5. The Word as a Means of Grace

WSC 89. How is the Word made effectual to salvation? A. The Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching, of the Word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort, through faith, unto salvation.

WSC 90. How is the Word to be read and heard, that it may become effectual to salvation? A. That the Word may become effectual to salvation, we must attend thereunto with diligence, preparation, and prayer; receive it with faith and love, lay it up in our hearts, and practice it in our lives.

The Necessity of the Holy Spirit

As we learned last class, the Word by itself is insufficient to bring a person to faith and repentance. We also need the Holy Spirit.¹ After all, the Word does not always have the same effect on all people (e.g., two people can hear the same sermon; one will turn to God in faith but the other will remain calloused and unbelieving).² Some sit under God’s ordinances to their benefit, but others grow no better (Heb. 6:7-8). The difference in outcome is attributed to the work of God’s Spirit.³ The outwards means are made inwardly efficacious by the Holy Spirit (e.g., by drawing a person to Christ, Jn. 6:44; and enlightening the mind, Eph. 1:18; Col. 1:9-11).

It is important to recognize the close relationship of the Word and Spirit as they operate together (1 Thess. 1:5-6; Acts 16:14; Eph. 6:17).⁴ To emphasize one without the other leads to the errors of legalism and antinomianism. The error of legalism is that it rests on the sufficiency of the external word alone (i.e., outward preaching by itself). It stresses intellectual acceptance and moral obedience, but considers the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit to be superfluous.⁵ In contrast, the error of antinomianism is that it rejects the importance of the external word but solely looks to the Spirit’s subjective instruction (i.e., claiming, “God said this to me” or “the Spirit led me to do this or that”). For antinomians, the external word is made to be of little relevance, such that each person is free to act according to his/her heart’s inclinations.⁶

The Value of the Word of God

The Word of God is the principal means of grace.⁷ In contrast to the sacraments (which are reserved for the believing community), the Word of God is given to everyone.⁸ Not only does the Word have life, it also gives life (1 Pet. 1:23-25; cf. James 1:18, 21).⁹ It provides us with saving knowledge (2 Cor. 4:4-6; 2 Tim. 3:15). For unbelievers, the Holy Spirit uses the Word to convince them of their sins and miseries, and to convert the elect to Christ.¹⁰ For believers, the Spirit uses the Word throughout the entire course of their lives for their spiritual development and growth, by encouraging them and building them up in righteousness (Acts 20:32; 2 Tim. 3:15-17; 1 Thess. 2:2, 10-11, 13; Rom. 1:16; 10:13-17; 15:4; 16:25).

The Reading of the Word

The Bible is to be read by all.¹¹ The Word of God is be read publicly in the congregation of God’s people (e.g., Deut. 31:9-13; Neh. 8:2-3, 7-8), privately at home (e.g., Deut. 17:19; Isa. 34:16; Rev. 1:3), as part of family worship (e.g., Deut. 6:6-9; Ps. 78:5-7; cf. Gen. 18:17, 19), and in a familiar language that can be understood by all (cf. 1 Cor. 14:6, 9-12, 15-16, 24, 27-28).¹² Moreover, in order for the Word to be beneficial it must be read with reverence and esteem (Ps. 19:10; Neh. 8:3-10; Ex. 24:7; 2 Chr. 34:27; Is. 66:2).¹³ We must read the Bible with a real desire to know and obey God’s will (Deut. 17:19-20), accompanied by prayer (Ps. 119:18; Prov. 2:1-6), and in acknowledgment that only God can enable us to understand it (Lk. 24:45; 2 Cor. 3:13-16).

The Preaching of the Word

When speaking of the Word as a means of grace, special emphasis is placed on the public preaching over its private reading for the building up of God’s people (cf. Ps. 87:2).¹⁴ This is not to say that reading the Word is not also important (e.g., personal devotions). The Spirit uses both the preaching and the reading of the Word as a means of grace, sometimes separately, and other times in combination. This is illustrated in Acts 8:27-39, which gives account of an Ethiopian who was reading portions of Scripture, but remained confused about its meaning. Philip therefore “preached Jesus to him,” leading to the Ethiopian’s conversion.

How it is to be preached?¹⁵ Ministers must preach in accordance with sound doctrine by holding to a steadfast loyalty to the Word of God.¹⁶ Preaching occurs “in season and out of season” (2 Tim. 4:2), meaning that God’s Word is to be proclaimed not only in regular church services, but also informally whenever opportunity is available to bear witness to the truth. The aim of preaching is not to please the hearers, but to please God. The power of true preaching is not to be based on clever rhetoric, charisma, “salesmanship,” or any other human factor, but solely on the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:1-5).

