by J. Randal Matheny

Ever since C. H. Dodd, in 1936, made a severe separation between preaching (kerygma) the gospel and Christian teaching (didache), people have tried to whittle down what we should tell the non-Christian about the church and Christian life.

Recently, as I prepared for Bible class, another little note of interest surfaced. We're studying the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5. As I neared the finish line on one lesson, I consulted the Expositor's Bible Commentary, where James Montgomery Boice offered a perspective on the phrase in Galatians 5:21 about the works of the flesh, "of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, ..."

Boice remarks, "When Paul says that he warned the Galatians of this previously (presumably when he was among them), he reveals that his preaching was never what one might call mere evangelism but that it always contained a strong dose of the standard of morality expected from Christians" (p. 497).

In the next paragraph, calvinist Boice offers the old saw to wiggle out of a bind that "those who keep living in the flesh give evidence that they are not Abraham's seed and therefore will not inherit salvation" (p. 497). But it's his first affirmation above that especially interests me at the moment.

As an intelligent interpreter of Scripture, Boice is aware of the preaching/teaching dichotomy. And, if we understand his point properly, he comes down clearly that evangelistic preaching includes teaching about morals.

From the start, he says, Paul preached about repentance and the difference between right and wrong. And most certainly he preached about God's church, God's kingdom, God's mission.

It's simplistic to say, "Just preach Jesus, and worry later about the rest." Our Lord always made it clear the cost of following him. Changes, repentance, commitment. And how can one repent without knowing the wrong behavior which one exhibits and the godly conduct demanded? Lists of vices and virtues have fallen from modern use, but not from ancient Testimony.

In an age when so-called Christians in denominational churches demonstrate, according to evangelical-friendly U.S. surveys, a conduct equal to the world (and worse, in some cases), the need to preach repentance from evil works and commitment to godly conduct is greater than ever.

All preaching and teaching is necessarily selective, according to the audience, the moment, and the need. But as a general rule, we neglect preaching the full meaning of repentance to the peril of our hearers and ourselves as well.