Is there a difference between preaching and teaching?

This question stimulates intriguing discussion among pastors and church leaders.  It has been said to me, “I am a teacher, not a preacher.”  Interestingly, no one has ever said the opposite!  Some suggest that there is no difference between the two.  They say the two terms as virtually synonymous.  My position is that there is a distinction, but not a radical division.  It helps to state it this way:

You can be a teacher and not a preacher; but

You cannot be a preacher without being a teacher.

An important text of Scripture that gives rise to this definition is found in 2 Timothy 4:1–2 (ESV):

“⁴ I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: ² preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”

Notice this important call to Paul’s protégé, Timothy: “Preach the word . . . with patience and teaching.” The imperative is to “preach”.  The Greek word is translated “herald” or “proclaim” and he is to do it with “teaching” (with doctrine or instruction).  To read on in 2 Timothy we learn of a time when people will not welcome this “sound teaching” v3.  Sound teaching or sound doctrine is the content of the word preached.  Exegetically we can discern that to preach includes the elements of “reproving, rebuking and exhorting.”  I would argue that you can conduct instruction that conveys doctrinal understanding to the hearer. Left in that alone it is defined as teaching.  The preacher though takes the sound teaching and in love and concern for the hearer brings reprimand, conviction of sin, a stern warning, comfort and encouragement.  There is a Spirit endowed authority with true preaching.  This diagram is a facsimile of my position [1]:

This emotion that is implied in Biblical preaching is that blend of compassion and passion.  Martyn Lloyd-Jones defined preaching this way:

“What is preaching? Logic on fire! Preaching is theology coming through a man who is on fire. A true understanding and experience of the Truth must lead to this. I say again that a man who can speak about these things dispassionately has no right whatsoever to be in a pulpit; and should never be allowed to enter one.”[2]

J.I. Packer presses in deeper by stating that the “preacher” conveys the Word of God through His “commands, promises, warnings, and assurances, with a view to winning the hearer or hearers…to a positive response.”[3] My father had a book on his shelf entitled, Preaching to Convince.  There is a sense where the preacher, more so than the teacher, is burning to be persuasive, pressing the urgency of the doctrine onto the hearer and seeking the right response through invitation.

It is no accident that the Greek word for the preacher represents a herald, a town crier.  The herald is a representative of the king and has a message that the subjects need to hear.  Certainly, the herald must represent the king’s message with precision, but he is also endowed with a serious responsibility to ensure that people hear and respond to the message. His job is not to provide facts and information.  His job is to press the facts and information on the minds and wills of the citizens. 

Now what of a person who is preaching (so-called) but is devoid of the essence of teaching?  I have witnessed such things in the name of preaching.  I think of them as nothing but circus clowns parading themselves back and forth across the stage, ranting and railing, throwing out nothing but carefully designed memes, entertaining their audience with their performance.  Preaching without teaching is not preaching.

There is a role for teachers in the church.  “Teaching, on the other hand, if done well, is dialogical [a discussion with students. A conversation.] by nature. The communication of content is driven by the teacher, but questions from the hearers shape the conversation and interchange that happens in the classroom. Good teaching is inherently dialogical.”¹

So, there is a need for sound doctrinal, albeit dialogical teachers in the Church. They provide insight into systematic and Biblical theology.  They instruct the listeners in doctrine.  Their goal is to provide information that equips. Often, they are seen as discipling believers.  But the essential need for the Church is for preachers.  They are transformational in their approach. They warn.  They correct. They bring Gospel comfort and encouragement in the Lord. They have a fire within that cannot be quenched.  As prophets of old they come with a “burden”.   

So yes, there are teachers that are not preachers.  But Biblical preachers — preachers representing the King of kings approach their congregation with a compassion driven passion to conform people to the likeness of Christ in Christian maturity.

“Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” - Colossians 1:28 (ESV)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[1] https://www.logos.com/grow/what-is-the-difference-between-preaching-and-teaching/

[2] Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1971), 97.

[3] J. I. Packer, Preaching a Biblical Interpretation in Inerrancy and Common Sense, ed. Roger Nicole and J. Ramsey Michaels, (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980), 189.