How Effective Sermons End

Introduction

If poor conclusions were a disease, the Church would be suffering a plague of pandemic proportion! However, A sermon conclusion in the preaching ministry of a true pastor who incorporates the Word of God in his closing appeals to God’s people so that they may achieve the purpose of the sermon in their lives is poised to provide all that is possible through the means of this most important element of a sermon.

In this book, the sermon conclusion is characterized as the highpoint of the sermon. As the highpoint of the sermon the conclusion should, and may well be understood as: the essence of earnestness; the peak of passion; the epitome of enthusiasm; the zenith of zeal; the summit of sincerity; the showcase of shepherding; the infusion of insight; the apex of application; the liaison for life-change; the pinnacle of persuasion; the climax of conviction; the crux of correction; the expedient of exhortation; the effulgence of encouragement; the conveyor of comfort; the harbinger of hope; the instiller of inspiration; the means of motivation; the resource of reproof; the revealer of remediation; the restorer of resolve; the refiner of righteousness; the procurer of purpose; and the conclusion includes the giving of the gospel.

To preach well is tough. To conclude well is tougher. This assertion is demonstrated clearly, even by the best preachers, many of whom do great work in preaching until they attempt to conclude their sermons, then their sermons simply fall apart and become unglued.

For me, Super Bowl LI will always serve as a fitting analogy of the typical sermon conclusion in preaching. Super Bowl LI was a game in which the Atlanta Falcons snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory more adeptly than any team who had preceded them in Super Bowl history. For the first three quarters the Atlanta Falcons totally dominated the New England Patriots. But the fourth quarter and the initial minutes of the very first overtime period in Super Bowl history defaced the whole game for the Atlanta Falcons. The last 18 minutes and 57 seconds of tragedy negated 45 minutes of triumph! At the end of the third quarter, Patriots 3 and the Falcons 28. At the end of the game, Patriots 34 and the Falcons 28. Thirty-one unanswered points! For the Falcons, what should have been, a Super Bowl Championship, never happened because of how the game was concluded! Many sermons are victimized by the same epic collapse in their conclusions!

For one to do a better job in preaching, generally, and to do a better job in concluding a sermon, specifically, requires one to become more concerned about the craft of preaching. Halford Luccock, in his book, In the Minister’s Workshop, provides many valuable insights regarding the craft of preaching sermons. He is helpful as he warns about the prospect of falling victim to a distorted preoccupation with technique as he writes, Personal and professional calamity impends when a means becomes an end. Yet we dare not forget that the end depends on the means. A consideration of ends without attention to means is pure sentimentalism.¹ Although I agree with Luccock’s warning and I believe it is well intended and serviceable, we would do well to remember that preaching is a synergistic reality in which its total will always be greater than the sum of its parts. And this is true even when all the parts are crafted with the greatest of care. And yet, great care in crafting sermons is still needed by, even incumbent upon, every preacher of God’s Word.

The improvement needed in the craft of preaching sermons is demanded due to the inherent difficulty of preaching. From the beginning of the sermon to its completion, the preaching process is nothing other than an intense struggle. For a preacher, a sermon is like two wrestling matches, simultaneously occurring, one with a text and its subject-matter, and the other with an audience. The great struggle of preaching begins with the tenseness of the initial minutes which determine whether a preacher will get an effective grip on the subject-matter and on his hearers.² However, the epic struggle of preaching is in presenting the truth by means of appeals, persuasion, and warning in such a way to etch itself on the mind of the hearers so that the goal of preaching—an effective presentation of God’s Word which can change the lives of the hearers—can be achieved. Though difficult, this goal is so great as to deserve any extent of discipline and sacrifice.³ In the act of preaching, a preacher is on trial and his immediate vindication will come through a demonstration of skilled workmanship in the craft of preaching, a product of toiling at a craft with intensity.⁴ In regard to the concept of skilled workmen, I cannot help but to think about those men described in Joshua 20:16 of whom it was written that they were choice, left-handed men who could sling stones at a hair and not miss. An obvious result of much time and effort in developing their craft. To be sure, such toiling with intensity is never more needed than in the craft of concluding sermons!

In one way, a sermon is like many other things we are familiar with and experience in life. In other words, how something ends is a crucial consideration in determining its value and its effect on the lives of others. We should not overlook the importance of how something ends. Whether reference is being made to the passing of a friend, the outcome of an athletic competition, the evaluation of a movie, or the culmination of a career, how the matter is brought to conclusion wields significant persuasion as to how we are inclined to view the whole. Such is the case, and particularly so, for sermons.

The bottom line is this—the Church commonly is denied a most valuable aid, that is, sermons that end well with true purpose, passion, power, and practical instruction for the hearers! Doing good work in concluding sermons does not happen naturally for preachers by accruing additional years of service in the ministry of preaching. In fact, the very opposite thing, most likely, will become a reality—he becomes so skilled at doing subpar work that producing poor conclusions has become second nature to him. He can do this very easily and does so routinely. He has become adept at being very bad at concluding his sermons. To do differently will require a different thought process about sermon conclusions and how to go about them.

This book, as an examination of sermon conclusions, advocates six elements⁵ which constitute the material to be incorporated by a preacher as he concludes his sermon. Each of the six elements have a proven track record throughout the history of preaching. By this I mean that each element, throughout five centuries⁶ in homiletical writings in Europe and America, was part of the instruction of those who trained men to preach, was advocated in many homiletical treatises, and demonstrated by many preachers in their preaching.

However, this does not mean that each of the six elements have been uniformly advocated in homiletical literature and in the practice of preaching throughout the centuries. For each of the six elements, there have been those, in their teaching, writing, and practice of preaching, who were averse to its inclusion in a sermon conclusion. The bottom line is this, there has never been uniform thinking as to what elements a sermon conclusion should incorporate. And it is certain that in these days there will be no uniform thinking as to what a sermon conclusion should include.

