The Word of This Salvation in the Mouths of Christ’s Ministers
Retrieving a Theology of Preaching as Reflected in the Sermons and Writings of Benjamin Keach (1640–1704)
- Preaching & Worship
- History & Biography
- Publisher: Wipf and Stock
- Published: 2026
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Publisher's Description
In a post-Christian culture marked by shifting societal trends and technological advancements, only a stable foundation can sustain the weight of Christian proclamation. The Word of This Salvation in the Mouths of Christ’s Ministers meets this challenge through homiletical retrieval within the Baptist tradition. Following the model of historical ressourcement, the study ensures continuity with the Baptist heritage while fostering renewal in contemporary preaching. The book centers on Benjamin Keach, an early English Particular Baptist, whose sermons and writings provide the primary sources for constructing a systematic theology of preaching. By situating Keach within his historical context, his theology of preaching can provide a theo-homiletical framework for contemporary expressions of Baptist preaching. This theology comprises six interconnected elements: epiphanical as its basis, expositional as its object, experiential as its subject, effectual as its means, ecclesial as its context, and evangelical as its goal. Each element is carefully derived from Keach’s published works and evaluated against timeless homiletical questions. The purpose is to equip Baptist preachers and teachers with a theologically coherent, historically grounded framework that bridges past convictions with present practice, enabling faithful and transformative proclamation in today’s context.
Endorsements (6)
“In a time when preaching often has more in common with therapy or entertainment, Michael Cooper’s book is a welcome call to faithful preaching by retrieving the robust, Christ-exalting, Scripture-saturated theology of preaching found in Benjamin Keach (1640–1704). Keach was one of the most prolific pastors among the early English Particular Baptists, and he is well-worthy of study and imitation. With warmth and scholarship, Cooper demonstrates that true renewal in the pulpit can never come through cultural accommodation, but only through humble retrieval of the scriptural way of preaching, demonstrated by our theo-homiletical heritage, where the Word of God is sufficient, Christ is central, and the Spirit of God provides his strengthening and illuminating power. I heartily recommend this work to every preacher and teacher. It not only diagnoses the crisis but prescribes the biblical cure: preach the word, in season and out, standing on the shoulders of faithful preachers who came before you.”
“It is my privilege to commend this volume. Michael Cooper serves pastors by recovering a robust theology of preaching from Benjamin Keach, one that resists reducing the pulpit to mere technique, therapy, or performance. Instead, he restores preaching to its rightful place as the appointed means through which the risen Christ speaks by his word and Spirit. Through careful engagement with Keach, Cooper demonstrates that faithful preaching is far more than a transfer of information—it is God speaking—it is revelatory. This retrieval of Keach is not an exercise in nostalgia, but a model of pastoral ressourcement, providing contemporary preachers with a framework that is historically grounded, confessionally shaped, and thoroughly Christ-centered. Readers who value the glory of God, the authority of Scripture, and the spiritual gravity of expositional preaching in the church will find this work illuminating, invigorating, and restorative.”
“Michael Cooper has provided us with a marvelous introduction to, as well as an interpretation and analysis of, the life, ministry, preaching, and theology of Benjamin Keach (1640-1704), a leader among early English Particular Baptists. In doing so, Cooper does not so much provide a biography of Keach as he offers Keach as a model for preaching in our contemporary context, which brings together word and Spirit, in conjunction with the ordinances and Christian hymnody, to accomplish God’s purposes. By connecting Keach’s background with an overview of the history of preaching, the distinctive aspects of Baptist preaching, and the influence of the English Reformation, Cooper provides for his readers a thoroughgoing theology of preaching, which is grounded in Scripture and enabled by the Holy Spirit, and which is expositional, experiential, ecclesial, edifying, evangelistic, and evangelical. We join with Michael Cooper in praying that this publication will be used by God to bring about renewal in Baptist preaching and in Baptist churches. It is a genuine joy to recommend this outstanding volume!”
“Michael Cooper Jr. has added a worthy contribution to the study of the early Baptist leader, Benjamin Keach. This new examination of Keach’s preaching ministry provides fodder for deeper discussion and encourages even more research. Those who were previously acquainted with Keach will be eager to engage Cooper, and those who are meeting Keach for the first time will surely be blessed by this introduction to the regular ministry of a faithful-but-flawed preacher.”
“As Michael Cooper notes in his introduction, Baptists are ‘people of the book.’ Historically, this means that we prioritize the word of God in our praying, singing, theologizing, and, most especially, our preaching. Cooper’s rigorous study of Particular Baptist forefather Benjamin Keach’s theology of preaching reminds us that this emphasis has been ours since the beginning, and for good reason: God reveals himself in Christ through his word and therefore demands that we, too, ‘preach Christ’ and his gospel from that same word. This excellent historical and theological study will spur pastors, students, and professors to mine once again the fields of Scripture in order to bring forth its pearls of great price and proclaim them to God’s people.”
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