The title “Proclamation: The Kerygmatic Act” affirms that the content of proclamation is Christ. “Kerygmatic preaching is the preaching about Christ which saves,” said Paul to the Corinthian church (I Cor. 1:21). Thus, kerygmatic or gospel preaching is always the proclamation of Christ. Primarily, this preaching is evangelistic in that it is addressed to lost men, but the same content may be edificatory to the Christian when it is addressed to the church community.  

By definition proclamation which is kerygmatic is easy to obtain. By performance, according to the preaching one often hears or reads in sermons, proclamation which is kerygmatic is exceedingly rare. The vast distances of space, separating the stars by billions of miles and numbers of light-years, seem no greater than the space separating theory and performance of proclamation which is assuredly kerygmatic.  

Incredible are the number and nature of preaching ideas which, though seemingly biblical and kerygmatic, are secular and humanistic. The fact that the minister merely reads a text, or quotes numerous supporting scriptures or uses many illustrations from scripture does not establish that the message is either biblical or kerygmatic. The preacher can do all of these things and still miss the mood and meaning of the scripture passage through allegorizing, spiritualizing, or falsifying the truth of the text.  

The primary problem in securing proclamation which is kerygmatic resides in the preacher. The preacher may err in taking rich kerygmatic ore from scripture and turning it into cheap topical coin. If the preacher would always move in a direct line from scripture to sermon on paper and then to the delivered sermon, there would always exist the possibility that proclamation will become genuine kerygmatic preaching. The final act in proclamation must be the application of the message to the people by the Holy Spirit.  

The frailty of the preacher causes one to wish that God would assist at times by another audible voice from heaven or by sending his only Son once again to preach and teach on this earth. The challenge of the lead in another Pentecost in order that we could see at firsthand just how God desires his Word preached. Human nature being what it is, however, would we recognize these new divine invasions of the human realm were they to occur?  

Unless the biblical evidence contains hidden clues about such desires, and there is no reason to suspect that it does, we will not see proclamation which is kerygmatic by such new divine manifestations. God has already chosen a way and started the process by which we obtain proclamation which is kerygmatic. Our task, then, is to produce kerygmatic proclamation. Can we do so?  

Proclamation which is kerygmatic is possible because of God’s prologue to present-day preaching. God has been acting in history preparing the way for the present-day preacher to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ. Through his sovereign will God has revealed himself to man. Through the glories of nature, through the life and deeds of the nation Israel as told and recorded by prophets and scribes, and last of all supremely so through Jesus Christ, God has revealed what he is and what he desires from man. As God acted in nature, Israel, and Christ, he moved in the hearts and on the minds of selected men to cause them to see and to record the special acts of God. As these records were preserved and collected under the guiding hand of God, they came to be called “Holy Scriptures.” Finally, through centuries of testing by God’s people under God’s direction, the rule of faith, the canon of scriptures, which we call our Bible, came to completion. Devout men through the ages have copied and kept this Bible for us. From the original manuscripts, copies by the score have come forth to provide the basis for accurate and reliable texts for both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Moreover, translators, working in some cases for decades, have brought God’s written Word to most literate people on the face of the earth. Thus, through the processes of revelation, inspiration, preservation, canonization, and translation God gives to the contemporary preacher the possibility of participating in proclamation which is kerygmatic.  

Apart from this entire process, God’s prologue for this hour, the preacher cannot participate in kerygmatic proclamation. To what source other than the Bible can the preacher go in order to secure authentic and authoritative christological content? To what scholar or to what library can the minister turn for primary data about Jesus other than that found in the Bible? The Bible, because of God’s choice, is the sole source of content which can be kerygmatic.  

What, then, is kerygmatic content? God, through Paul, said, “It was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save them that believe” (I Cor. 1:21b). Paul did not state that preaching saved those who believed, but he said that the thing preached saved those who believed. The thing preached was the kerygma—the gospel. The verse means “it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of kerygmatic preaching, gospel preaching, to save them that believe.”  

Kerygmatic content means good news about salvation through Jesus Christ. This good news is not just any news, not just any truth, not just anything agreed with, nor even just any biblical truth. Kerygmatic content is good news about salvation through Jesus Christ.  

