The Skinny on Redemptive Historical Preaching

There seems to be much misunderstanding down here in the deep south about RH preaching. It appears that few here consider this method of preaching worthwhile. I find that unfortunate because it appears that the reaction against this Biblical preaching method leads to some very suspect sermons.

First let me set the record straight, RH preaching is not against application. This comes from a small, vocal minority from the pacific north west that is against any type of application. I do not support this and most Biblical Theologians do not either. There are plenty of imperative verbs in the NT, that is undeniable, the only point of contention I have is that they flow naturally out of the indicatives. It is only in light of what Christ has done for us that we are able to do what the Lord commands.

Second let me say I have heard some very moralistic sermons here that encourage believers to "Dare to be a David" or "Don't be like Moses." The problem with these kind of sermons are that these historical characters are types of Christ's we are not to emulate. To be sure there are examples we should identify with, we just need to make sure we identify with the proper ones. We are not to see ourselves as David defeating Goliath, we should see ourselves as the Israelites who stood by and did nothing to defeat this foe but were delivered by the type of Christ David was.

I write this in light of a comment I received from a local pastor who seems very opposed to the RH method. He has offered to come have lunch with me and I look forward to this. I have come to respect this particular pastor from interaction I have had with him on a yahoo newsgroup I have been involved with since before I began attending seminary. That being said, Ken I look forward to spending time with you and learning from your years in the pulpit.