Stating the Obvious

  “The truths we are most prone to forget are often those with which we are most familiar.”  

The hardest sermon to hear is often the one we have already heard, but not for the reason you think. The problem is not that we are bored (although that may be true). It is that we do not listen as carefully as we should. We can be complacent about the familiar truths of the faith, thinking we know them better than we really do. We neglect the familiar and favor the new. The job of the church’s teachers is not to come up with new things to say but to reinforce truths that the church has already received (1 Cor. 11:23; 15:3; Gal. 1:12).

As Jude puts it, part of the pastor’s calling is to remind the church of what it already knows (Jude 1:5). The truths we are most prone to forget are often those with which we are most familiar. We become complacent because we see these as ground that has already been covered and does not need to be repeated. What is more, it is not only the great doctrines of the faith we need to remember. The biblical writers also felt it was necessary to remind God’s people of the practical implications of these truths. Paul told the Corinthians that he had sent Timothy not only to reinforce the truths he had preached but also to “remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church” (1 Cor. 4:17).

Likewise, Peter felt it necessary to remind his readers of the obligation to “make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love” (2 Peter 1:5–7, see vv. 12–13).

These are “doctrinal” matters in two important senses. First, they reflect the Bible’s teaching about what the believer’s life should look like. Second, they are qualities of life made possible by its more fundamental teachings about grace, salvation, and God’s transforming work through the gospel. These familiar truths are God’s “very great and precious promises” by which we “may participate in the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). The truth you most need to hear today is likely the truth you already know.

For Further Study

To learn more, read A Survey of Bible Doctrine by Charles Ryrie (Moody Publishers).