Posted by: Andrew | January 16, 2008

Expository Preaching and the Local Church

It’s been way too long since my last post. I apologise for that. However, now that exams are over I should have more time to read, think and blog.

Over the past few days I’ve been thinking about the importance of expository preaching. Expository preaching is, quite simply, preaching the word of God verse by verse and chapter by chapter. It’s the type of preaching actually that recognises that God didn’t give us verses - God gave us books. And expository preaching realises that these books have valuable messages that need to be conveyed to today’s world. Topical preaching is quite different from expository preaching. Now I appreciate the great value of topical preaching and in no way do I suggest that it is a bad practice but it can become easy in topical preaching to pick verses out of context and mix them together to support one’s predetermined theology. In expository preaching, it isn’t as easy to do that because the preacher becomes aware of the need to see each sentence in its context. Expository preaching then, is simply preaching the word of God through each of the different books that God has given us.

Why have I been thinking about this? Well, when I have been looking at a few different churches recently I have been struck by the absence of expository preaching. Instead it is replaced by messages with a few verses thrown in for good measure. But I don’t want to go to church to hear what some person thinks I need to hear - I want to go to church and hear the voice of God. I want to know that fellow believers will bring to me the word of God. It’s not that I simply want to go to church and be fed and give nothing back. It’s not that. But I want to be part of a community of believers who appreciate the need for the sharing of God’s word among each other. And that’s something that’s hard to find. When I meet with other believers I want to find encouragement. Perhaps at other times I need to be rebuked. But when I seek encouragement, I want to be encouraged from the word of God. When I need to be challenged or rebuked, I want to hear it from God. So when I see a church that has become accustomed to giving God’s word second place, it makes me sad. And it makes me sad to see that so many churches have displaced the priority of God’s word and instead have devoted their attention to preaching their own messages.

So I’m still searching…

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Responses

I think preaching should be expository, but not too expository.

Some people talk as though preaching a sermon is like writing a Bible commentary.

I think one can preach different messages based on a chapter of Scripture, by emphasising different elements within the passage.

If we are going to be too expository, then we will never be able to preach evangelistic sermons, as only the Gospel of John is truly written with an evangelistic purpose.

Every Blessing in Christ

Matthew

By: Matthew C on January 17, 2008
at 8:27 am

For example, when I preached on Ezekiel 28, rather than strictly give a verse-by-verse exposition of the passage, I preached about Satan based on things that the passage says.

By: Matthew C on January 17, 2008
at 8:29 am

I agree with you Matthew that expository preaching can often be more than a commentary style message. However what concerns me is when some churches abandon teaching through books of the Bible in favour of preaching topical messages. I’m not against topical messages but when they displace teaching of the Bible verse-by-verse I find it rather disturbing.

Thanks for your comments and God bless you,
Andrew

By: Andrew on January 17, 2008
at 11:19 am

Yes, at the church I went to as a teenager, there was mostly topical preaching.

I have no problem with the middle ground though; where one preaches on a topic, while still being anchored to a specific Biblical text.

I think we can use expository preaching to address specific topics.

In fact, I think this is vitally necessary.

We have to remember that a lot of Christians are never going to pick up a systematic theology textbook.

The only time they are going to learn about subjects like the Trinity and angels is in preaching.

Every Blessing in Christ

Matthew

By: Matthew C on January 17, 2008
at 4:17 pm

Hi Andrew

I totally agree that in our churches it is rarer to hear expository preaching - though thankfully in my own local church we have a pastor prepared to preach through books, usually more often than he speaks on themes. I can see the benefits to his approach in that he is not afraid to be honest with a text that has been used out of context.

But he is an exception in the churches I’m familiar with. Too often we have people commenting, for example, on how a believer’s life should change for the better, then using a verse like 2 Cor 5:17 to show that this should be automatic. Hence the danger of picking a theme and picking verses here and there that sound like they match your opinion, but really don’t.

And, as you’ve been discussing, it must also be necessary that a church’s ministry includes both styles of preaching. We could argue that the very books themselves which we want preached ‘expositarily’ (!) can contain, within a single chapter, references to widespread verses in various other books of the Bible, so that the chapter itself is not really being expository - if you catch my drift. The gospel writers used various OT references in a way that couldn’t be described as being expository with scripture (I don’t know what the other term is: systematic?).

And what if we want to preach a sermon on expository preaching? Is there a text we can use ‘expositarily’ to get across this fundamental preaching method?

I guess it must be about ‘balance’ - which means I’m probably copping out of this discussion!

God bless
Trevor

By: trev on January 17, 2008
at 4:21 pm

Hi Matthew,

It’s an excellent point you make about most Christians not even picking up a systematic theology book - which I find quite disturbing. However there is a danger with systematic theology books that the verses cited to prove a certain point may not be exegetically defensible in relation to the point trying to be proved. It is so unbelievably easy to rip verses out of context and they look as if they are clear evidence to support a certain doctrine but in reality the context would support a different interpretation. But I agree with your point about the need for expository preaching being used to address specific subjects. Just, I think, we need to be extra careful because of the danger of bad proof-texting.

Hi Trevor,

You make some very good points! The one about how the NT writers teach with the OT Scriptures is one that is very intriguing. Yes, I suppose they did use a more topical method and a more systematic method to teach the Scriptures. In fact, there is very little of the verse-by-verse style teaching that I so like. Is it perhaps because of the fact that very often they are bringing new revelation to their audiences and as such are doing much more than expound previous revelation? At any rate, the writers of Scripture knew not to use verses out of context to prove a point. And when they apparently did, perhaps they were only making an analogy or using a typological hermeneutic. But that’s another issue!

So yes, I think it probably is about balance. But I do believe that teaching through books of the bible has been rather unhealthily ignored by many churches.

God bless you both,
Andrew

By: Andrew on January 17, 2008
at 8:48 pm

Andrew,
It’s good to hear some enthusiasm on expository preaching. That was method that the pastor that finally showed me the Light and taught me how to read and study the bible with confidence used. That pastor’s grandson then went through the old testament expositorily for the first half hour each Sunday and then things relevant to that particular O.T. chapter in the second. He utilized that system very well.

Todd

By: Todd Saunders on February 7, 2008
at 3:05 am

Thanks for your comments Todd! I couldn’t agree more with you!

God bless you,
Andrew

By: Andrew on February 7, 2008
at 4:10 pm

Unfortunately many pastors are more concerned with growing the number of their flock, then growing the foundation of faith; more interested in making everyone happy and comfortable preaching fluff then giving us some meat and potatoes.

Look at the Joel Osteen following and you’ll see what makes our culture happy and comfortable. Definately not expository preaching.

Good stuff, and keep looking. It’s out there.

By: Christopher on February 10, 2008
at 2:44 am

Hi Chris,

It’s a great point you make about the attitude of many pastors (and congregations) today towards the preaching of God’s word. It’s true - yet so sad. I do however, thank God that there are some churches around that really do take the word of God seriously and pastors who take seriously their responsibility to teach that word to God’s people. This is the website of a pastor not too far away from me and when I listen to him I always really enjoy him: link. So I am encouraged to see that there are some pastors out there who are passionate about sharing God’s word and not out to make people feel comfortable.

Thanks for visiting and God bless you,
Andrew

By: Andrew McNeill on February 11, 2008
at 12:14 am

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