching"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In this week\u2019s episode of Craft and Character<\/a>, Joel Muddamalle shares about why humility is integral for studying and communicating God\u2019s Word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a preacher, it\u2019s easy to tip your hat to humility. No communicator wants to be a peacock in the pulpit. But what does humility really look like?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s four things to look for as you evaluate your teaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Humility Acknowledges We Are Better Together<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As I\u2019ve interacted with many pastors through the years, every once in a while one boasts that they \u201cnever consult commentaries.\u201d Various reasons are given: they have a Ph.D, have taught the passage a dozen times, or have read most of the relevant material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it\u2019s possible, over years, to be incredibly fluent in scholarship on a passage, humility is endlessly eager to mine the theological ore of modern and ancient thinkers. What do the Church Fathers, Augustine, Aquinas, and Luther see in your text? What do theologians outside your tribe and time say?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Humility is ever-vigilant against the subconscious lure of eisegesis by welcoming many voices to your study desk. In our thinking and preaching, we are better together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Humility Frees You from Know-it-all-ism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The pressure of the pulpit is to appear omniscient to your people. Whether caused by pride or being unduly put on a pedestal, preachers start seeing the phrase \u201cI don\u2019t know\u201d as an admission of failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Refreshingly, renowned theologian John Frame, now in his eighties, embraces the mystery of God<\/a> more than ever: \u201cNo matter how clear our concepts and cogent our arguments, God is, in the end, a transcendent being, above and beyond us, one whom we cannot master either by physical strength or by mental skill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our post-Christian world is weary of clich\u00e9d, reductionistic answers that put God in a box. Humility enthusiastically acknowledges that God is God and we are not. It\u2019s exciting to consider that, while God has made himself gloriously known, there is always more to discover about him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While teaching a high school Bible class, I responded to a student\u2019s question with: \u201cI\u2019m not sure, let\u2019s look it up.\u201d As I thumbed through my study Bible, I was startled when the student said out loud: \u201cYou\u2019re a Bible teacher, and you don\u2019t know the answer?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a marvelous teaching moment. I paused, then explained how \u201cI don\u2019t know\u201d is one of the most important phrases any student of Scripture should employ. Humility to admit what you don\u2019t know makes you hungry to learn all we can know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Humility Increases Theological Precision<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Just as theological certainty can be overplayed, it can also be underplayed. Humility does not paint all truth in swatches of gray. As Allastair Begg quips<\/a>: In scripture the \u201cmain things are the plain things.\u201d We should not cower from, or cast doubt upon, clear biblical realities like salvation, the identity of Christ, or his atoning work on the Cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, where there is legitimate debate among theologians through the ages, humility is eager to bring people into those conversations. Rather than airbrushing historical disagreements in the church, the preacher\u2019s job is to synthesize the arguments of history, then explain where they land and why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember that annoying requirement from seventh-grade algebra\u4e00to not just give an answer but show your work? Preachers have the same requirement. This doesn\u2019t mean weighing down your sermon with minutiae. It can simply involve using phrases like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n