The Uneasy Pulpit: Carl Henry, the Authority of the Bible, and Expositional Preaching

Abstract

Abstract It has been asserted that preaching in the first half of the twenty-first century is in crisis by the authors of Engaging Preaching. This crisis has arisen, so say the authors, due in part to those who have been entrusted to preach the ‘oracles of God’ (1 Peter 4:11), having failed to faithfully proclaim the Word of the Lord. No longer do the words of ‘Thus saith the Lord’, regularly fill the halls of the sanctuary. Instead of a sure word from the Bible, those in attendance are just as likely to give tips on self-fulfillment or achieving one’s dreams. By this practice, it seems there are a significant number of pulpit practitioners who neither trust in the authority or the sufficiency of the Word of God. The situation seems bleak, but there is a remedy to be applied to this situation. Carl F. H. Henry has left us a wealth of theological writings that speak to this very problem. This paper will argue as Henry has masterfully argued for the authority of Scripture, the preacher finds a sure footing for a pulpit practice that displays the authority and the sufficiency of the Bible. It will be argued that expositional preaching is the most natural response to a robust view of the authority and sufficiency of the Word of God.