“I wish you, upon your entrance into the ministry, to have a formed and determinate idea, what the phrase, preaching the gospel, properly signifies.
The gospel is the power of God unto salvation; and this gospel is preached when it is accompanied with some due degree of that demonstration and power from on high, which is necessary to bring it home to the hearts and consciences of the hearers.
Thus the apostle Peter informs us, “that it was preached in the beginning with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven;” (1 Peter 1:12) and Paul reminds the Thessalonians, “that they had received it not in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance.” (1 Thess. 1:5)
From these passages, I think we may warrantably conclude, that merely to declare the truths of the gospel, is not to preach it.
The knowledge of it as a system may be acquired, and of course recited by those who have no portion or tincture of that inward conviction of its important certainty, which is necessary to impress a correspondent conviction upon others.
Many of the great truths of the Scripture may be represented by a man of a warm and lively imagination, in such a manner as considerably to affect the imaginations and natural passions of an audience, even though he should not himself believe a word of the subject.
This would be an effect of no higher kind, than is produced upon the stage. The exertions of a skilful actor first drawn forth by the sight of the spectators, and a desire to please them, act upon them reciprocally, and give him an ascendency over their feelings.
This is all very natural, and may easily be accounted for.
It is not so easy to account for the presumption of those preachers, who expect, (if they can indeed expect it,) merely by declaiming on gospel subjects, to raise in their hearers those spiritural perceptions of humiliation, desire, love, joy, and peace, of which they have no impression on their own hearts.
I premise, therefore, that there is one species of popularity which I hope will rather be the object of your dread, than of your ambition. It is a poor affair to be a stage-player in divinity, to be able to hold a congregation by the ears, by furnishing them with an hour’s amusement, if this be all.
But the man who is what he professes to be, who knows what he speaks of, in whom the truth dwells and lives, who has not received the gospel from books, or by hearers only, but in the school of the great Teacher, acquires a discernment, a taste, a tenderness, and a humility, which secure to him the approbation of the judicious, qualify him for the consolation of the distressed, and even so far open his way to the hearts of the prejudiced, that, if they refuse to be persuaded, they are often convicted in their own consciences, and forced to feel that God is with the preacher.
When Philip preached, the Eunuch rejoiced; when Paul preached, Felix trembled.
The power of the truth was equally evident in both cases, though the effects were different. One criterion of the gospel ministry, when rightly dispensed, is, that it enters the recesses of the heart.
The hearer is amazed to find that the preacher, who perhaps never saw him before, describes him to himself, as though he had lived long in the same house with him, and was acquainted with his conduct, his conversation, and even with his secret thoughts, 1 Corinthians, 14:24-25.
If, therefore, you wish to preach the gospel with power, pray for a simple, humble spirit, that you may have no allowed end in view, but to proclaim the glory of the Lord whom you profess to serve, to do his will, and for his sake to be useful to the souls of men.
Study the word of God, and the workings of your own heart, and avoid all those connections, communications, and pursuits, which, experience will tell you, have a tendency to damp the energy, or to blunt the sensibility of your spirit. Thus shall you come forth as a scribe, well instructed in the mysteries of the kingdom, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, approved of God, acceptable to men, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Thus your trumpet shall not give an uncertain sound, nor shall you appear like a cloud without water, to raise and disappoint the expectations of your hearers. A just confidence of the truths you speak, a sense of the importance of your message, a love to precious souls, and a perception of the divine presence, will give your discourses a solidity, a seriousness, a weight, which will impress a sympathetic feeling upon your hearers, and they will attend, as to one who speaks with spirit, demonstration, and power.”
–John Newton, The Works of John Newton, Volume 6 (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1820/1988), 6: 398-402.
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