There is but one book that can speak and give us wisdom, give us knowledge, give us understanding, and give us direction. The Word of God is not a possible source of reference material for preaching, but, rather, the primary source for preaching the Gospel.
The preacher was commanded in Scripture to proclaim the Word of God. The Apostle Paul instructed Timothy to, "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine" (2 Timothy 4:2). The Bible is not a word merely about God or merely a word from God, but it is the Word of God.
There exists a difference between the knowledge of man and biblical truth. Knowledge may double but truth can never double because the Word of God is truth and it endures forever. Preachers must preach the Word of God, for God sanctifies His people through truth.
The Word of God is the source for sermons because of its inexhaustible character. The Bible can be proven to be an inexhaustible source from the fact that the Bible is relevant today. No preacher is intelligent enough to hold a congregation's interest for any extended period if he only goes to other sources for sermon material.
If you were to put the best talk-show host, comedian, lecturer, or actor in a pulpit, they could hold the attention of the people for a week, a month, or, at the best, a year. But I [Adrian Rogers] have been pastor at Bellevue Baptist Church for thirty-two years. Week after week, month after month, year after year, the people would be climbing the walls to get out were this pastor drawing from his own well or making commentary on current events.
I am as excited today about my ministry here as I have ever been. Our people are excited. The source of that excitement is the Word of God.
The relevance of Scripture is one of the great affirmations that the Bible is the inerrant, inspired Word of God. The fact that here we are in the twenty-first century, preaching through a book that is millennia old attests to its inexhaustible nature.
The fact that the Bible is still relevant reveals the universality of its appeal, its effectiveness, and its supernatural inspiration. The Bible is not a book-of-the-month; it is the book of the ages.
The Word of God was settled in Heaven before there were any autographs. It will be there when the Earth becomes a cinder and the stars splinter and fade.
The Word of God creates freshness in each sermon because the Bible is inexhaustible in its depth and universally applicable in its scope. In short, if the Bible is not absolute, it is obsolete. The Word of God is completely reliable.
*This question and answer were extracted from "Love Worth Finding: The Life of Adrian Rogers and His Philosophy of Preaching.”