Therefore, there can be no doubt about this—there will be many who will take exception to the necessity or benefit of one, or even more, of the six elements advocated in this book as being necessary, or even beneficial, in a sermon conclusion. Every homelitician and preacher must be true to his convictions, in theory and practice, regarding the matter of preaching, generally, as well as the more specific matter of the sermon conclusion.

The overarching argument in this book is that the sermon conclusion should be the highpoint of the sermon. This is nothing new in the theory of concluding sermons. However, the theory and practice of sermon conclusions as the highpoint of the sermon is overwhelmingly absent in these days. For a sermon’s highpoint to be the conclusion will necessitate that substantially more content be contained in it than is commonly evidenced in sermons today. In present-day practice, sermon conclusions, when they exist, stand no chance whatsoever of being the highpoint of the sermon. They are too deprived of substance and significance to be anything other than what they are—an insignificant appendage tacked on to the sermon.

If one were to take a random selection of 100 preachers, all of whom are mature, godly men who love the Lord greatly and hold a high view of Scripture, the vast majority of them would have one very significant thing in common regarding their preaching. The unfortunate commonality is this—the most substantial improvement and the most beneficial upgrade in their preaching would be that of improvement in their sermon conclusions. This does not mean that the conclusion is the only thing needing improvement, or substantial improvement in the preaching of these men. Typically, several other elements of preaching would be ripe for a significant upgrade. This does mean, however, that the sermon conclusion is the most significant universal weakness in preaching. If poor conclusions were a disease, the Church would be suffering a plague of pandemic proportion! The sad reality is this—Poor conclusions are endemic in the preaching ministry of the Church.

The argument of this book regarding sermon conclusions is not more for the sake of more. The argument is more for the sake of the sermons we preach and for the people who hear them! If sermon conclusions are to rise above the low level of present-day practice, then there must be a return to a high view of sermon conclusions, as well as an enriched supplementation of content in their composition.

The marketing jingle of A Little Dab will Do Ya! was an effective slogan decades ago for the haircare product, Brylcreem. But the homiletical version of Brylcreem, an enfeebled little dab of content marshalled in present-day sermon conclusions will not do if the intent is to provide believers with strategic insights necessary for them to go from as is to as should be in faithfully living the purpose of the text expounded in the sermon. Additionally, there is need for a clear declaration of the person and work of Jesus Christ so that unbelievers may have a true understanding of Him and, thereby, may receive the free gift of eternal life by repenting of their sins and believing in Him, trusting in the finished work He has accomplished.

If the benefit of a sermon conclusion is to be more than an encouragement to the hearers that they are about to be dismissed, then there is a need for a theory and practice of concluding sermons with substance and strength. Hearers of sermons need to be provided a new reality for how sermons end, so new and so different, that in the hearing of them they will learn to anticipate with great expectancy what the preacher will offer them in his sermon conclusion.

What is needed is a common practice of ending sermons that would be analogous to the marvel of Christ’s first miracle performed at a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee where the headwaiter exclaimed to the bridegroom, Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.⁷ How beneficial it would be, no matter how good the earlier fare of a sermon, if the hearers could rightly expect that the best is being saved for the end of the sermon, and then, having heard the conclusion know that their expectation had been realized. This is the result of sermons that end effectively.

Effective conclusions end well because they are composed of effective elements, elements so rich in substance and elements that work so well together that they may truly constitute, and may be deemed as, the best wine of the sermon. This is what we want to learn to do—to provide the best for last, that is, to provide the most significant and the most instructive insights of the sermon in our conclusions. Put negatively, what we want to learn to do is to make sure the conclusions of our sermons do not suffer the same unfortunate ending, a colossal collapse, like the Atlanta Falcons supplied to Super Bowl LI.

Ilion T. Jones summarized the matter well with two comments he made about sermon conclusions. He wrote: Conclusions are consistently the weakest parts of sermons. Far too many sermons ravel out at the ends. Every poor conclusion is a lost opportunity because, there the sermon should come to its final climax, there its main purpose should be achieved, there the preacher’s supreme effort should take place. More attention should therefore be given to the problem of how to make conclusions effective.⁸ Such attention is desperately needed and long overdue since the most consistent feature about a sermon conclusion in preaching is the fact that so many ministers seem not to work at the job of learning to do it well.⁹

I believe that we owe it to our Lord, who saved us and called us to preach, and to those who hear us preach to reconsider what we do and how we go about our sermon conclusions. Furthermore, I believe it is incumbent upon us to understand carefully and thoroughly all we can about the elements of a sermon conclusion so that we may learn to conclude our sermons with significant substance and strength.

I believe an important clarification to the reader of this book may be beneficial. I am concerned that any reader of this work may draw two inaccurate conclusions regarding either my intentions or my theological perspective in writing what is presented in the following pages. In the pages of this work the author experienced relentless tension in writing about a preacher’s methods, practices, and responsibilities in light of an omnipotent, sovereign God. It is of great significance to the author that the reader understand that this author has the greatest conviction that nothing a preacher does or does not do allows, causes, limits, or prevents God from acting as He so chooses regarding His working and the results of His work in the lives of those who hear His Word preached, regardless of the preaching that occurs. In the writing of this book, I found myself, on very many instances, providing a theological insertion to balance what was being written regarding a preacher’s intentions, methods, practices, procedures, and routine in preaching God’s Word. This, however, served only to become unprofitable as consistency in this attempt provided numerous insertions to the point that they served as a distraction. Therefore, I left only a few theological balancing insertions along the way to lessen the possibility of the reader concluding that I am not cognizant of God but only man-centered in my approach to all things germane to preaching. I determined, rather, to make this clarification here and hope for the best in reference to a reader’s suppositions about my understanding of God’s sovereign, omnipotent working through His Word as he reads the content of the chapters of this book.

