Preacher of Righteousness

I often joke with Pam by asking her if she ever in her wildest dreams thought she would be playing house with the preacher. People have such a wide variety of ways they view and think about the preacher. My favorite will always be the youngster in Ukiah who on his first Sunday there came up to me and said, “I know who you are… you’re the creature!” Those who proclaim the good news have brandished many a title from evangelist to pastor to the common but encompassing label, minister. Truth is, they are just labels and ultimately every preacher is who he is… me, I’m Dan. However, I am both challenged and intrigued by Peter’s reference to Noah as a “preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5).” I’m intrigued by it because it not only suggests that preaching is about a message but about living. Now, don’t get me wrong… by living, I don’t mean preachers exude some superior behavior and model citizenship (I’m with Paul that righteousness comes from God –Philippians 3:9) but I do believe in mom’s advice: Practice what you preach!

The mettle of ministry and the art of preaching are in the balance between preaching and practicing. You see, righteousness is about faith in God’s good work in transforming, shaping and developing lost souls. It’s a resolute determination to rest in God’s grace while we work out our salvation (Philippians 2:12, 13). Our rightness is neither self-guided or personally powered but relies on God as He calls our faith to task. We really do need to “trust and obey.” Noah was at the preaching business for a long time while he built the ark. Nothing is said of doomsday homilies or gopher wood placards inscribed with, “turn or burn (oops! I mean repent or sink like cement).” The only thing the text tells us is the repeated refrain, “Noah did everything just as God commanded him (Genesis 6:22; 7:5). His righteousness was in his trust and obedience, or as the text describes it, “he walked with God (6:9).”

So, preaching and preachers are about claiming and proclaiming the good news that in Jesus is found the righteousness of God. Preachers get their beautiful feet (Romans 10:15) not from pedicures but from a message of good news that victory is in Jesus. Victory over sin, victory over arrogance and delusions of self-grandeur and victory that will not let go of the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:37-39)! I’d like to think that such is walking with God and that’s the kind of “creature” I want to be! -DAN