19 Apr 2011

The Strengths of Redemptive-Historical Preaching

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Exponents of redemptive-historical preaching (see yesterday's introduction for definition) have many worthy aims and desires in promoting it as a valid form of preaching. For example, they say that:

1. It shows how the whole Bible witnesses to Christ
Redemptive-historical preaching has the great and worthy aim of showing Christ in all of Scripture. It aims to bring Christ to sinners from every part of His Word. Greidanus corals Luther’s support for this view:

Luther begins with the premise that Christ is the heart of the Bible. In countless works he states his conviction that the Old Testament, too, is about Christ: “In the whole Scripture there is nothing but Christ, either in plain words or involved words…The entire Old Testament refers to Christ and agrees with Him.”[1]

Thus exegetes of Scripture must go beyond asking, “What was the original meaning?” and ask, “How does this relate to and lead to Christ?” This is vital for, as Greidanus warns, “If we fail to preach Christ from the Old Testament, we have missed its essence.”[2]

2. It demonstrates God’s redemptive purpose in all history
Instead of viewing redemptive history as beginning with Christ, redemptive historical preaching shows that God has been acting redemptively from the beginning of history, and that He had the end in view from the beginning. Greidanus points to the way that Donald Miller likens God’s design in redemptive history to a play.

As a playwright works into the earlier scenes of his play certain ideas which are only per­plexing at the time they are introduced, but which are made clear as one looks back to them from the standpoint of the climax, God was working into the earlier acts of the drama of redemption elements which, when re­capitulated in a higher key in Jesus, received a clarity which they did not have in their original setting…Because God progressively works out his redemptive plan in hu­man history, the New Testament writers can preach Christ from the Old Testament as the culmination of a long series of redemptive acts.[3]

This is why the Christian is interested in Old Testament history far more than in American, African, or Indian history. It is because it is the prequel to the climax of Christ’s incarnation. It is because you cannot understand the climax without knowledge of the prequel. 

3. It widens the meaning of preaching Christ
Redemptive-historical preaching widens the meaning of preaching Christ beyond simply the words and deeds of His short earthly life. It sees the whole of history as redemptive, and so as revelatory of the Redeemer. 

4. It includes divine intention in exegesis
One of the great shibboleths of modern hermeneutics is that we must not allow for any interpretation that goes beyond the original understanding of the original writer and his audience. Now, of course, the original understanding of the writer is important and we should investigate it. However, we must remember that there is a divine author behind the human writer. Calvin highlights this when he frequently speaks of the “intention of the Holy Spirit” or the “intention of God.” Redemptive historical preaching explicitly recognizes how this makes Holy Scripture different from ordinary works of literature and, therefore, asks what was God’s intention in recording particular events in Scripture. 

5. It unites the Old and New Testaments
As we have noted above, the New Testament begins with Old Testament History. There was a clear desire on the part of the Gospel writers to show that the New Testament was not a new religion without past foundation, but rather was simply building upon the Old Testament, and indeed fulfilling and climaxing it. Redemptive-historical preaching repeatedly emphasizes this important union between the Testaments and hence the unity in the divine plan of redemption. Greidanus argues:

We ought to start with the continuity of a unified history of redemption which progresses from the old covenant to the new, and a single Scripture consisting of two Testaments. The Old Testament and the New are both parts of the Christian Bible; both reveal the same covenant-making God; both reveal the gospel of God's grace; both show God reaching out to his disobedient children with the promise, “I will be your God, and you will be my people”; both reveal God's acts of redemption.[4]

6. It demands Christ-centered application of Scripture
Redemptive-historical preachers fear that the practice of viewing well-known Bible stories in isolation from the overall canonical and historical context often results in simple moralistic application that fails to connect to the history of redemption. This results in a religion based upon human works rather than on faith in Christ. They demand that every Old Testament character be viewed in connection with redemptive history, in light of its beginning and end, so that the application is Christ-centered rather than man-centered. Only after this connection with the timeline of redemption is made can legitimate applications follow. 

7. It promotes the Old Testament as a tool of New Testament interpretation
There are many ideas, concepts, and images in the New Testament that cannot be understood apart from the Old Testament. For example, New Testament references to the Kingdom of God, the Servant of God, the Son of Man, etc., cannot be understood apart from the Old Testament. By repeatedly highlighting and emphasizing Old Testament history with its concepts and themes, redemptive-historical preaching shows the utility of the Old Testament as a tool of New Testament interpretation.

8. It promotes the New Testament as a tool of Old Testament interpretation
In contrast to many liberals’ refusal to use later revelation to interpret earlier revelation, Greidanus says one of the fundamental biblical presuppositions of redemptive-historical preaching is that “the Old Testament must be interpreted not only in its own context, but also in the context of the New Testament. Just as the apostles preached Christ from the Old Testament using the vantage point of the New Testament so must we.”[5] Greidanus goes on:

This conclusion is but an application of the standard hermeneutical principle that every text must be understood in its context. Since the liter­ary context of the Old Testament in the Christian canon is the New Testa­ment, this means that the Old Testament must be understood in the con­text of the New Testament. And since the heart of the New Testament is Jesus Christ, this means that every message from the Old Testament must be seen in the light of Jesus Christ.[6]

2 Corinthians 3:15-16 confirms that when Christ is revealed to the soul, a veil is removed from the Old Testament and so the reader is given new understanding of it. Thus the disciples on the Emmaus Road had their whole view of the Old Testament changed by a view of the crucified and risen Christ. Greidanus illustrates this with an artistic analogy:

As long as the painting is incomplete, it can be developed in various ways - that is, it is open to various interpretations. But when the paint­ing has received its definitive shape and hues with New Testament teach­ings about a first and second coming of Christ, the ambiguity inherent in the Old Testament is resolved. Now every part of the Old Testament must be seen in its relation to the complete picture; every part must be seen in its relation to Jesus Christ…. This analogy is nothing other than a form of the standard hermeneutical circle: one cannot really know the meaning of a part until one knows the whole, and one cannot know the whole un­til one knows its parts.[7]

It was none other than Christ Himself who taught the apostles to read the Old Testament from the viewpoint of His person and work. He it was who commonly described Himself as the Son of Man, as the servant of the Lord, and so forth. Greidanus glories in this hermeneutical circle: “We can only understand Christ in the light of the Old Testament, and we can only understand the Old Testament in the light of Christ.”[8]

We might enjoy air travel just for the experience of flying. However, we will usually enjoy it even more if the final destination is something we are looking forward to. Similarly, we will enjoy traveling through the Old Testament if we know it ultimately leads to Jesus.

So, redemptive-historical preaching has many, many strengths. However, it also has some weaknesses, especially the modern version of it. Tomorrow, I'll highlight some dangers that redemptive-historical preaching can fall into.

[1]  Sidney Greidanus, Preaching Christ from the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1999), 204 , 120.
[2] Ibid., 61-62.
[3] Donald G. Miller, The Way to Biblical Preaching, (Nashville, Abingdon, 1957), 134.
[4] Greidanus, 45-46.
[5] Ibid., 51
[6] Ibid., 51.
[7] Ibid., 47, 52.
[8] Ibid., 201.