Secondly, this book was produced as a research project. Though not intended to be a sequential historical development of homiletical thought about sermon conclusions through the centuries of written homiletical works, my intent was to provide substantial references about sermon conclusions that have been advocated by many over centuries of writing. The purpose of this was to provide the reader with the data that substantiates that of all the components of preaching none has been so abandoned in practice as the sermon conclusion. Therefore, rather than advocating my views and convictions about sermon conclusions, I have supplied prodigious references from many sources that have guided and help form my views and convictions. I believe that if I am advocating anything about sermon conclusions that is beyond what has been advocated through the years it is that the closing appeals should be Scripture-based. I do not claim originality in this assertion, only that my advocacy of this practice may be significantly stronger than that which has been previously advocated by others.

1

. Luccock, In the Minister’s Workshop,

31

.

2

. Luccock, In the Minister’s Workshop,

33

.

3

. Luccock, In the Minister’s Workshop,

34

.

4

. Luccock, In the Minister’s Workshop,

36

.

5

. The six elements are: a synopsis, a vital transition, closing appeals, a clinching element of persuasion, the purpose of the sermon achieved, and a presentation of the gospel message.

6

. From William Perkins’s book The Art of Prophesying published in

1606

to present-day texts.

7

. John

2

:

10

.

8

. Jones, Principles and Practice of Preaching,

160

.

9

. Jones, Principles and Practice of Preaching,

160

.

1

General Matters about the Sermon Conclusion and Preachers: Part 1

The preacher, who is not a pastor, becomes isolated. The pastor, who is not a preacher, becomes insignificant. It must never be said about anyone that, he is a preacher, but not a pastor, or that, he is a pastor, but not a preacher.

The true pastor’s preaching is never separated from his love for God’s people. The preaching of a true pastor is actual ministry. His love for God’s people is apparent through his preaching because he cares for the people to whom he preaches, and his preaching is an act of caring for them. Their spiritual well-being, edification, growth, and sanctification are clearly his concerns. Nothing matters to him more than their grasp and implementation of God’s Word.

The desire of a true pastor in preaching will gravitate naturally to the conclusion of the sermon where his hearers become the focal point of the greatest focus of the sermon, the conclusion. His desire to do his hearers the greatest good in this portion of the sermon, particularly, will also drive him to beseech God’s help to affect what he could never do on his own.

Regardless of the content and tone of the text and the sermon preached from it, in the conclusion of the sermon the content and tone should be positive as correction and remediation become hard targets of the true pastor. In the body of the sermon the true pastor, as a faithful shepherd, feeds God’s sheep. In the conclusion of the sermon the true pastor, as a faithful shepherd, tends God’s sheep. He desires to tend them. He seeks to correct what is weak, inadequate, and erroneous in their lives. He desires to establish a pathway in the training of their righteousness. He seeks to bind up their wounds. He desires to nurture them. He seeks their healing. God’s people need this ministry, a ministry that is in his heart to provide, and the Word of God contains the substance to make this ministry a perpetual provision.

How great it is that God’s people are benefitted by a preached sermon. But a pastor must only and always be concerned that God’s people are fed, not flattered. A faithful preacher must impart truths that will do many things for his hearers, everything except flattering them. But he will say these things anyway because it is necessary for their spiritual health and well-being.

The mind, will, emotions/affections, conscience, and volition of the hearers must be addressed if the behavior patterns of God’s people are to be redirected. There is no other part of the sermon that provides such free opportunity to address God’s people in their comprehensive makeup than the sermon conclusion.

In no small way, it is due to the positive tone of a true pastor that makes his preaching more like a journey than a Sunday drive. Unlike a Sunday drive which is designed to go nowhere, in particular, the journey-like preaching of a true pastor is designed to reach a specific destination. That destination is reachable for all who respond unconditionally to the mandates and instruction of Scripture. Thus, a significant turning-point in life is only a commitment away for all who desire it. This, then, is the basis for a positive tone in preaching.

The absence of a positive tone is unfortunate, and a critical tone is disastrous. A critical preacher, or a ‘pulpit scold,’ may be able to proceed, for a season of time, without adverse consequences. However, this will be a brief season. The law of sowing and reaping will quickly become apparent. He simply will not be able to continue as he began without facing the inevitable reality of people tiring of his negativity. . . . He will discover that it is one thing to show men that they are in the wrong, and to leave them there—another thing to show them how to get right.

The conclusion should be the magnum opus of the sermon. The great work that is the sermon conclusion is not that it is the most extensive part of the sermon but that it is the portion of the sermon that provides the greatest take-away for the hearers. In the conclusion the mind, conscience, emotions/affections, and will of the hearers should be pressed with an earnestness that cannot be denied. If understanding has been gained in the body of the sermon, the conscience, emotions/affections, and the will, especially, must be gained in the conclusion.

When preaching is accompanied by a lack of earnestness the effort and intent may be directed toward preaching but the result must be other than preaching the Word, namely, misrepresenting the Word. Not misinterpreting the Word but misrepresenting the Word. The interpretation is correct. What gets said should be said because what is said is true, true according to the text that is being preached. The misrepresentation comes from the fact that what is said, though true according to the text, is not true according to the heart of the one preaching it because there is little conviction in his heart. He has little conviction about what he has rightly interpreted. His hermeneutics are solid gold, but his heart is ice cold! The good thing is that there was no twisting of the Scriptures, he ‘cut it straight.’ But the bad thing is that what was cut straight never cut his own heart, therefore, the exhibiting of conviction in proportion to the truth, as demanded by the truth, was absent. Correct interpretation minus conviction does not equal preaching! There is a prevailing fault in preaching that must be remedied—the fault of preaching in a cold indifferent tone.

