PREACHING THE WORD with Dr. John Herbst

This is the first of two posts I’m going to write about the Bible.  Part of the reason for two posts is my lifelong love for and fascination with the Bible: God’s Word will always have central place in my heart. Growing up, I was always part of churches that help the Bible in highest regard, claiming the Bible as our authority for everything we do and believe. And while my life has had its share of twists and turns, I have always tried to think about how my faith and actions relate to the Bible’s teaching. When we evangelicals talk about the purpose and use of the Bible, our number one “go to” passage is 2 Timothy 3:16–17, 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. We cite this passage to promote ...
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This is my second post in a series on modern evangelicalism. The term “evangelical” has been so casually used and misused over the past twenty years that many of us have only a vague sense of what it means, except perhaps for its connection to Republican politics. Yet in 2022, the term “Evangelical” as it was understood in the twentieth century can and should describe both Republicans and Democrats. The older understanding of the term needs a little updating, just as all enduring movements, even Christian movements, need fresh examination from time to time. But a renewed understanding of the term “evangelical” can help a wide group of Christians to work together for God’s glory. Twentieth century evangelicalism had three main thrusts, two drawn from Reformation ideas, and one from the early twentieth century. First, adapting the anabaptist idea of believer’s baptism, it stressed the personal salvific experience of every ...
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In recent months I’ve sensed God’s call to write about ways in which Christians in Hampton Roads and in American society in general can work together, even when we have very different personal convictions. I’ve already written a few posts that go in this direction, including my most recent one on abortion, but there is much, much more on which Baptists and other Christians can and should come to agreement. I’m going to begin with a series on modern American evangelicalism, describing how it was understood in the 20th century, and what it should look like today. I’m doing this because in popular circles the term “evangelical” has taken on so much political baggage recently that even many self-identified evangelicals have only a vague idea of what the term means. Even worse, evangelicalism as it is often understood and practiced today has become a tool for dividing Christ’s church, something ...
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Yes, the title is right.  While the issue of abortion seems to be yet another point of division, there is a way forward.  We can have Christian unity regarding abortion, and we can lead the way toward American unity about the same. Of course, we will need to invest some effort. Working together means listening to each other, empathizing with each other, and often surrendering personal preferences and “gut feelings” in pursuit of obeying the call of Christ. But whenever we can work together to defeat evil, God requires us to work together – even at the cost of some personal convictions. John 17:20–23, Ephesians 4:1–6, and Philippians 2:1–4 are among the many, many passages that stress this Christian obligation. Acts 15:1–26 (often titled “The Jerusalem Council”) gives us a great example of how to become unified. In this passage Christians from Antioch and greater Judea meet with the apostles ...
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The sermon I preached today about the recent shootings in Buffalo, Laguna Beach, and Uvalde was well received, so I’m posting an edited version.  I will continue my series on Revelation next week. Usually I begin sermons with a fun story to orient our thinking in a particular way. This does not seem appropriate today when we are already preoccupied with the horrific news of mass gun violence. We cannot avoid talking about the shootings, so I will do so in light of today’s scripture passages – Revelation 22:12–14, 16–17, 20–21; Acts 16:16–24; and John 17:20–26.  (For those of you who are wondering about this choice of texts, they come from the Revised Common Lectionary, which certain churches ask me to follow when I preach for them.) Over the past few weeks the lectionary has featured readings from the final chapters of Revelation. Revelation 21–22 tells us the goal, how ...
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