Hearing Instruction: The Divine Command to Receive God's Word

Hear instruction, and be wise (Proverbs 5:33). The contempt of God's Sabbaths and disregard of ministerial instruction mark our age as spiritually perilous. Three motives compel us to hear sermons faithfully.

First, preaching promotes our best interests. The sacred oracles are profitable—not doubtful speculations, but truths of infallible certainty, sublime and infinitely important to mankind. Even the learned require continued assistance in Christian knowledge, for the Bible was not written in systematic form. Ministerial discourse, delivered by those who have made Scripture their chief study and cultivated rational powers, assists us in attaining religious knowledge with plainness and propriety. Yet knowledge without practical influence upon hearts and lives profits nothing; we need faithful monitors to awaken in us a sense of danger and duty. Even Julian the apostate recognized preaching's wisdom, appointing men to defend heathenism publicly.

Second, God's Word is enjoined by express Divine authority. Old Testament worship required regular synagogue attendance (Deuteronomy 24:8; Nehemiah 8:7-11). New Testament injunctions persist (Ephesians 4:11-13; 2 Timothy 4:2; Titus 2:1-8).

Third, dreadful threatenings await those who refuse to hear God's Word (Proverbs 1:24-31; Matthew 10:14; Hebrews 10:28-29). Conversely, Elohim promises His special presence and blessing to faithful preaching and conscientious hearing.