Conviction in the heart of the preacher is the starting point. As good as it is to have a preacher with convictions about the truth he proclaims, that is not good enough. Those to whom he preaches are to be impacted by the preacher’s conviction so that it may become infectious. This is what is needed but this is beyond the preacher’s control. He is responsible to have convictions about God’s truth, but he is incapable to convict the hearts of his hearers. . . . But, when a preacher’s heart is as true as his convictions, upon completing his responsibilities, he can trust God to work as only he can work in the lives of his hearers. . . . He alone can do what no preacher can do, or ever has done—bring conviction to the heart of a man. In God’s incredible grace, he has designed to use preachers of the Word as instruments in the work he accomplishes in the lives of men for time and for eternity.

The positive tone of conviction is an undeniable quality of the preaching of a true pastor in the sermon conclusion. This is the place in the sermon where his hearers will be challenged to respond to God’s Word, to implement its truth, and to conform to its requirements in their lives.

In the sermon conclusion, like no other place in the sermon, the positive tone of conviction is a palpable reality in the preaching of a true pastor. A true pastor will burn and shine in the conclusion of his sermons.

The True Pastor And The Sermon Conclusion

No part of the sermon defines itself more definitively, more conclusively, than the sermon conclusion.¹ But it must be recognized equally that no part of the sermon also defines the one who preaches it more definitively, more conclusively, than the sermon conclusion.

The sermon conclusion essentially defines the one preaching by answering this question—To what degree is the man preaching, a true pastor? By true pastor, I mean one who desires to build up God’s people predominantly through preaching because preaching is what he is passionate about. To have a low conception of the preaching ministry is crippling to usefulness, like having one’s right arm withered. One does not excel in that which fails to command one’s utmost respect and does not suffuse one with enthusiasm.² By true pastor, I mean one whose spiritual gifts, fulfilment, and effectiveness are related to his pulpit ministry, primarily.

But is the measure of a true pastor limited to his pulpit ministry alone? Certainly not. However, the standard of measure for a true pastor would not be the impressive title of a great pastor. A man who is known as a great pastor is known as such because of the opulent time³ spent with people in his home, their homes, hospitals, various venues, time spent counseling them, etc. Such men are not inclined to accomplish, and do not take the time to accomplish, the kind of study that can result in an effective preaching ministry. The preaching of a great pastor is one of the lesser things he does, it is not something for which he is known. Yet, a true pastor will be a faithful shepherd of God’s people. Pastoral ministry will be an important function in his stewardship of serving God’s people.

Nevertheless, by true pastor, I mean the kind of preacher that faithfully expounds Scripture thoroughly, not superficially, and in doing so he will certainly denounce sin, sinful behaviors, and sinful accommodations. He reflects God’s hatred for sin just as well as God’s love for people. Additionally, by true pastor, I mean the be both mandate of Phillips Brooks when he says that a preacher needs to be a pastor so that his preaching may be more readily received by his hearers. The preacher, who is not a pastor, becomes isolated. The pastor, who is not a preacher, becomes insignificant. It must never be said about anyone that, he is a preacher, but not a pastor, or that, he is a pastor, but not a preacher.⁴ Phillips Brooks’s conviction was certain in his admonition to, Be both; for you cannot really be one unless you also are the other.⁵

So, the sermon conclusion defines the one preaching as it answers the question—Is the man preaching, a true pastor? No part of a sermon evidences a true pastor like the sermon conclusion. The preacher’s identity is never more established, and his heart is never more evident than in this portion of the sermon. The sermon conclusion is simply the part of the sermon where the true pastor shines. With the sermon conclusion as a lampstand and the true pastor as a lamp, the true pastor finds himself in the sermon conclusion as one who is positioned to give much needed light to all who are in the house. In the sermon conclusion, the heart of the true pastor is a city set on a hill which cannot be hidden. As in no other part of the sermon, in the conclusion the true pastor’s heart is like a light that shines before men in such a way that they can see his good works and glorify the Father in Heaven.⁶

In the sermon conclusion the true pastor may do the greatest good for the most people. A sermon conclusion in the preaching ministry of a true pastor who incorporates the Word of God in his closing appeals to God’s people so that they may achieve the purpose of the sermon in their lives is poised to provide all that is possible through the means of this most important element of a sermon. In this book, the sermon conclusion is characterized as the highpoint of the sermon. As the highpoint of the sermon the conclusion should, and may well be understood as the essence of earnestness; the peak of passion; the epitome of enthusiasm; the zenith of zeal; the summit of sincerity; the showcase of shepherding; the infusion of insight; the apex of application; the liaison of life-change; the pinnacle of persuasion; the climax of conviction; the crux of correction; the expedient of exhortation; the effulgence of encouragement; the conveyor of comfort; the harbinger of hope; the instiller of inspiration; the means of motivation; the resource of reproof; the revealer of remediation; the restorer of resolve; the refiner of righteousness; the procurer of purpose; and the conclusion includes the giving of the gospel.⁷

This part of the sermon, like no other, calls for an honest, sympathetic dealing with people regarding their lives in relation to the truths of Scripture. Sympathy without truth ushers one into certain heresy and makes for a quick disqualification from the ministry. However, truth without sympathy issues forth from the kind of man whom his hearers respect but to whom they seldom go and whom they do not care to see coming to them.⁸ But where there is sympathetic truth, there may be an acceptance of the truth in the highest order on behalf of the hearers because of the likeability and respectability of the one who preaches to them so acceptably.⁹