The New Testament makes a distinction between kerygma, the gospel which saves, and didache, the teaching which edifies. Often kerygmatic content was directed to Christians for their comfort and strength as well as to motivate for service. When kerygmatic content was directed to Christians, it became didache.  

However, it was the good news about salvation through Christ, when preached to non-Christians, which was called gospel or kerygma. It is this kerygma or gospel which when preached becomes the kerygmatic act. What are the specifics of this kerygma?  

The kerygma is, first of all, good news about a new age. Jesus of Nazareth, declared the New Testament preachers, was the Messiah of Old Testament promise. To declare that Jesus brought a new age also declared that there was an old one. It began in the Garden of Eden with the fall of Adam. Throughout the ages, therefore, prophets longed for and looked for a new age. At Pentecost, Peter said, “But this is that which hath been spoken through the prophet Joel.” 

Again, the kerygma is good news about the personal ministry of Jesus Christ. The New Testament proclaimers emphasized that the birth of Christ was in fulfillment of prophecy and therefore was good news. Peter further stressed that the deed and works of Jesus demonstrated good news. “Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God unto you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, even as ye yourselves know” (Acts 2:22). John declared that all the world could not contain the records of all the deeds of Jesus. The death of Jesus was for our sins, and this is good news. Peter said, “Him, being delivered up by the determinate counsel and fore-knowledge of God, ye by the hand of lawless men did crucify and slay” (Acts 2:23). Paul, the theologian, affirmed that “Jesus died for our sins” (I Cor. 15:3) and affixed God’s meaning to the death on the cross. The New Testament preachers concluded the story of the life and deeds of Jesus by declaring that Christ was buried and arose from the grave. Peter said about Jesus, “Whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it” (Acts 2:24).  

Moreover, the kerygma is good news about the exaltation of Jesus. Jesus was despised, killed, buried, raised up, and crowned. The crowning, the exaltation, came when all seemed lost. Magnificent are the phrases used in the New Testament to depict the exaltation of Christ: he is at God’s right hand (Acts 2:33; 5:31); he is both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36); he is the Son of God with power (Rom. 1:4); he is the stone which is now the head of the corner (Acts 4:10-11); and he is a prince and a Saviour (Acts 5:31).  

In the fourth place, the kerygma is good news about the current work of Jesus. Paul said, “It is Christ Jesus that died, yea rather, that was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us” (Rom. 8: 34b). Also, Jesus gives the Holy Spirit. “Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath poured forth this, which ye see and hear” (Acts 2:33).  

In addition, the kerygma is good news about the second coming of Jesus. The New Testament proclaimers said that Jesus is coming again and that he will be judge and Saviour (Acts 10:42; Rom. 2:16; I Cor. 4:5; and I Thess. 1:9-10).  

Finally, the kerygma is good news about repentance. “Now when they heard this [Peter’s sermon at Pentecost], they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren what shall we do? And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:37-38).  

Proclamation which is kerygmatic is possible through the preacher as proclaimer even though he is a vessel of clay. Provided that the preacher faithfully uses God’s written Word, he can participate in kerygmatic proclamation. Of a necessity, the preacher must force himself to use the Bible as the foundation for each sermon. In theory all preachers believe that the Bible should be the foundation for all preaching, but in reality few preachers practice it. The preacher is so fond of his own thoughts and ideas that he must exercise the most rigid discipline to force himself to lay a biblical foundation under each sermon.  

It is not easy to lay a biblical foundation for each sermon because ideas from all sources beat upon the mind of the preacher and clamor to be used. The problems and needs of the congregation cry out for attention; the local and denominational programs place pressure upon the preacher; flashes of insight come to the minister (these are not always biblical or even biblically related); and every contact and experience which are the preacher’s demand attention. All four of these broad areas furnish a continuous flow of ideas and thoughts which can take over and dominate the mind of the preacher. Unless the minister exercises the tightest kind of homiletical discipline, he will find that he is preaching ideas and sermons far removed from kerygmatic content.  

