Skip to main content

What is the Summons of the Text



The text-driven preaching model provides an exceptional foundation for preaching the text as re-presenting the author’s intent. The theological foundation of the text-driven preaching model is that God has spoken; the substance elucidates the critical role of exegesis; the structure expounds the linguistic meaning; and the spirit explicates the meaning associated with the feel of the text through genre sensitivity. Nevertheless, the reproof, rebuke, and exhortation (hereafter referred to as the summons) remain neglected from his preaching model. 

The lack of emphasis on the summons has left preachers conflating the ideas of application and summons. J. Josh Smith addressed the concept of exhortation in his book Preaching for a Verdict: “The role of exhortation appears to have been overlooked in the past twenty-five years; however, this has not always been the case in the history of the pedagogy of homiletics.”[1] The difficulty in defining the distinction between the two is subtle and discreet but vitally important.

Paul commanded Timothy to reproof, rebuke, and exhort in connection with preaching the Word. The appeal of the summons is to the trivium—mind, emotions, and will—that must be anchored to the Word of God. The reproof of the text establishes the convincing of the mind, the rebuke of the text convicts the emotions, and the exhortation of the text demands the hearer to respond in the action of the will. The summons, then, is the call to adjust one’s view of God, deepen affections against sin and toward Christ, and resolve towards holiness. Preaching the Word of God leads to life transformation of the whole person—mind, emotions, and will.

The summons within the text is the truth about God that the author is commending his hearers. Scripture is the divine revelation of who God is and what he has done. From that understanding, the exhortation of the text commands readers to respond—either walking in obedience or transforming how they see God. That is to say, the passage’s main idea should dictate the call to respond. Given that the whole of Scripture reveals Christ, the call to respond should also flow from the substance, the structure, and the spirit of the text. Therefore, the summons of the text naturally draws from the redemptive nature of the cross. The gospel must be present in the expositor’s mind while exegeting the text.

The “Whatness” of the Text

The summons stands apart from application as the “what” truth about God within the text. The application delves into the contextualization of that truth in the “howness” of living out that truth. This “whatness” about God is what the author has anchored to the main idea and is commending his hearers to respond. Scripture is the divine revelation of who God is and what he has done. From that understanding, the summons of the text commands the reader to respond to the truth proclamations about God—either through walking in obedience or through transformation of how they see God. Therefore, the summons of the text naturally draws from the redemptive nature of the cross—salvation and sanctification. Bryan Chapell wrote, “Accurate expositors use a magnifying glass and a fish-eye lens, knowing that a magnifying glass can unravel mysteries in a raindrop but fail to expose a storm gathering on the horizon.”[2] The summons must align first with the pericope of the passage preached as well as with a more excellent canonical view. This is to ensure biblical consistency with the whole of Scripture. Therefore, the conviction of the centrality of the gospel in preaching must be unmistakable. Paul commends preaching the Word—the message of Christ—and in preaching, the Word must reprove, rebuke, and exhort.

Specifically, the summons of the text is the truth statement revealed in Scripture exhorting the hearer to respond.[3] As elucidated in Scripture, the truth statement about the person and work of Christ commands the hearer to respond. Connected to the text’s main idea is what the Holy Spirit commands of the hearer—change in mind, heart, and will. Foundationally, the truth of Christ compels the hearer to either (1) respond in faith to Christ for salvation or (2) respond in deeper commitment to Christ through sanctification.[4] The summons should stand upon the passionate persuasion of the preacher grounded in the ethos, logos, and pathos of the text-driven exposition. The effect is to stay faithful to the text to allow the Holy Spirit to call draw upon the hearer’s mind, emotions, and will (through reproof, rebuke, and exhortation). The key focus of the summons is to fully capture the text-driven sermon so that the natural conclusion rests upon the Holy Spirit-inspired summons of the text.

The “Howness” of the Text

Furthermore, the application involves moving from the summons—the what to do—to the practical application of the hearer—the how to do it. It is taking truths outlined in Scripture and applying them to the daily life of the hearer. The main idea of the text-driven sermon strives to address the meaning of the text. That main idea revealed that Christ calls the hearer to change through salvation or greater sanctification. Capturing the summons of the text leads to application for the hearer. The application is the part where the preacher connects the theological and biblical truths presented in the message to the everyday lives of the congregation, offering concrete steps and insights on how to live out these truths.