Preachers who are true pastors preach not only to God’s people but for them. This result is indicative of the man’s character and his relationship with God and with God’s people. His desire to shepherd God’s people prevents him from being a pulpit scold who is always preaching at them and always preaching in a denunciatory tone. This is not only a pity, but it is spiritually debilitating for people. Ultimately, it is not advantageous if, when God’s people assemble to worship, the preacher dwells on their faults that he so expertly finds in them. Life is difficult for all people, at times with heavy burdens, and many times with bitter sorrows. People need and crave encouragement and comfort¹⁰ beyond the reproof, rebuke, correction and instruction which every preacher of God’s Word must supply. Yet, in so doing, it must be recognized that, while only a few hearers are inclined to rebel against the goading or the urging of a preacher for them to act, no one has ever been scolded out of one’s sins.¹¹

For example, consider the Apostle Peter. The Lord had to regather him after his unthinkable threefold denial. Peter was instructed by the Lord to, Tend My lambs . . . Shepherd My sheep . . . Tend My sheep John 21:15–17. Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost, particularly the conclusion of his sermon, shows that he was involved in the tending and shepherding ministries but also how he accomplished such service in his preaching. Acts 2:14–36 shows Peter providing some very effective and much needed rebuke for the past and present actions of the mockers who had crucified the Lord. In answer to their outcry, Brethren, what shall we do? Peter’s response reveals the tending ministry of a true shepherd as he said, Repent, and each of you be baptized for the forgiveness of yours sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself. And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying Be saved from this perverse generation! (Acts 2:36–40). What were the results of Peter’s faithful tending and shepherding? And that day there were added about three thousand souls. The souls of 3,000 of Christ’s sheep were brought into the fold through the faithful preaching of Christ’s under-shepherd.

As it was with Peter, a true pastor so identifies with God’s people that when he preaches, he not only preaches to them but for their benefit. The true pastor’s preaching is never separated from his love for God’s people. The preaching of a true pastor is actual ministry. His love for God’s people is apparent through his preaching because he cares for the people to whom he preaches, and his preaching is an act of caring for them. Their spiritual well-being, edification, growth, and sanctification are clearly his concerns. Nothing matters to him more than their grasp and implementation of God’s Word. Ultimately, a preacher must study the Scriptures as one who will preach them to God’s people on God’s behalf. He must not study as if the truth he sought were only for his own enrichment.¹² In so doing, two noteworthy results will be his: first, it will bring a deeper and more solemn sense of responsibility in the study of Scripture; second, there will be a greater desire to discover the implications for humanity in every truth, the crucial nexus at which every doctrine touches humanity.¹³ Unlike some men who preach with a certain detachment from people, a true pastor’s preaching identifies so well with his hearers and there is such obvious concern for them that there is an acceptability, not only to his appeals, but even to his warnings.¹⁴

The preacher who is a true pastor has a heart for preaching and he has a heart for God’s people. This does not preclude the true pastor from praying much about the message he will preach and praying for the ones to whom he will preach. Because the nature of the sermon conclusion is the most significant part of the sermon and the portion of the sermon where the ministry of a true pastor is most apparent, this must be a major concern in prayerful preparation to preach effectively. The effective preaching of a true pastor is not limited to an accurate, in-depth, insightful understanding of a text of Scripture, though this must be the foundation upon which the conclusion is based. However, a true pastor’s effective preaching will culminate in a conclusion that helps God’s people to implement the purpose of the preaching text in their lives.

Since the best source of the needed help to be offered in the conclusion will be found in other related passages of Scripture, prayerful consideration and a thorough search of the Scriptures are required to supply these inclusions. And, just as it is important to provide significant content in the conclusion, it is equally important that the heart of a true pastor is thoroughly prepared to dispense the biblical counsel. Therefore, a true pastor is no exception to the necessity for the preparation of his heart as well as his sermon.

It is a mistake to preach from a heart that has not been prepared for preaching. Preparing to preach is much more than preparing a sermon. Preparing the sermon is an important part of the preparation, but it is only a part. A man must prepare himself to preach. For this to be done productively, the sermon must be prepared completely. That is why it is such a compromise to leave the preparation of the sermon so late in the week that one is scrambling to complete it just before the time of its delivery.¹⁵

The desire of a true pastor in preaching will gravitate naturally to the conclusion of the sermon where his hearers become the focal point of the greatest focus of the sermon, the conclusion. His desire to do his hearers the greatest good in this portion of the sermon, particularly, will also drive him to beseech God’s help to affect what he could never do on his own. The true pastor is no less dependent upon God than anyone else who preaches. On the contrary, it’s just that the sermon conclusion, being the part of the sermon that holds special opportunity for him, will become a special focus of prayer for the true pastor.

The Positive Tone Of A True Pastor

The preaching of a true pastor builds up his hearers. Because he is a true pastor, he seeks to build them up. Regardless of the content and tone of the text and the sermon preached from it, the conclusion of the sermon’s content and tone should be positive as correction and remediation become hard targets of the true pastor. In the body of the sermon the true pastor, as a faithful shepherd, feeds God’s sheep. In the conclusion of the sermon the true pastor, as a faithful shepherd, tends God’s sheep. He desires to tend them. He seeks to correct what is weak, inadequate, and erroneous in their lives. He seeks to bind up their wounds. He desires to nurture them. He seeks their healing. God’s people need this ministry, a ministry that is in his heart to provide, and the Word of God contains the substance to make this ministry a perpetual provision.

