Is It Wrong to Preach Someone Else's Sermon? Honesty, Credit and the Pastor's Call

Preaching someone else's sermon is not wrong in itself, but presenting it as your own is. The church has long allowed a man to read a sermon he did not write, openly and with credit, and Augustine said such preachers "cannot be blamed, supposing them to do it without deception." The problem is the deception: letting your congregation believe that the study, the outline and the words came from you when they did not. And even when it is honest, a borrowed sermon cannot do the whole work of a pastor who is called to study the text for his own people.

Has the church ever allowed preachers to use other men's sermons?

Yes, and that history is worth knowing before anyone reaches for the word "plagiarism."

In Book IV of On Christian Doctrine, Augustine considers men who "have a good delivery, but cannot compose anything to deliver." If such men take what others have written well, memorize it and deliver it to the people, he says, "they cannot be blamed, supposing them to do it without deception." He even sees a benefit: "in this way many become preachers of the truth."

The English Reformation put the same idea into practice. In 1547 the Church of England issued its first Book of Homilies, a collection of twelve sermons mainly written by Thomas Cranmer. The king commanded parsons, vicars and curates to read through them Sunday by Sunday, except when a sermon was to be delivered. A second book followed in 1563, and Article 35 of the Thirty-Nine Articles directs that the Homilies be "read in Churches by the Ministers, diligently and distinctly, that they may be understanded of the people."

Notice what both examples have in common. Nobody was fooled. Augustine's condition was "without deception," and a congregation hearing the Homilies knew it was hearing the Homilies.

Where is the line?

The line is honesty, not originality.

Paul describes his own ministry this way: "But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God" (2 Corinthians 4:2, ESV).

The Westminster Larger Catechism places this under the ninth commandment. Among the duties it requires is "freely acknowledging of their gifts and graces," that is, giving others credit for what God has given them (WLC Q. 144). Among the sins it forbids are "concealing the truth" and "vainglorious boasting, thinking or speaking too highly or too meanly of ourselves or others" (WLC Q. 145).

A preacher who stands up and delivers another man's sermon as if he wrote it is doing at least two of those things at once. He hides where the sermon came from, and he takes credit for gifts that belong to someone else. Paul's question to the Corinthians is about gifts received from God, but it cuts the same way: "What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?" (1 Corinthians 4:7, ESV).

So the honest test is simple. If your congregation knew exactly where this sermon came from, would they feel informed or deceived?

What about Jeremiah 23:30?

This verse is often quoted against sermon plagiarism: "Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, declares the LORD, who steal my words from one another" (Jeremiah 23:30, ESV).

Read in context, Jeremiah 23 is aimed at false prophets who claimed to speak for God when he had not sent them. Their sin was passing off borrowed or invented words as a fresh word from the Lord. That makes the verse a warning about where a preacher's words come from, but not a simple rule against ever using another man's material.

Augustine took up the same verse and read it differently than many do today. He argued that "the word of God belongs to all who obey it," and that the real thief is the man "who speaks well, but lives badly," because his good words do not match his life. You do not have to follow his reading in every detail to see his point: the deeper problem is pretending to be something you are not.

If it is honest, is it enough?

Not for a man called to be the pastor of a particular church.

The Larger Catechism says ministers are to preach "wisely, applying themselves to the necessities and capacities of the hearers" (WLC Q. 159). The 1689 London Baptist Confession says pastors are "constantly to attend the service of Christ, in his churches, in the ministry of the word and prayer, with watching for their souls, as they that must give an account to Him" (LBCF 26.10). The apostles set aside other work for the same reason: "But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word" (Acts 6:4, ESV).

A sermon written by another man was written for another congregation. Its author does not know who in your church buried a parent this month, which family is drifting or what your people already heard last Sunday. Reading it openly on a Sunday when you are sick is one thing. Making it your normal practice is another, because the study that should shape your preaching, and you with it, is not happening.

Augustine's allowance was for men who "cannot compose anything." Most pastors reading this can, even if it takes them longer than they would like.

What about outlines, illustrations and good lines?

Most real questions are not about whole sermons. They are about pieces. A few working rules:

• Commentaries and general learning. You do not need to cite every commentary that shaped your understanding of the text. That is how all preachers learn.
• Distinctive wording. If you use a memorable sentence that someone else wrote, say so. "As one commentator put it" is enough if the name would distract.
• Illustrations and stories. Never tell another preacher's personal story as if it happened to you. If you use it, say whose story it is.
• Outlines. If your main points come straight from another man's sermon or book, mention it briefly. An outline is real work, and it is often the heart of a sermon.
• A series built on someone else's material. Tell your elders and, in a sentence, your congregation. That honesty costs you very little.
• When you are not sure. Jared Wilson's advice at 9Marks is to "do your due diligence in looking it up." If you cannot find where a striking line came from, either credit it vaguely or do not use it.

Credit does not have to clutter the sermon. A short phrase in the moment, a note in the printed outline or a line in the sermon notes you post online is usually enough. The goal is not footnotes in the pulpit. The goal is that no one is misled.

Does the same apply to AI-generated sermons?

Yes. A sermon produced by a program and preached as your own study raises the same two problems as a borrowed manuscript: it can mislead the congregation, and it skips the work your call gives you. It adds a third, because generated text can echo published sermons without telling you where a phrase came from. We cover where help ends and outsourcing begins in should pastors use AI for sermons.

What if you have already done it?

Many pastors under pressure have preached something that was not theirs and let people assume it was. If that is you, the way forward is the same as for any other sin of the tongue: stop, confess it to God, and talk with your elders or a trusted pastor. Repentance includes telling the truth to the people who were misled, and your elders can help you decide how and when. The gospel you preach is for the preacher too.

If time pressure is what pushed you there, deal with that honestly as well. Look at where the hours of sermon preparation go and consider what can change in your week.

What to do this week

• Start your study in the text before you read anyone else's sermon on it.
• Keep a simple record of sources as you prepare, so you know where your outline, illustrations and best lines came from.
• Decide with your elders what your practice will be for crediting sources and for the Sundays when you need help.
• If you are just starting out, read how to prepare a sermon for the first time and build the habit of doing your own work from the start.

If you use a tool in your preparation, the same honesty applies. The sermon preparation workspace in Hokmah Expositor starts with an exegetical study of the passage and a structure you review and edit before anything is developed. It can also generate complete sermon drafts, and its own page says a draft is material for you to examine, correct and make your own, and that you remain responsible for what is preached. Use it, or any tool, only in a way you would be comfortable explaining to your elders.

Sources

• Augustine, On Christian Doctrine, Book IV, chapter 29, section 63, translated by James Shaw, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 2, New Advent, https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/12024.htm
• Gerald Bray, Article 35: Of the Homilies, Church Society, https://www.churchsociety.org/resource/article-35-of-the-homilies/
• The Books of Homilies, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Books_of_Homilies
• Westminster Larger Catechism (Q. 144, 145, 159), Orthodox Presbyterian Church, online edition, https://www.opc.org/lc.html
• The Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689, chapter 26 (paragraph 10), The Reformed Reader, https://reformedreader.org/ccc/1689lbc/english/Chapter26.htm
• Jared C. Wilson, "Thou Shalt Not Steal" and Other Sermon Points I Didn't Make Up: Some Thoughts on Pastoral Plagiarism, 9Marks, March 31, 2020, https://www.9marks.org/article/thou-shalt-not-steal-and-other-sermon-points-i-didnt-make-up-some-thoughts-on-pastoral-plagiarism/