The Brokenness Question
Gospel-Driven Reflection for Gospel-Driven Preaching
In this series of posts, I am offering a simple approach to theological reflection in our sermon preparation for the purpose of accomplishing two goals. First, I believe we need to proclaim the grand narrative of the Scriptures as a foundation for Christian discipleship and worldview. Second, I believe our preaching should be gospel driven. Since the “big story” is actually the gospel, these two goals are almost the same thing – two sides of the same coin.
The “Story Question,” which we addressed in the previous post, focuses on the “big story” side of the coin. The next two questions for reflection deal with the “gospel-driven” side.
First, what exactly do we mean by “gospel-driven” preaching? Let me start with what it is not:
“Gospel-driven” does not mean that every sermon should be an evangelistic sermon. Believers need to hear the gospel as much as non-believers do. Following Jesus means learning to live out the implications of the gospel in our everyday lives. To do this, we need to hear the gospel proclaimed and applied to the live we live every day.
“Gospel-driven” does not mean that every text is just a jumping-off point to preach a gospel message. We want to preach the text that is before us. We just happen to believe that because it is in the Bible, and the Bible is about Jesus, it in some way has something to say about Jesus and what he has done.
“Gospel-driven” does not mean that we simply add a gospel presentation to the end of every sermon. We want our sermons to flow from a single text and have cohesion from beginning to end.
“Gospel-driven” does mean that the gospel drives our teaching, our exhortation, our encouragement and our comfort just as much as it drives our evangelism. It means that since every text has a place in the “big story,” and this story is ultimately the story of the gospel, every text also points in some way to the gospel.
How do we find this connection? The “Brokenness Question” and the “Redemption Question” should point the way.
The Brokenness Question: What aspect of human brokenness does this text address?
Every gospel encounter begins with brokenness. We can’t experience grace until we experience need. We can’t truly delight in Jesus’ sufficiency until we have felt the despair of our insufficiency. We experience the power of the gospel only to the extent we experience the powerlessness of our own lives.
As preachers, whether our objective is to evangelize the lost, to encourage the struggling, to comfort the suffering, or to disciple the growing, the path towards an experience of the gospel will always pass through an awareness of our own brokenness. Most often, this is where it will begin.
This is actually good news for the preacher who desires to begin with a biblical text because God’s word will always confront us at the point of our brokenness. Ever since God found Adam hiding in the bushes of Eden, any true encounter of humanity with God is always a painful realization of our sinfulness before him. The purpose of the “brokenness question” is to discover at what point this encounter takes place. Find this, and you have found the trailhead of the path toward the gospel in any text.
The answer to the “brokenness question” will be akin to what Bryan Chapell calls the “Fallen Condition Focus.” He defines it as, “the mutual human condition that contemporary believers share with those to or for whom the text was written that requires the grace of the passage.” (Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994, p. 42).
Notice the link between the contemporary and the ancient worlds. Language and culture may be vastly different. We may be separated in time by multiple millennia and in distance by many miles. But at our core, we share a “mutual human condition.” We are broken in the same ways. When God reveals himself, this revelation will always reveal and rebuke our brokenness. When we discover how God was confronting this ancient people in the biblical text, we will discover how he wants to speak into our lives today.
Answering the Brokenness Question
Though the purpose of our theological reflection is to give us clear and objectives steps towards the sermon, the act of theological reflection is of necessity somewhat subjective. Sometimes, a text will have a clear and explicit focus to an area of brokenness. At other times, the connection will be more nuanced, and will depend largely on the interpreter’s perspective. Confrontation may frontal and harsh. Or it might be much more subtle. The answer to our brokenness question may be obvious and direct, or it may be inferred or discovered beneath the surface.
Each text may require a different path to find the answer. You may need to ask the brokenness question in different ways. Here are some possibilities:
At what point does the text provoke tension with our human desires, perspectives, priorities and idolatries?
What truth or demand in the text stirs a negative reaction or presents the greatest challenge?
What sinful behaviour do you see in the text?
What is the root of the sinful behaviour that you see in the text?
What evidence of a world marred by sin does the text reveal?
How does sin impact relationships in the text?
What human tendency stands in contrast to the character of God in the text?
What barriers to healthy relationships with God and with others emerge from the text?
Using these and other questions, explore the ways our broken human condition is revealed in the biblical text. Then write a brief paragraph or two describing what you have seen. Be sure to let your reflection go deeper than mere behaviour, to address the roots, the motives, and the heart issues behind our sin. A clear understanding of our brokenness as the text portrays it will be the beginning point of understanding redemption in the next question.
