Monday Musings: Application Matters

Some feel that application of the sermon should be the sole responsibility of the Holy Spirit and not of the preacher. For those with such concerns, it is worthwhile to consider statements on application from some leading advocates of preaching. Spurgeon realized that the greatest function of any sermon was the application of the gospel to the life of the unconverted and so urged pastors to plead for conversion at the close of every sermon;

Do not close a single sermon without addressing the ungodly, but at the same time set yourself seasons for a determined and continuous assault upon them, and proceed with all our soul to the conflict.[1]

He further encouraged his students,

There is a such thing as having too much to say and sating it till hearers are sent home loathing rather than longing…You should make your sermons like a loaf of bread, fit for eating and in convenient form…One thought fixed on the mind will be better than fifty thoughts made to flit across the ear.  One tenpenny nail driven home and clenched will be more useful than a score of tin-tacks loosely fixed, to be pulled out again in an hour.[2]

Concerning sermon conclusions, John Stott writes,

A true conclusion, however, goes beyond recapitulation to personal application.  Not that all application should be left to the end, for our text needs to be applied as we go along.  Nevertheless, it is a mistake to disclose too soon the conclusion to which we are going to come.  If we do, we lose people’s sense of expectation.  It is better to keep something up our sleeve.  Then we can leave it to the end that persuading which, by the Holy Spirit’s power, will prevail on people to take action…Our expectation, then, as the sermon comes to an end, is not merely that people will understand or remember or enjoy our teaching, but that they will do something about it.[3]