A point of caution is warranted. When the application comes apart from capturing the summons, the audience’s felt needs circumvent the priority of Scripture. Every summons leads to an application as its outcome, but not all applications are directly tied back to the original summons. While application seeks to inspire and urge action within the hearer’s lives, only the text’s summons offers the universal, Holy Spirit-inspired power through which lasting change occurs.

Conclusion

At the heart of the summons lies the whole counsel of Scripture—reproof, rebuke, and exhortation. The summons calls for clarity in understanding the nuanced distinction between the summons and the application. The summons is what the text commands of the hearer—what to do. The application contrasts how the hearer applies the summons to their lives—how to do it. Proper understanding of the summons simply reinforces the meaning of the text derived from the work of the substance, structure, and spirit of the text. In the same manner that the substance, structure, and spirit inform the meaning, the summons serves to illuminate the truth of God therein. Thus, textually faithful interpretations must embody the transformative nature of the text. The hearers must become the doers thereby bearing fruitfulness as a witness of the Holy Spirit actively living in their life.   


[1] J. Josh Smith, Preaching for a Verdict: Recovering the Role of Exhortation (Nashville: B & H, 2019), 11.

[2] Bryan Chapell, "Introduction," in Homiletics and Hermeneutics: Four Views on Preaching Today, ed. Scott M. Gibson and Matthew D. Kim (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2018), 5.

[3] Peter Adam, Speaking God’s Words: A Practical Theology of Preaching (Vancouver: Regent College, 1996), 24–25.

[4] Smith, Preaching for a Verdict, 26–28.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Substance-Structure-Spirit-Summons Model of Text-Driven Exposition

  Text-driven expositional preaching transcends style but serves as a lightning rod for the conviction that the Holy Spirit speaks through the text. Moreover, the text of Scripture informs the sermon’s meaning through the substance, structure, spirit, and summons. Therefore, a faithful, expository preacher must represent the text—employing explanation, illustration, and application—in the same manner of persuasion as the original author and allow the text’s nature to drive the sermon’s meaning. [1] I. A. Richards wrote, “Persuasion is only one among the aims of discourse. [Exposition] is concerned to state a view, not to persuade people to agree or to do anything more than examine it.” [2] The text-driven model demonstrates that exposition alone cannot move the congregation toward further godliness. Instead, complete dependence upon the Holy Spirit through recreating the original declaration of the text lies at the heart of text-driven preaching’s conviction that God has spoken. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Different Not Weird: Engaging Gen Z and Beyond with the Gospel

                                One of the most significant challenges within each generation of the church is adapting to engage with the next generation. The values that impacted the “ Boomer Generation” (1955–1965), “Generation X” (1966–1977), “Millennials” (1978–1994), and “Generation Z” (1995–2012) vary wildly. [1] However, knowing which values are essential helps contextualize the gospel, revealing its relevance to the person to whom you are speaking. This approach moves beyond just engaging Gen Z. This article strives to illuminate the values of Gen Z and provide conversation points for bridging the gap and connecting to Christ. Understanding the Gen Z Culture To reach Gen Z with the gospel begins with a critical understanding of their culture. Understanding the culture of Gen Z gives clues into what they have deemed to value. Gen Z has been identified as the most racially diverse generation and ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why the Apostolic Kerygma Still Matters

  If you are anything like I was, you are asking yourself, “What the heck is the apostolic kerygma ?” The kerygma has historically and theologically been understood as “the essential elements of the Christian gospel message.” [1] The apostolic kerygma stands as a clear understanding of what the apostles would have preached.  This understanding provides clarity in defining what constitutes the “gospel” in the church. But why is this important? Actually, it is vitally important for several reasons. First, there are three primary theological views of the apostolic kerygma: the British School, the German School, and the Anglican School. The British school basically teaches a formulaic approach to the apostles' preaching of the gospel (the death, burial, and resurrection). The German School was focused on the experiential aspects of the gospel. In other words, it wasn’t about what was preached but the experience between the preacher and the hearer that mattered. Finally, the A...
Post a Comment
Read more