Does it Bear Witness to Jesus?

Paul Lamey at Expository Thoughts makes an excellent point in his article titled Insert Jesus Here. He draws attention to the need that preaching must smell of Jesus. I ask myself this question everytime I preach or listen to a sermon, "What makes this sermon distinctly Christian?"

Jesus is not only our sacrifice for sin, He is also the source of our ability to walk in holiness in this life. Colossians 2:6-10 points out that growth and development of the Christian comes through the redemptive work of Jesus, not through moral reform:

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. (NIV)