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Distinguishing Between Example and Scriptural Teaching in Sermons

Scripture records both normative teaching and descriptive narrative, and the preacher's task includes distinguishing what the text prescribes from what it merely reports. The apostle Paul identifies himself as "a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity" [7], a role requiring precision about what constitutes binding instruction versus illustrative precedent. This distinction matters because congregations naturally imitate what they hear commended, whether or not the biblical author intended universal application.

The Nature of Biblical Teaching

The Scriptures are "given by inspiration of God" and constitute "the word of truth" [4], yet they employ varied literary forms. Parables, for instance, function as comparisons that "always relate what actually takes place, and are true to fact" [2], yet their purpose is analogical instruction rather than historical prescription. When Jesus "taught out of" Scripture [4], he demonstrated how to derive principle from precedent, moving from text to application without collapsing the two.

Christ himself serves as "an example" in multiple domains—sincerity [1], intercessory prayer [3], and the avoidance of strife [5]. Yet the New Testament explicitly labels these as examples, signaling their paradigmatic function. The preacher must make similar distinctions explicit. When Paul recounts his own ministry approach—declaring "the testimony of God, not with excellency of speech" [8]—he describes his method in a particular cultural context (Corinth's rhetorical culture), not necessarily legislating a universal homiletical style.

Distinguishing Prescription from Description

The challenge intensifies when Scripture records actions without explicit commentary. The early church's communal sharing in Acts, for instance, appears as narrative description rather than apostolic command. John Gill notes that false teachers in the Pastoral Epistles taught "another doctrine" by encouraging "disobedience to parents and masters" [12], suggesting they derived ethical imperatives from misread narratives or distorted applications. The antidote involves attending to genre and authorial intent.

Paul's instruction to "leave the principles of the doctrine of Christ" [11] does not mean abandoning foundational truths but rather progressing beyond elementary teaching to maturity. The writer of Hebrews rebukes those who "have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God" [6], indicating that proper teaching builds systematically on established doctrine. This progression requires clarity about what constitutes doctrine itself—the normative content of revelation—versus the historical circumstances in which that doctrine was lived out.

Authority and Application

Jesus "taught with real—that is, direct—authority" [10], unlike scribes who derived authority from quotation chains. Yet even Jesus distinguished between the eternal weight of Torah and the contingent practices of his contemporaries. The preacher exercises derivative authority, bound to "the Gospel of Christ" which is "the doctrine of grace, life, and salvation by Christ" [9]. When Paul warns against those who "teach otherwise" [12], he identifies deviation from apostolic teaching as the central danger, not mere variation in application.

The testimony of Scripture must be "bound up" [13], preserved in its integrity, because it bears "witness of his person, office, and grace" [13]. This binding includes protecting the text from both subtraction and addition—from minimizing its commands and from elevating its examples to the status of commands. The congregation "glorifies God" when it demonstrates "professed subjection to the Gospel of Christ" [9], a subjection that requires knowing what the Gospel actually prescribes.

Effective preaching therefore names its moves: "This passage commands," "This narrative illustrates," "This example suggests." Such clarity honors both the text's authority and the hearer's responsibility, preventing the confusion that arises when every biblical detail receives equal prescriptive weight. The goal remains what Paul modeled—teaching "in faith and verity" [7], with fidelity to the text's own claims about its function.

