Experience and The Message

It is hard to listen to some preachers today without being regaled with stories of their experiences—how they did this or that, saw one things or another, had a special word from God, or experienced his leading to a particular house on a particular day (even though they were going elsewhere). I even recall a book by Don Piper called 90 Minutes in Heaven, describing his alleged trip to heaven. Similar things have been written, and many of them have been told.

Contrast that with Paul who, in 2 Corinthians, is defending his apostleship against his critics. He finds it necessary in 2 Corinthians 12:1-6 to talk about one of his experiences in which he was transported into heaven itself. He reveals this only reluctantly and finds it unprofitable for his preaching, but necessary to defend his authority.

Paul is reticent to speak about such things because he does not believe that recounting one’s extraordinary mystical visions will do anything to build up the community. It only serves to build up the teller’s ego and therefore is perilous. It certainly offers no proof of apostleship. History is littered with the tales of frauds who have seduced and deluded followers by claiming to have some divine mission from some divine vision (D. E. Garland, 2 Corinthians, NAC, p. 509).

If only certain preachers today would follow this example. Stop talking about yourself and your experience. After all, God didn’t promise that the impressiveness of your personal experience would lead people to salvation. The power for salvation is in the gospel.

Next time you hear some preacher talk about some great experience he had as if he is the point of preaching, ask yourself, “Why doesn’t he just talk about Jesus?”