In addition to laying a biblical foundation, the preacher must use the best principles of hermeneutics in order to understand his biblical foundation. While some men depart from kerygmatic proclamation by using non-biblical foundational material, other preachers miss the kerygmatic route because they do not study or understand their scripture. There is no point in debating which is the more serious because both points of departure miss the way and are erroneous.  

Through careful study of the text, the preacher must examine the scripture until he understands it and can draw out the central idea of the text. One workable exegetical procedure is to read the chosen text numerous times in a favorite translation until the words of the passage are deeply impressed upon one’s mind. There is no substitute in preaching for a knowledge of the actual words of the text. Next, the preacher can and should read the text in four or five translations other than the favorite one first used. Since each translation of the Bible is to some degree a commentary and thereby an interpretation of the text, one can gain valuable insights by studying numerous translations. Further, the minister should read his text in Hebrew or Greek if he is able to do so. The value to be gained from reading the text in the original language cannot be disputed. If, however, one cannot read Hebrew or Greek, he should not despair because he can gain understanding of his scripture from good translations and technical books. In the fourth place, the preacher should turn to technical books on the scripture passage and seek out the wisdom of men who have given their lives to a study of God’s Word. Always check three, or four, or more commentaries and research volumes in order to get the widest possible range of opinions and to prevent one erroneous book from misleading. Finally, in a process of interpreting a text, make a careful personal summary of the meaning of the text by writing out the interpretation of each individual verse and by stating the meaning of the entire passage. This meaning of the entire passage, called in homiletical circles the “central idea of the text,” should be obtained for each sermon in order to insure that God’s Word has been understood correctly. The central idea of the text becomes the pivotal item in sermon preparation. It is to be doubted that one can preach a truly biblical sermon which is kerygmatic proclamation without a knowledge of the central idea of the scripture passage for the sermon. There are ways, of course, of preaching on sub-themes or on less than the entire central idea of the text, but problems and dangers are involved in such homiletical uses. The most direct procedures toward securing true proclamation are to lay a kerygmatic biblical foundation, to study that biblical foundation, and to draw out the central idea or heart of the text.  

Moreover, the preacher will take the central idea of the text and construct his sermon directly from it. The entire sermon should be a direct outgrowth of the heart of the text. The preacher will use the heart of the text in order to construct his thesis or proposition (in biblical preaching the contemporary meaning of the text), the sermon purpose (major purpose and specific purpose), title, body, conclusion, introduction, and invitations—listed here in the order of preparation and not presentation.  

By moving in a direct line from a kerygmatic passage of scripture to the sermon organized on paper, the preacher has the possibility of participating with God in proclamation which is Christ-centered.  

Finally, the preacher must speak or preach his Christ–centered sermon in such a distinct fashion that the audience can hear the Word of God with its christological content. Through the spoken Word based on the written Word, the preacher witnesses to the revealed Word, even Jesus.  

This process, in reality a description of biblical homiletics, involves the effective use of biblical studies, principles of interpretation, theology, rhetoric, psychology, and speech or oratory. A shallow superficial conception of homiletics as merely rhetoric will never enable a preacher to preach kerygmatic sermons. It is only the man who understands the complexity of the task of preaching who will be a proclaimer of kerygmatic content. The fact that so few preachers do understand the vast and complex nature of homiletics accounts in part for the poor state of contemporary preaching.  

Not even this detailed procedure for producing biblical sermons, however, is a sure guarantee of kerygmatic preaching unless one additional thing happens.  

Proclamation which is kerygmatic is possible when the Holy Spirit applies the preached Word to the hearts of the people. The purpose of proclamation is to speak to man in the name of God from God’s Word. When the preacher stands on God’s prologue, honors God’s written Word through adequate interpretation, organization, and orientation, and oration, the Holy Spirit may, if he wills to do so, bear the spoken message to the hearts of the hearers in a dynamically effective way. When this happens, proclamation is complete and it is kerygmatic.  

True proclamation is prologue, proclaimer, and people united in God’s will and Word by the Holy Spirit. Proclamation as a kerygmatic act is, therefore, possible. May we be granted the incomparable joy of sharing in proclamation which is in theory and in fact, kerygmatic.