James Madison Mathes (1808-1892), like so many religious people in the nineteenth century, was determined to dismiss the religious teachings he had previously been taught to simply learn the Scriptures and follow what they taught. This led him to be immersed for the remission of sins. Later, he joined the ministry and dedicated his life to preaching and teaching the gospel.
Many who begin the work of preaching the gospel speak of being “called” to the ministry or “called” to preach. This is true today as it was in Mathes’ day. However, Mathes had a different understanding of what this meant than many of his religious contemporaries. Notice his criticism of many who claimed to have been “called” by God to preach:
“I have known some enthusiasts who had but little to entitle them to public notice, except their fiery zeal, ignorance, and supportive impudence, who at the same time looked upon themselves as a kind of second edition of the Apostles! Such fanatical spirits frequently tell their hearers, when they get up to preach, that they are going to speak just as God gives it to them—that God has called them by name, qualified, and sent them forth as his ambassadors to a rebellious world—that God had revealed his mind and will to them by direct revelation.
“But it frequently happens, that such men cannot join two simple sentences together, or deliver one clear intelligible idea in a discourse of an hour long, and that too under the immediate control of the Holy Spirit, if we take their word for it! Now I cannot believe that God even called any man to preach who had not the ability to do it, neither do I believe that God ever sent any man who could not tell his message.” (A Record of Christian Union and Truth, p. 157)
What these men lacked in knowledge, they compensated with zeal. They were like the ones Paul described who wanted “to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions” (1 Timothy 1:7). Unfortunately, no matter how “confident” one is, if his message is not in harmony with the will of God, he ends up “straying from” the truth and turns to “fruitless discussion” (1 Timothy 1:6).
This misguided notion that God directly calls certain individuals by name to preach has led such individuals to think they are equal in role and authority to the apostles. Those who believe others receive such a call will elevate them to such a level. However, the apostles were specifically and uniquely chosen by Christ to be His “ambassadors” (2 Corinthians 5:20), which means they were His official spokesmen. They were directly guided by the Spirit “into all the truth” (John 16:13) so that what they taught carried the same weight as the words of Christ (1 Corinthians 14:37; 1 Thessalonians 4:2; 2 Peter 3:2).
There are no living apostles today. Therefore, in order to speak the truth as they did, we need to go back to what they taught. However, not every teacher or preacher will do this. That is why John warned, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). He then said, “We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error” (1 John 4:6).
This is why it is so important for preachers and teachers to know what the Scriptures teach. The only way we can “speak as the oracles of God” (1 Peter 4:11, KJV) is to know the word of God well enough to teach and explain it to others.
Returning to the idea of being “called” to preach, Mathes’ concept of this was much less subjective than many believed. He said,
“If a member of the church has the ability to teach or exhort, he is called of God to do so; not by a voice directly from heaven, a dream, or a vague impression; but by the voice of God in his word, which is far more certain, definite and satisfactory.” (Ibid., p. 158-159)
Rather than looking for some sign that might be interpreted to mean that one should preach, Mathes focused on one’s ability and a sense of obligation. Those with the ability to preach were “called” to use that ability in the cause of Christ. In fact, Peter spoke of this when he admonished brethren to “speak as the oracles of God.”
“As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:10-11).
In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), Jesus described a master entrusting “talents” to his servants based upon their ability to manage them. The “talents” in the parable were sums of money. However, the principle concerns our obligation to use our blessings (money, time, resources, abilities, etc.) in the Lord’s service. This means that those who have the ability to preach or teach ought to be using that ability. That does not necessarily mean being a “full-time evangelist,” but it can mean preaching in other capacities, teaching Bible classes, serving as an elder, hosting home Bible studies, training younger disciples, and so on, depending on the circumstances and the particular roles that have been outlined for us in God’s word.
Rather than trying to discern some special “call” from God on our lives, we need to look to His word, which equips us for “every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). As we do that, we need to look to ourselves and see what blessings we have (money, time, resources, abilities, etc.) that can be used in His service. When we identify what we can do, let us consider it our duty to serve the Lord in whatever way we can, whether that involves preaching or doing anything else.