The Hearing of the Word

There is express duty required in connection to properly receiving the preached Word.¹⁷ The first duty is to hear it. This means that regular attendance to worship services is necessary, unless prevented by circumstances beyond our control (Heb. 10:25). But attendance alone is not enough. Some people can attend church services regularly, yet derive no benefits because they do not pay attention nor take the message to heart. It is not enough to sit passively through the sermon without any engagement.¹⁸ The Word must be received with faith, love, meekness, and readiness of mind (Heb. 4:2; 2 Thess. 2:10; James 1:21; Acts 17:11).

Hearers have a responsibility to attend to the preached Word with diligence, preparation, and prayer (Prov. 8:34; 1 Pet. 2:1-2; Lk. 8:18; Ps. 119:18; Eph. 6:18-19). By diligence, the catechism commends carefulness and attentiveness (i.e., the opposite of apathy or indifference). This means that we need to meditate and reflect on what is preached. We should think upon the words of the songs we sing and mean them with sincerity. There should be an earnest desire to be involved with opportunities to learn, such as Bible studies and Sunday school. In terms of preparation, some practical steps that we can take to improve our reception of the Word include coming to church on time, being reverent during service, minimizing unnecessary talking or whispering, avoiding thoughts about unrelated matters (e.g., our work, recreation, meals, etc.), and getting enough sleep the night before so we are not excessively tired during service. Our prayers should be for the Holy Spirit to bless the minister, so that the Word of God is expounded faithfully and clearly; that the Holy Spirit would work in us so that we receive the Word with faith and love; and, that the Word would be used to convert sinners to Christ and to build up the saints in righteousness. Finally, there is an obligation to store God’s Word in our hearts (Ps. 119:11; Prov. 2:1; Deut. 11:18) and to practice it in our lives (Lk. 8:15; James 1:25).

Admittedly, there is hard work involved in properly listening to the Word of God. It requires focused attention. The Puritans considered the preaching of the Word to be the “supreme means of grace” and therefore, they pleaded with their congregations to listen to the word preached with awe, attention, and expectancy.¹⁹ In the Christian Directory, the Puritan Richard Baxter provided practical guidance:

Come not to hear with a careless heart, as if you were to hear a matter that little concerned you. But come with a sense of the unspeakable weight, necessity, and consequence of the holy Word which you are to hear; and when you understand how much you are concerned in it, and truly love it, as the Word of life, it will greatly help your understanding of every particular truth… Make it your work with diligence to apply the Word as you are hearing it… Cast not all upon the minister, as those that will go no further than they are carried as by force. This is fitter for the dead than for the living. You have work to do as well as the preacher, and should all the while be as busy as he… You must open your mouths, and digest it, for another cannot digest it for you… Therefore be all the while at work, and abhor an idle heart in hearing as well as an idle minister. Chew the cud, and call up all when you come home in secret, and by meditation preach it over to yourselves.²⁰

If we feel tempted at all to blame a preacher for our lack of focus, then consider these words from J.I. Packer: “We complain today that ministers do not know how to preach; but is it not equally true that our congregations do not know how to hear? An instruction to remedy the first deficiency will surely be labour lost unless the second is remedied too.”²¹ In fact, I would venture to say that the prevailing problem in our (Reformed) churches is in the hearing of the Word, much more so than the faithful preaching of it!