Austin Phelps is correct in his comments about preaching as it is found in Scripture that biblical appeals, almost without exception, are expectant in their delivery bearing a ring of courage and expectation in them.¹⁶ This is indicative of the true pastor’s preaching, as well. A positive tone and an expectant note in preaching, just as expectant appeals in the sermon conclusion, are predicated upon the work that God has accomplished in the preacher’s life in his preparation to preach as well as the preacher’s dependence upon the Holy Spirit to work in the hearts of his people as he delivers God’s Word.

Two obstacles stand in the way of a preacher doing effective work in sermon conclusions—thoughtlessness and self-centeredness.¹⁷ Thoughtlessness and self-centeredness are nearly eradicated in the preaching of the true pastor. Earnest, conscientious preachers can minimize effective sermons, prepared with great care and diligence, by ending them thoughtlessly. This is a grievous and very common obstacle. Much preaching is like delivering information about medicine to sick people but withholding the medicine from them.¹⁸ The information is true, fact-based, and important, but the information is not medicine. To give the medicine, having provided the information, is the preacher’s duty.¹⁹ The medicine to be provided is not more information but the practical instruction needed to achieve the purpose of the preaching text in the fullest manner.

The preacher’s failure to fulfill his responsibility makes him culpable of the indictment of declaring truth for the sake of declaring it only, with no regard to its results in life.²⁰ It is in the sermon conclusion where the medicine is administered. A true pastor is inclined to do this since the conclusion provides him with the opportunity to tend God’s flock, which he is highly motivated to do. A good shepherd as modeled in Psalm 23 is aware of the state of the flock. If the sheep need medicine, the sensitive shepherd does not press forward with his plans of giving regular food. If the sheep are hungry and waiting to be fed, the sensitive shepherd does not take out the medicine and give it as if it were food. If the sheep need mending, the sensitive shepherd does not administer the rod of correction.²¹ Scripture is certain about the necessity of a vigilant understanding of the state of and caring for the needs of God’s people. Proverbs 27:23 says, Know well the condition of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds. Paul mandated to the Ephesian elders that they were to Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among whom the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the flock of God which he purchased with His own blood (Acts 20:28). The fulfillment of a shepherd’s duty requires that he knows God’s people so well that he is aware of where they are in their struggles, their questions, and even in their sins and weaknesses.²² The sermon conclusion provides a great opportunity to tend to the practical matters of God’s people for their everyday living, which is the very thing a true pastor desires to do.

A true pastor will not only tend God’s people, but he will do so in a manner that is indicative of his heart and will be most profitable to the ones who hear him preach, that is, he will seek to encourage them. Part of the reason Chuck Swindoll is such an effective preacher and concluder of sermons can be attributed to his determination to conclude his sermons in an encouraging fashion. Early in Swindoll’s preaching ministry he forged the following convictions about his sermon conclusions, specifically, and preaching, generally. I determined never again to end on a negative note. Even if I must correct, reprove, or rebuke sin, I will conclude with hope and encouragement.²³ The Word of God is both encouraging and empowering. Our messages, if lifted from Scripture, should be no less so.²⁴ By the implementation of these convictions through decades of preaching, this true pastor has effectively incorporated the shepherd’s rod and staff in the lives of God’s people in a way that has been of great spiritual benefit to untold millions of believers around the world.

An additional component of thoughtlessness is that much preaching, and even more so sermon conclusions, may be described by the word petty. Preaching often tries to bypass the misfortunes of life rather than instructing people to meet hardship with endurance by offering inducements to patience in the suggestions of compensation in this life or in the life to come, thus imparting a higher and stronger perspective which teaches people to embrace their sorrows and bear them in a life of true faith and faithfulness. The best help which a preacher may provide those who bear the burdens of life is not to seek to take away his burden but to call on them to appropriate Christ’s strength so that they may be able to bear them in a manner that pleases and glorifies God.²⁵ It is the lack of such effort to awaken a resolute spirit that is deficient in the vast majority of sermon conclusions. Much preaching tries to comfort with consolation, almost exclusively, without imparting the equally serviceable necessity to fire with resolve and courage.²⁶ The true pastor not only desires to provide medicine along with giving information about the medicine, but the medicine he administers will be specific to address the needs, problems, and weaknesses of God’s people. The true pastor, because of the man he is and preacher he is, is not hindered by the obstacle of thoughtlessness in his sermon conclusions.

The second obstacle standing in the way of effective conclusions is self-centeredness. An effective sermon may be minimized by ending it with a self-aggrandizing rhetorical flourish allowing the preacher to go out in a blaze of glory. How unfortunate it is when there is a recognizable conclusion, that may be the highpoint of the sermon in actuality, that it should be this type of self-serving product designed to magnify the preacher before the people of God. Rather than supplying practical aid to help God’s people live according to his Word, rather than glorifying God as the one who is sufficient and willing to enable them to obey his Word, he is content, in substance and style, to say things that might exalt himself before God’s people.

A great sermon is more of a result rather than an intention. The intention of a sermon that is truly great is to glorify God and to grow God’s people in a spiritually significant way. The intention to preach a sermon that people would think to be a great sermon is a sin of a preacher’s ego seeking the flattery of his hearers. How great it is that God’s people are benefitted by a preached sermon. But a pastor must only and always be concerned that God’s people are fed, not flattered. A faithful preacher must impart truths that will do many things for his hearers, everything except flattering them. But he will say these things anyway because it is necessary for their spiritual health and well-being.

At times the true pastor must accomplish a pulpit version of Jael’s dealing with Sisera when Jael took a tent peg and hammered it into Sisera’s brain. Rather than merely loosening a few flakes of dandruff from his scalp she nailed his skull to the ground.²⁷ Brian Borgman provides a fitting exhortation to pastors as he writes, If preaching is to be searching and lively in application, it must go beyond shaking a few flakes loose, and get to the real business of fastening the truth firmly into the heads of the listeners.²⁸ Again, a true pastor is not inclined to self-aggrandizement since he seeks to minister to God’s people, not impress them. After all, the conclusion is all about the hearers, not the preacher. Neither obstacle should ever become a stumbling block for any preacher. But neither obstacle poses much of a hurdle to the true pastor since thoughtlessness and self-centeredness are not his stock in trade as he preaches.

