Judging from the trends in most popular preaching today, the question of what Scripture means has taken a back seat to the question of what it means “to me.” The difference may seem insignificant at first. However, the obsession with the applicability of Scripture reflects a fundamental flaw—many Christians have adopted practicality as the ultimate judge of the worth of God’s Word. Many preachers find themselves pressured to be buried with passages that overtly relate to daily living, and ignore those that don’t.

Early in my ministry, I made a conscious, basic commitment to biblical preaching. My first priority has always been to answer the question, “What does this passage mean?” After I’ve explained as clearly and accurately as possible the meaning of a passage, then I call people to obedience through application in their own lives. I’ve often said, “It doesn’t make any difference what it means to you or to me—all that counts is what it means to God.” The Bible speaks for itself to the human heart; it is not my role as a preacher to try to tailor the message.

The heart of all that is really practical is bound up in the teaching of the Bible. We don’t make the Bible relevant; it is inherently so, simply because it is God’s Word. And after all, how can anything God says be irrelevant?