Footnotes

1
WLC Q155: How is the word made effectual to salvation? A: The Spirit of God makes the reading, but especially the preaching of the word, an effectual means of enlightening, convincing, and humbling sinners; of driving them out of themselves, and drawing them unto Christ; of conforming them to his image, and subduing them to his will; of strengthening them against temptations and corruptions; of building them up in grace, and establishing their hearts in holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation.
2
“The Holy Spirit is not an unconscious power but a person who is always present with that Word, always sustains it and makes it active, though not always in the same manner… He uses that Word for bringing people to repentance but also for hardening; for the rising but also for the falling of many. He always works through the Word but not always in the same way. And when He wants to work through it so that it leads to faith and repentance, He does not objectively have to add anything to the Word.” Bavinck, Herman. Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 4: Holy Spirit, Church, and New Creation. Baker Academic, 2008, p. 460.
3
For “the seed of the Word to bear good fruit, it has to fall in soil that has been well prepared… Hence the subjective activity of the Holy Spirit has to be added to the objective word.” Ibid.
4
There is a repeated pattern throughout Scripture of God bringing forth new life (i.e., creation, re-creation) by His Word and Spirit, as seen in the initial creation week (Gen. 1:1-10), Noah’s flood (Gen. 8:1-11), Israel through the Red Sea (Ex. 14:21), the valley of dry bones (Eze. 37), and regeneration (Jn. 3:5).
5
The Roman Catholic Church takes a variation on this position. According to Roman Catholic teaching, supernatural grace is communicated by sacraments. Bavinck, Herman. Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 4: Holy Spirit, Church, and New Creation. Baker Academic, 2008, p. 456.
6
According to antinomianism, what is acceptable according to a person’s heart supersedes Scripture. “Accordingly, to find God and know the truth, we need not go outside of ourselves to Scripture.” Ibid, p. 456.
7
The term “Word of God” is broader than just Scripture. “The Word in most cases does not come to us at all as Scripture, that is, in the form of Scripture. In fact, it comes in such a way that, having been absorbed from Scripture into the consciousness of the church, it proceeds from there to the most diverse people in the form of admonition and speech, nurture and education, books, magazines, tracts, and speeches and exerts its effect. And always it is God who stands behind that Word. It is he who causes that Word to go forth to people in all those diverse forms and thereby calls them to repentance and life. In Scripture, accordingly, the expression ‘Word of God’ is never identical with Scripture, even though we may undoubtedly call Scripture ‘the Word of God.” Ibid, p. 449. “Therefore, even though the Word of God that is freely proclaimed by ministers or conveyed to people by way of personal admonition, public address, a book or other writing, is indeed taken from Scripture but not identical with Scripture, it is still a word from God.” Ibid, p. 459.
8
“If the Word of God by itself alone cannot accomplish anything toward the salvation of human beings, is there any use in publishing and circulating the Scriptures far and wide? Yes. Circulating the Scriptures is scattering the seed. It is true that apart from the saving work of the Holy Spirit the seed can never spring to life and lead to salvation, but we can never know when and where the Holy Spirit will use Scripture portions that have been circulated to bring about the salvation of souls. [For example] men have been converted to Christ by reading Bibles placed in hotel room by the Gideons, and by reading small portions of the Bible printed on thin, cheap paper and circulated on foreign mission fields.” Vos, Johannes Geerhardus. The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary. P&R Publishing, 2002, p. 437. See also: Bavinck, p.448.
9
The Word of God is the agent of the new birth! Beale, G. K. A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2011, pp. 326, 854.
10
The Word also has a hardening effect on reprobates (cf. 2 Cor. 2:16; 1 Pet. 2:8).
11
WLC Q156: Is the word of God to be read by all? A: Although all are not to be permitted to read the word publicly to the congregation, yet all sorts of people are bound to read it apart by themselves, and with their families: to which end, the holy scriptures are to be translated out of the original into vulgar [i.e., common] languages.
12
“The Bible is a message for all mankind, and the gospel which it contains is to be proclaimed to all nations. The Great Commission cannot be carried out adequately without translating the Bible into the various languages of the world.” Vos, Johannes Geerhardus. The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary. P&R Publishing, 2002, pp. 438-440.
13
WLC Q157: How is the word of God to be read? A: The holy scriptures are to be read with a high and reverent esteem of them; with a firm persuasion that they are the very word of God, and that he only can enable us to understand them; with desire to know, believe, and obey the will of God revealed in them; with diligence, and attention to the matter and scope of them; with meditation, application, self-denial, and prayer.
14
Both Word and sacraments are given to the covenant community, not individual people. The public preaching of God’s Word guards against individualism. Individualism can be unstable and unbiblical if each person believes he/she is able to interpret the Bible without any regard to church authority, godly men, or trusted confessions.
15
WLC Q159: How is the word of God to be preached by those that are called thereunto? A: They that are called to labor in the ministry of the word, are to preach sound doctrine, diligently, in season and out of season; plainly, not in the enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit, and of power; faithfully, making known the whole counsel of God; wisely, applying themselves to the necessities and capacities of the hearers; zealously, with fervent love to God and the souls of his people; sincerely, aiming at his glory, and their conversion, edification, and salvation.
16
WLC Q158: By whom is the word of God to be preached? A: The word of God is to be preached only by such as are sufficiently gifted, and also duly approved and called to that office.
17
WLC Q160: What is required of those that hear the word preached? A: It is required of those that hear the word preached, that they attend upon it with diligence, preparation, and prayer; examine: What they hear by the scriptures; receive the truth with faith, love, meekness, and readiness of mind, as the word of God; meditate, and confer of it; hide it in their hearts, and bring forth the fruit of it in their lives.
18
The preached Word of God does not confer grace automatically (ex opere operato) apart from faith or the Spirit. Some people mistakenly think that receiving the transmission of sound waves from the pulpit to the ear is sufficient, but that is far from the case, as the catechism clarifies!
19
Packer, J. I. A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life. Crossway Books, 1994, p. 254.
20
Baxter, Richard. Directions for Profitable Hearing and Reading. Pensacola, FL: Chapel Library, 2016, pp. 4, 10-11.
21
Packer, J. I. A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life. Crossway Books, 1994, p. 254.

Footnotes

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