“And when He had made and end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God” (Ex. 31:18).
Notice that God didn’t just speak, He wrote as well. If anyone’s spoken word is sufficient in itself, it is God’s. Yet, He saw it was necessary to publish as well as preach. He knew that preserving the knowledge of His will for us could no longer be trusted to our feeble memories. As one of my professors used to say, “people forget, but paper remembers!”
Did you know that the word “written” occurs 253 times in the King James Bible? In addition, the word “write” occurs 82 times, the word “wrote” occurs 60 times, and the word “writing” occurs 35 times! By contrast the words “preach,” “preached,” and “preaching” combine for only 133 occurances!
Perhaps more important than the comparison of 430 references to writing and the 133 references to preaching is the fact that preaching is based upon writing. A sermon without a scripture is sweetness without substance—cotton candy for the soul. It may entertain, but never sustain. Preaching and publishing: what God has joined together, let no man put asunder!
“The ministerial evangelist who engages in the canvassing work is performing a service fully as important as that of preaching the gospel before a congregation Sabbath after Sabbath” (Colporteur Ministry, p. 45).
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