Expository preaching gets a bad rap nowadays. The blame for it can’t fall entirely on those who lampoon it and draw cute caricatures. Some blame belongs to those who think they preach expository sermons but don’t. And some of the responsibility rests squarely on the shoulders of expository preachers.
Orthocrusty is hard to defend, no matter what style it uses. God didn’t call preachers to be “bland leaders of the bland.” Regardless of your style, if your preaching is as dry as cracker juice, you aren’t preaching. Philips Brooks said preaching has “two essential elements: truth and personality.” Dr. A.E. Garvie added, “Preaching is not merely a communication of knowledge. As it exercises the whole personality of the preacher, so it is addressed to the whole personality of the hearer as a moral and religious subject.” [1]
Preaching that lacks Scriptural content isn’t preaching, nor is preaching that lacks personality. If expository preaching has a bad reputation in some circles, blame it on the tendency to bake the sermon for an hour at 425o, run it through the microwave, leave it out in the sun, and set it under a heat lamp until it is thoroughly dehydrated. A sermon worth preaching won’t much resemble the Sahara in the dry season.
But the fault in dry preaching isn’t the Word preached or the style of preaching. The fault is in the preacher, who loved his study more than his people, who gets more joy in saying what he knows than in communicating truth. A change of style won’t likely fix that.
Many believe topical preaching is livelier, though more shallow, than expository preaching. Some see it as a necessary trade-off. And, all things being equal, it is easier to rant and rave when we have nothing to say, and it might be more essential. Shallow preaching becomes a performing art.
But I am for expository preaching. I decided to preach this way when God put me in the ministry, and I have tried to learn the craft over these many years. A good friend of mine made this remark, which I wholeheartedly endorse:
Expositional preaching should be thought of as an “entry point” to preaching. A preacher must know how to do that before he should move on to other styles. The process shapes the way you think…even when not preaching that exact style of sermon.
I’ve preached my share of forgettable messages. I’ve left the church gasping “Water!” more than once. But prefer overcooked steak to wonder bread – which retains that surprisingly moist texture long after it should have turned stale. Nothing stirs the heart quite like a preacher who has been set on fire by the text or passage he intends to preach.
That said, this particular missive aims to strip away some of the false notions of what constitutes “expository preaching.” Lord willing, we’ll come back and discuss what it is. For now, we’ll discuss what it ain’t (with apologies to Aunt Gertie, who hates that word).
First, expository preaching isn’t a Bible study. I don’t deny that there are shades of Bible study. Much Bible study is required for expository preaching (which might explain why some are reluctant to preach this way). But expository preaching isn’t the same thing as a Bible study. Expository preaching is the fruit of Bible study. It takes what was gathered in the study and preaches it to the church. It sets forth the passage’s meaning as the foundation for application to the people. That means there will be parts that might sound like a Bible study. But expository preaching isn’t a Bible study.
Second, expository preaching isn’t a dry rehearsal of theological truth. In his masterpiece on this topic, Haddon Robinson said, “Ministers can proclaim anything in a stained-glass voice at 11:30 on Sunday morning following the singing of hymns.” [2] Beware of the tendency – powerful in expository preachers – to approach the pulpit like pompous windbags, to sound like we are teaching systematic theology to seminarians instead of leading the sheep to pasture. We don’t want to be condescending, as if we are trying to explain the hypostatic union to a class of first graders. But we don’t want to sound like college professors, either. The key is application. If the preacher only preaches the text without applying it to the people, he hasn’t preached. Thus, Haddon Robinson points to the maxim of our Protestant forebears: “Doctrines must be preached practically, and duties doctrinally.” [3]
Third, expository preaching isn’t a rhetorical rendering of a single verse. True, most of Spurgeon’s sermons dealt with a single verse or two of Scripture – and sometimes juxtaposed two different verses where he saw some connection. But I wouldn’t describe Spurgeon as an expository preacher. He was faithful to the context and often included an “exposition” of a Bible reading. But the exposition was separate from the sermon. Spurgeon didn’t preach expository sermons. That’s okay, of course. He isn’t the standard, and we aren’t called to imitate all things Spurgeon. There is a place for “textual” preaching. I don’t deny it. But a single verse will mean much more when the surrounding context is explained and applied faithfully.
Fourth, expository preaching isn’t a rolling commentary on a passage of Scripture. This is the most common misunderstanding of expository preaching. In my early years of ministry, this was often presented as expository preaching. Pastors who preached this way would write a few notes in the margins of their Bible. Then, they would read through the passage, pausing to comment on each verse as they came to it. I came to call them diving board sermons. They reminded me of how boys will bounce on the diving board, do some kind of acrobatic dive into the pool, splash around for a minute, climb back out, and do it all over again. In my experience, the preacher’s comments may or may not stick to the text. The text becomes the backdrop to his sermon, a sort of home base where he can collect his scattered thoughts. Then, he launches out once again to chase the rabbits that hop across his mind.
Fifth, expository preaching isn’t a patchwork quilt of random, unrelated thoughts. A boat anchor lets the boat drift in the same general location. But the text shouldn’t be treated as a boat anchor. If your sermons remind the church of the Snake River, you aren’t preaching expository sermons. Expository preaching bears more than a vague connection to a passage of Scripture. Expository preaching preaches the passage. The preacher gives the sense of the passage and then applies that meaning to the hearer.
Sixth, expository preaching isn’t a platform for pontificating personal opinion. The point is not to find Biblical support for your thoughts. The point of expository preaching is to preach the Word, not my thoughts or opinions about the Word. Faithful expository preaching sets forth the text, not the preacher. I’ve sat through more than my share of sermons where the preacher had a thought he wanted to share. He found a passage of Scripture that sounded like it might be saying something similar, and he preached it. If I’m honest, these kinds of sermons seem to be a platform for self-promotion. The preacher fills the sermon with stories of his own heroic deeds. He didn’t bother to find out what the passage really meant. He did not consider why that passage was included in the sacred record. He did no homework to find the point of the text. His ideas and opinions needed support, and he found a Bible passage to prop up his opinions. No matter how often you refer back to the passage, that isn’t expository preaching.
Seventh, expository preaching isn’t the only Biblical way to preach. The apostles used a variety of preaching styles. Sometimes, the preacher summarized the whole of Old Testament history (Acts 7:1-53). Other times, the preacher proved a point from various prophetic statements (Acts 2:14-36). I don’t object to topical preaching, so long as it isn’t mere proof-texting to support an opinion. If you would understand what the Bible says about worship, you would be wise to examine all that the Bible says about worship. Some phrases in the Bible, such as “this day have I begotten thee” (Psalm 2:7, Acts 13:33, Hebrews 1:5), require us to examine the places where this is said. Earlier, I mentioned that preaching a single verse of Scripture can be an effective way to preach, and so long as we preach the verse in context, there can be no objection to it.
Finally, expository preaching isn’t a waste of time. Besides the advantage of thoroughly acquainting the church with a book of the Bible, expository preaching brings a passage of Scripture to life, rehearses and reviews it, spends significant time looking at it, draws out everything that should be noticed, and sets it all aflame in the hearts of the people. Expository preaching is the best, most challenging thing a preacher can ever do. And it brings forth much fruit, fruit that remains. I highly recommend it.
[1] Both quotes taken from John A. Broadus On the Preparation and Delivery of Sermons
[2] Biblical Preaching: the Development and Delivery of Expository Messages, p. 4
[3] Ibid., p. 11
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