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than merely the principles for Christian living their pastors regularly present. To
be sure, Gibbs is correct in pointing out that a fresh style of expository preaching
will be needed to communicate in the present cultural context.

But if the church

is to know the Word and be transformed by it, preaching must provide its
exposition.

Interviewed recently in a ministry periodical, Thomas Long plainly spelled out the
danger and challenge of a famine of the Word in the church:

Inside the church, I have been concerned at the loss of
theological and biblical knowledge on the part of the average
lay person....One of the challenges for the preacher in the
21

century is to rebuild and refresh the memory of the church.

Preachers need to give congregations their Bibles back, to
rebuild their theological vocabulary, one brick, one word, one
concept, one text at a time. When seekers come in the door
of the church, we should not suspend our vocabulary, our
language,... our gospel--we should teach it.

The almost unimaginable possibility that the Bible could be lost by the church,
simply for a lack of reading it, preaching it fully, and teaching people how to study
it for themselves may be all too real.

In the second instance--making the Bible something other than it is--we either
mistakenly choose or are subtly seduced to accommodate the Bible to the culture
we are claiming to reach. We allow the Bible to be used instrumentally in ways
its central purpose does not intend. This happens when we allow the culture to
define that purpose by insisting that the Bible address its currently felt needs, or
when we ourselves seek to adapt the Bible to the perceived needs of the hearer
in the hope that this will win their attention and gain us a favorable hearing.
Either way, the Bible is not heard, not the transcendent themes of sin, wrath,
grace and redemption. Instead of those great themes, one writer reminds us,
"we speak of peace of mind, emotional healing, dysfunction and recovery, ...self-
esteem," and in doing this we are in danger of using the Bible as little more than
a practical guide for life adjustment, and we rob it of its authority and power.

its place is a message grounded more in immanent words than the transcendent
Word, without the transforming power needed to release people from the
consequences of sin. Michael Horton argues that while many evangelicals may
well intend to hold a high view of Scripture by insisting that it is a manual for daily
life, they instead end up with a low view of Scripture by trivializing its real
meaning and purpose. "The Bible," he says, "is not primarily concerned with
organizing our schedules, giving us tips for winning in life and business, or with
guiding us into self-fulfillment. It is a story about God and His saving acts,
leading up to the cross, the Resurrection, and our Lord's return in order to make
all things new."

When our preaching is centered on less than these great

themes, it risks being reduced to little more than a "modern moralism,"

and it is

not radically evangelical.