Sources

  1. Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Sincerity — Christ was an example of -- 1Pe 2:22. Ministers should be examples of -- Tit 2:7. Opposed to fleshly wisdom -- 2Co 1:12. Should characterise Our love to God. -- 2Co 8:8,24. Our love to Christ. -- Eph 6:24. Our service to God. -- Jos 24:14; Joh 4:23,24. Our faith. -- 1Ti 1:5. Our love to one another. -- Ro 12:9; 1Pe 1:22; 1Jo 3:18. Our whole conduct. -- 2Co 1:12. The preaching of the gospel. -- 2Co 2:17; 1Th 2:3-5. A characteristic of the doctrines of the gospel -- 1Pe 2:2. The gospel sometimes preached without -- Php 1:16. The wicked devoid of -- Ps 5:9; ”
  2. Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Fable — A fable is a narrative in which being irrational, and sometimes inanimate, are, for the purpose of moral instruction, feigned to act and speak with human interests and passions.--Encyc. Brit. The fable differs from the parable in that-- + The parable always relates what actually takes place, and is true to fact, which the fable is not; and + The parable teaches the higher heavenly and spiritual truths, but the fable only earthly moralities. Of the fable, as distinguished from the parable [[510]Parable], we have but two examples in the Bible: + That of the tree”
  3. Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Prayer, Intercessory — Christ set an example of -- Lu 22:32; 23:34; Joh 17:9-24. Commanded -- 1Ti 2:1; Jas 5:14,16. Should be offered up for Kings. -- 1Ti 2:2. All in authority. -- 1Ti 2:2. Ministers. -- 2Co 1:11; Php 1:19. The Church. -- Ps 122:6; Isa 62:6,7. All saints. -- Eph 6:18. All men. -- 1Ti 2:1. Masters. -- Ge 24:12-14. Servants. -- Lu 7:2,3. Children. -- Ge 17:18; Mt 15:22. Friends. -- Job 42:8. Fellow-countrymen. -- Ro 10:1. The sick. -- Jas 5:14. Persecutors. -- Mt 5:44. Enemies among whom we dwell. -- Jer 29:7. Those who envy us. -- Nu 12:13. Those who ”
  4. Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Scriptures, The — Given by inspiration of God -- 2Ti 3:16. Given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit -- Ac 1:16; Heb 3:7; 2Pe 1:21. Christ sanctioned, by appealing to them -- Mt 4:4; Mr 12:10; Joh 7:42. Christ taught out of -- Lu 24:27. Are called the Word. -- Jas 1:21-23; 1Pe 2:2. Word of God. -- Lu 11:28; Heb 4:12. Word of Christ. -- Col 3:16. Word of truth. -- Jas 1:18. Holy Scriptures. -- Ro 1:2; 2Ti 3:15. Scripture of truth. -- Da 10:21. Book. -- Ps 40:7; Re 22:19. Book of the Lord. -- Isa 34:16. Book of the law. -- Ne 8:3; Ga 3:10. Law of the Lord. -- Ps 1:2; Isa”
  5. Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Strife — Christ, an example of avoiding -- Isa 42:2; Mt 12:15-19; Lu 9:52-56; 1Pe 2:23. Forbidden -- Pr 3:30; 25:8. A work of the flesh -- Ga 5:20. An evidence of a carnal spirit -- 1Co 3:3. Existed in the church -- 1Co 1:11. Excited by Hatred. -- Pr 10:12. Pride. -- Pr 13:10; 28:25. Wrath. -- Pr 15:18; 30:33. Frowardness. -- Pr 16:28. A contentious disposition. -- Pr 26:21. Tale-bearing. -- Pr 26:20. Drunkenness. -- Pr 23:29,30. Lusts. -- Jas 4:1. Curious questions. -- 1Ti 6:4; 2Ti 2:23. Scorning. -- Pr 22:10. Difficulty of stopping, a reason for avoiding it -- Pr 1”
  6. King James Version “[KJV] Hebrews 5:12 — For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.”
  7. King James Version “[KJV] 1 Timothy 2:7 — Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.”
  8. 1 Corinthians (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 2:1: When I came to you - Acting suitably to my mission, which was to preach the Gospel, but not with human eloquence, Co1 1:17. I declared to you the testimony, the Gospel, of God, not with excellency of speech, not with arts of rhetoric, used by your own philosophers, where the excellence of the speech recommends the matter, and compensates for the want of solidity and truth: on the contrary, the testimony concerning Christ and his salvation is so supremely excellent, as to dignify any kind of language by which it may be conveyed. See the Introduction, Section 2.”
  9. 2 Corinthians (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 2 Corinthians 9:13: Whiles by the experiment of this ministration,.... That is, the poor saints at Jerusalem having a specimen, a proof, an experience of the liberality of the Gentile churches ministered to them by the apostles, first, they glorify God; by giving thanks unto him, acknowledging him to be the author of all the grace and goodness which they, and others, were partakers of; particularly for your professed subjection to the Gospel of Christ. The Gospel of Christ is the doctrine of grace, life, and salvation by Christ, of which he is the author, as God, the subject m”
  10. Matthew (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Matthew 7:28: 7:28-29 Jesus began teaching only his disciples (5:1), but crowds had followed up the mountainside as well. • Unlike the teachers of religious law, whose authority was derived from the Scriptures they quoted or from the teachings of previous scholars, Jesus taught with real—that is, direct—authority. He quoted Scripture in the Sermon, but his teaching was based on his own authority as the Messiah.”
  11. Hebrews (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Hebrews 6:1: Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ,.... The Gospel is the doctrine of Christ, and is so called, because Christ, as God, is the author of it; as Mediator, he received it from his Father; as man, he was the preacher of it; and he is also the sum and substance of it: the principles of this doctrine are either the easier parts of the Gospel, called milk in the latter part of the preceding chapter; which are not to be left with dislike and contempt, nor so as to be forgotten, nor so as not to be recurred to at proper times; but so as not to abide in”
  12. 1 Timothy (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 1 Timothy 6:3: If any man teach otherwise,.... Or another doctrine, as the Syriac version renders it; a doctrine different from what the apostle had now taught, concerning the duty of servants to their masters; as did the false teachers, who despised dominion or government; not only civil government, and so spoke evil of rulers and magistrates; and church government, and therefore reviled the apostles, elders, and pastors of churches; but family government, and encouraged disobedience to parents and masters; see Pe2 2:10 or teach another doctrine, from that of the Bible, of Chris”
  13. Isaiah (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Isaiah 8:16: Bind up the testimony,.... These are not the words of the prophet, as Kimchi thinks, but of the Lord to the prophet, and are part of that instruction given him, Isa 8:11. By "the testimony" is meant the word of prophecy delivered to him; particularly that evangelical part of it respecting Immanuel, who was to be born of a virgin, and would be for a sanctuary to them that believe in him, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, to unbelievers; so the Gospel is called the testimony of Christ, it bearing witness of his person, office, and grace, Ti2 1:8 and "bind”
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