Why I value expository preaching

A week or so ago, while enjoying a final day of annual leave, as a family we visited another church in Melbourne. The preacher took us to Colossians 1:15-29, exhorting us from Scripture to avoid domesticating Jesus and instead to capture a vision of this Lord of creation and Lord of the Church. It was a hot day, and the building didn’t have any air conditioning. Did I mention it was hot? The poor kids did well, although they let out the occasional groan as a reminder to Dad and Mum that they were feeling the heat. That aside, it was a joy to hear the Bible being opened, and the truth of Jesus Christ being affirmed and expounded.

One of the highest and most humbling opportunities I have as a Christian minister is to preach God’s word. Preaching is an exciting yet fearful task. It brings immense pleasure and yet requires great earnestness.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians:

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 Cor 4:2)

According to Paul, the aim of preaching is not to mystify people or to promote a personality or to gain profit; rather it is to set forth the truth plainly.

In one of the most famous charges ever given to a pastor, Paul says to his apprentice, Timothy:

Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions. (2 Tim 4:2-3)

This is such a helpful passage for understanding the work of the preacher:

• We’re told what to do: preach.
• We are told what to preach: the word.
• We are given a context for preaching: the season for preaching is all the time. 
• We are given a set of aims in preaching: to correct, rebuke and encourage those listening.
• We are given instruction as to the manner in which we preach: with great patience and careful instruction.
• We are not, however, given a method. Having said this, I believe the Bible comes closer to methodology than we at first realise, for the content and aim of the sermon must surely drive the method. Not for a moment am I suggesting that there is only one way to preach. There are several valid styles of preaching, including topical, doctrinal and narrative. Even among expository preachers we discover slightly different approaches: Dick Lucas, Don Carson, Tim Keller and Phillip Jensen are all well known for their expository preaching and yet no two are alike in their preaching. 

Broadly speaking, all preaching ought to be expository preaching, in the sense that the content of our sermons must come from the Bible. The authoritative, true and sufficient word that God has given to us is the Bible, and as 2 Timothy 4:2 reminds us, it is a God given mandate that our message be this word.

Evangelistic, topical and doctrinal sermons all can and ought to be exposition of Scripture. By this I don’t mean verse by verse exegesis and application of consecutive passages, but that the point of the sermon must be grounded in and shaped by the word of God. In fact, a sermon may pool together several different Bible passages and yet teach them in such a way that they are being explained and applied correctly.

More specifically, expository preaching is an approach where the preacher takes a self-contained portion of the Bible (usually a book, which is subsequently divided into its constituent sections and then systematically preached over a number of weeks or months). He then explains and applies that passage according to the natural parameters set by the text, which includes genre of writing, the original audience, place in salvation history, its theme and tone. This may take the form of a careful verse by verse exposition, or it may cover several chapters in a single sermon with the preacher teaching and applying the main points that are contained within it.

While this method for preaching is not dictated in Scripture, it is the approach to preaching that I have found most helpful as I seek to be faithful to 2 Corinthians 4:2 and 2 Timothy 4:2.  Here are eight reasons:

1. Expository preaching shows that the authority lies in the word not in the preacher.
2. It helps ensure that it is God through his word who is setting the agenda, not the preacher or the congregation or issues around us.
3. Expository preaching helps me to be clear in my preaching. There is a structure and message in the text. My role isn’t to create a message, but rather the passage gives me the parameters.
4. I want to be faithful to the whole counsel of God. All Scripture is God-breathed and is for our benefit, so we should aim to eventually preach through the entire Bible (one very long term project!).
5. I want the church to value the whole Bible. Scripture is an incredibly rich book and I want people to explore all of it.
6. Far from creating dull or irrelevant preaching, expository preaching keeps me interested and challenged in my preaching, and it pushes my congregation There are 66 different books in the Bible written at different times in history by different authors, in more than 12 different genres, exploring hundreds of themes. The literary diversity of the Bible also helps the congregation to sustain interest in the preaching.
7. It helps the church to follow the preaching from week to week as they can read ahead.
8. It is harder for the preacher to ignore difficult and unpopular topics.

In a season where confidence in God’s word is diminishing as people read the Bible less, and the Bible is less frequently read and preached in church, expository preaching offers a significant antidote.

There is more to preaching than method, and admittedly there are potential dangers in preaching expositorily, but they have more to do with the preacher than the method—a lack of training, limited experience, or a preacher who takes short-cuts in their preparation. If I am aiming for my preaching to be faithful, clear, interesting, and compelling to the hearer, then expository preaching will serve me well.

The preacher’s task is immense: heaven and hell are the outcomes; life or death are on offer. Surely it is wise to pursue an approach that will help our preaching to be as faithful and clear as can be.