Editor’s Note: James gives a sobering warning about the weight of responsibility we carry when we teach the Word of God: “Not many of you should presume to be teachers my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” If you sit in the seat of teaching and preaching, then this warning is for you. John MacArthur, the well-known Bible teacher and pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, has a fiery conviction about the decline of biblical preaching in our day and offers numerous illustrations of why the handling of God’s Word is judged with special scrutiny. All preachers would do well to prayerfully reflect upon his views. I will be frank: There are grounds to challenge some of what he says. There’s room for debate on expository versus topical preaching (I believe topical preaching can be done expositorily). The role of relevance can also be discussed. Some might ask, “Then why distribute the article?” Because there is much value in all preachers critically examining their own preaching—and Dr. MacArthur’s poignant article spurs us to do just that. Whatever our opinions, they should never be to the detriment of the unbridled preaching of God’s Word. I certainly agree with Dr. MacArthur: Much preaching has deteriorated from a hearty delivery of God’s Word to a diet lacking in the spiritual protein necessary for building up the Church into the fullness of Christ. May we embrace our call as preachers—and preach the Word in its fullness and without compromise.

Biblically-Anemic Preaching
The Devastating Consequences of a Watered-Down Message

By John MacArthur

Those who are familiar with my ministry know that I am committed to expository preaching. It is my unshakable conviction that the proclamation of God’s Word should always be the heart and the focus of the church’s ministry (2 Tim. 4:2). And proper biblical preaching should be systematic, expositional, theological, and God-centered.

Such preaching is in short supply these days. There are plenty of gifted communicators in the modern evangelical movement, but today’s sermons tend to be short, shallow, topical homilies that massage people’s egos and focus on fairly insipid subjects like human relationships, "successful" living, emotional issues, and other practical but worldly—and not definitively biblical—themes. These messages are lightweight and without substance, cheap and synthetic,

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