Though the conclusion of a sermon should be positive, not negative, it should be a message that is left pulsating in the hearts of the hearers. And though the closing words should bring assurance and hope, these must be acceptable to God and the natural outcome of the text that was expounded. A. W. Blackwood insisted that, if sermons conclude as they should, they lead to decisive action which must, in effect, sound the call to another holy war.²⁹ Because Christ called people to this holy war, he was insensitive to men’s whims though he loved them and was completely committed to meet their needs. What was absent in Christ, but readily observable in many preachers, is a sycophancy which seeks to discern what is desired by his hearers, then provide it at all costs—even if it sacrifices things mandated from Scripture. Such sycophancy cannot prepare God’s people to live righteous lives. On the other hand, the more one prizes the spiritual edification of God’s people, the more able one will be to oppose their whims and to propose what is needful for them to engage the holy war to which they are called.³⁰

The life of a Christian in this world is a war, one that certainly is to be lived as a holy war. To this end, believers must be built up by the Word of God to fight this holy war productively, and believers should be encouraged by the one proclaiming the Word to engage this holy war relentlessly. Therefore, a preacher’s sermon, generally, and his sermon conclusion, specifically, should be exceedingly functional. The overall thrust of the sermon conclusion must be earnest statements of fundamental truth, designed to accomplish the purpose for which the sermon was preached. More specifically, the last words of the sermon should be intended to bring consolation to the hearers and inspire the hearers toward their personal commencement to apply the truth proclaimed to them.

A commencement for the application of biblical truth, generally, and the accomplishment of the sermon’s purpose in the lives of the hearers, specifically, is what the conclusion is to achieve. If this is not achieved in the conclusion, then the sermon may be considered by this standard to have been a failure, even though other valuable results were accomplished. We have to do not only with a dark intellect that needs to be informed, but with a hard heart that needs to be impressed, and a torpid conscience that needs to be awakened; we have to make our hearers feel that in the great business of religion, there is much to be done, as well as much to be known.³¹ The mind, will, emotions/affections, conscience, and volition of the hearers must be addressed if the behavior patterns of God’s people are to be redirected. There is no other part of the sermon that provides such free opportunity to address God’s people in their comprehensive makeup than the sermon conclusion.

In no small way, it is due to the positive tone of a true pastor that makes his preaching more like a journey than a Sunday drive. Unlike a Sunday drive which is designed to go nowhere, in particular, the journey-like preaching of a true pastor is designed to reach a specific destination. That destination is reachable for all who respond unconditionally to the mandates and instruction of Scripture. Thus, a significant turning-point in life is only a commitment away for all who desire it. This, then, is the basis for a positive tone in preaching.

Positive Tone as Essential for Effective Preaching

A positive tone supplied in the sermon conclusion is essential for effective preaching. But this requires that one never sacrifice truth on the altar of receptibility. A preacher must not fail to preach any truth simply because it may not be well-received. Phillips Brooks insightfully asks, Who are you that you should stint the children’s drinking from the cup which their father bid you to carry to them, or mix it with error because you think they cannot bear it in its purity?³² Preaching necessitates a constant conviction that truth is always strong no matter how weak it looks, and falsehood is always weak, no matter how strong it looks.³³

The absence of a positive tone is unfortunate, and a critical tone is disastrous. A critical preacher, or a pulpit scold, may be able to proceed, for a season of time, without adverse consequences. However, this will be a brief season. The law of sowing and reaping will quickly become apparent. He simply will not be able to continue as he began without facing the inevitable reality of people tiring of his negativity. If a preacher attempts to preach without a positive note, specifically in his conclusions, He will discover that, while perhaps he has been cutting up many weeds, he has planted very few trees and some very little corn; so that as autumn after autumn goes by, there is not much fruit ripening in the orchard and there is hardly any crop in the fields. He will discover that it is one thing to show men that they are in the wrong, and to leave them there—another thing to show them how to get right.³⁴ Showing people how to get right, bringing correction to their present state, is the vital ministry for which the sermon conclusion is intended.

The desirable qualities that a sermon conclusion should possess, among other qualities, are these; personal, specific, positive, and vigorous. In the sermon conclusion the preacher confronts the hearers personally and directly with the truth claims of his message. The hearers must be made to feel that the message is personally applicable. The use of personal pronouns—you, your, yours, we, us, our, ours—are mandatory to make the message warm, direct, and personal. The preacher’s heart and attitude are contributing factors, as an asset or a liability, to hearers in their personal response to the sermon. The sermon conclusion is no place for complaining, nagging, or anger on behalf of a preacher since a conclusion should demonstrate an obvious and sincere concern to help the hearers. Through the sermon in general, but particularly in the sermon conclusion, the hearers should witness a preacher earnestly desiring to sow in their hearts the seeds of truth and faithfulness.³⁵

A positive conclusion yielding insights about how to implement the truth into one’s life will appeal to more hearts than a negative one which is critical of past errors, only. People are prone to respond better to affirmative exhortations than to threats and warnings. However, threats and warnings are productive if issued from a preacher who is concerned for his hearers. This means force and emphasis must be an integral part of a sermon conclusion’s content, energetically delivered with urgency. Force, emphasis, energy, and urgency are not negative characteristics but are positive characteristics of preaching. These can be viewed favorably and received by one’s hearers. But the hearers must feel that what is said in the conclusion of the message can and will make a very real difference to them personally.³⁶

