I came across an interesting article this weekend from the Christian Post.
Over 5,000 Pastors Pledge to Keep Sermons Purely Biblical
When I read the headline, my immediate reaction was skepticism. Sure, the thought of one simply speaking “as the oracles of God” (1 Peter 4:11) is great. But could one really expect these denominational preachers to give up their creeds and preach “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27)? After all, to do so would require that they condemn the very denomination that employs them.
As it turns out, that was not what the article was about. It is about plagiarism in preaching. “The Preacher’s Pledge” is a commitment by various pastors and ministers to “start with the Bible as their primary source for sermon preparation.” Some thought this was necessary with the great amount of sermons available on the internet. Preachers could simply take sermons of different men and preach them as their own.
I do not want to condemn a preacher for occasionally adapting and using another man’s outline. There is also nothing wrong with one who only preaches occasionally to need some help in sermon preparation.
But if a man who earns his living from the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:14) is consistently using other preacher’s outlines, that man should examine himself and ask why he is doing it.
- Is it because he is too busy to write his own sermons?
- Is it because he is too lazy to write his own?
- Is it because he is unable to arrange his thoughts and passages into a working outline?
- Does he have the time and ability to do it himself, but just simply does not want to?
If a preacher of the gospel consistently uses the sermons of others for any of the above reasons, he is not worthy to receive support. A preacher is paid for his work (2 Corinthians 11:8), not for regurgitating the work of others.
There is nothing wrong with getting ideas from different sources, but the study and preparation must be done by each individual gospel preacher. And of course, his primary source must be the Bible (2 Timothy 4:2; 1 Peter 4:11).