The hearers must be convinced that the preacher truly desires for them to respond to God’s Word. Therefore, the conclusion of the sermon will be composed of either, inferences³⁷ or direct appeals. The inferences ought to embody the force of an appeal, and the appeal ought to carry all the weight of inferences. The conclusion should be the magnum opus of the sermon. The great work that is the sermon conclusion is not that it is the most extensive part of the sermon but that it is the portion of the sermon that provides the greatest take-away for the hearers. In the conclusion the mind, conscience, emotions/affections, and will of the hearers should be pressed with an earnestness that cannot be denied. If understanding has been gained in the body of the sermon, the conscience, emotions/affections, and the will, especially, must be gained in the conclusion. The final minutes of the conclusion must make a good return on the investment of every minute of the sermon that has preceded them.³⁸

A wise and capable preacher will not only expound God’s truth, but he will conclude his sermon with application to the needs of the hearers since true theology and true Christian living must not be separated from each other.³⁹ The commonly recognized inclusions of a sermon conclusion such as exhortation, entreaty, appeal, encouragement, consolation, and warning have been viewed as therapy.⁴⁰ A therapeutic conclusion contains any of the above components and it most often contains several, or more, of them. Even as a sermon conclusion takes the form of warning, it promises at the same time; it sets a warning over against a promise. Every inclusion of a sermon conclusion whether appeal, exhortation, entreaty, encouragement, warning, or promise is profitable for, and can be legitimately directed to, those who are followers of Christ.⁴¹

Since every Christian has need of the profitable effects of all of Scripture—instruction, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness—every sermon must be viewed in the prospect of an effective means of invaluable aid for God’s people. A positive tone in preaching is indicative that the profitable effects of Scripture are not being forgotten about in the process of concluding a sermon.

Positive Tone as Conviction

There are charges that should never be brought against a preacher. Being uninteresting, devoid of life and energy when preaching eternal truth is such a charge.⁴² When Henry Ward Beecher was asked how he felt when he saw someone asleep in his congregation, did he not feel like sending someone to wake him up? Beecher replied, "No, I think someone should be sent to wake me up."⁴³

A lack of earnestness in preaching stems from a lack of conviction one holds about scriptural truth as one tries to preach it. Conviction is an intrepidity born of deep-seated persuasion that the truth for which one speaks brooks no compromise and that it must be stated.⁴⁴ When preaching is accompanied by a lack of earnestness the effort and intent may be directed toward preaching but the result must be other than preaching the Word, namely, misrepresenting the Word. Not misinterpreting the Word but misrepresenting the Word. The interpretation is correct. What gets said should be said because what is said is true, true according to the text that is being preached.

The misrepresentation comes from the fact that what is said, though true according to the text, is not true according to the heart of the one preaching it because there is little conviction in his heart. He has little conviction about what he has rightly interpreted. His hermeneutics are solid gold, but his heart is ice cold! The good thing is that there was no twisting of the Scriptures. He cut it straight. But the bad thing is that what was cut straight never cut his own heart, therefore, the exhibiting of conviction in proportion to the truth, as demanded by the truth, was absent. Correct interpretation minus conviction does not equal preaching! There is a too common fault in preaching that must be remedied—the fault of preaching in a cold indifferent tone which creates a wall of crystal between the preacher and his hearers; some light passes through it but hardly any heat.⁴⁵

Preaching is done by a man who holds convictions about the truth he proclaims as well as being held by the convictions he has about God’s truth. John MacArthur is helpful to establish this as he identifies what is the preacher’s source and task in preaching. Both, the source and task of preaching are significant factors in preaching with conviction. Referring to the source of preaching MacArthur writes, "Preaching may be popular, but it is not necessarily powerful. No one can preach with power who does not preach the Word."⁴⁶ Of even greater insight is MacArthur’s reproof, No human message comes with a stamp of divine authority—only the Word of God. How dare any preacher substitute another message?⁴⁷ So, how can it be that a preacher could take up the Word of God and preach God’s eternal, authoritative Word, but do so without conviction? The answer is that the truth the preacher proclaimed never captivated the preacher.

Regarding the task of preaching MacArthur writes, As ambassadors for God, our task is not to promote our own ideas but rather to represent our King rightly. That means that all we should be doing is bringing the revealed truth of God to bear on the minds of men.⁴⁸ Furthermore, MacArthur insists that, The preacher’s task is not to be a conduit for human wisdom; he is God’s voice to speak to the congregation.⁴⁹ As I believe MacArthur’s comments are incontrovertible, I want to stress that they are no less true for the sermon conclusion. In the sermon conclusion, the preacher must still speak for God. The only way this can happen is if he is still citing and establishing the truths of Scripture. Therefore, the preacher must draw from what God has stored up in the whole counsel of his Word as he preaches the closing appeals of his sermon conclusion for God’s people. In other words, the closing appeals of the sermon conclusion should be drawn from other passages in God’s Word that relate to the subject-matter, purpose of the sermon, and preaching passage. Greater development will be given to the wider use of Scripture for the closing appeals of a sermon conclusion in chapter seven.

The correct task and source for preaching are integral for preaching with conviction. Those who approach preaching with a good understanding of the correct source and task in preaching can preach with conviction. Not only should such conviction be apparent in the sermon conclusion, but it should be prominent.

Even when the preacher is gripped by conviction about the truth he proclaims, and he feels awed by the sense of God’s presence, and he is conscious of his responsibilities before God and man, and he esteems rightly the souls committed to his care, he may yet discover that the apparent result⁵⁰ of his pulpit effort was to make no deep impression upon those to whom he preached. This, at times, is an inevitable situation for anyone who preaches. We have certain responsibilities regarding our