What in the World is Expository Preaching (and why should I care)?

I am asked this question often. Depending who you are you either love or dislike expository preaching. The problem is most people don’t know what expository preaching is. Some mistakenly think it is reading a Bible verse and then talking about it, then reading the next Bible verse and talking about it, repeating the process until you’ve run out of time or move through an entire chapter or book of the Bible. If this was your understanding of expository preaching, click here.

 Let’s understand what expository preaching is not. It is not reading a verse and engaging in running commentary, then reading another verse and giving more commentary. That’s remotely like expository preaching. Many people often confuse this practice with verse by verse expository preaching. Yes, expository preaching can include a verse by verse explanation of a passage; however, it is not limited to this---far from it.

Expository preaching is not preaching a word study. Some believe that expositional preaching involved preaching a word study you developed using your favorite concordance. First of all, concordances are not meant to provide you the definition of a word. Concordances are helpful in finding occurrences of a word throughout the Scripture. Secondly, lexicons provide the basic meaning of words (we’ll talk about context some other time). Well-meaning Christians often develop a talk by taking a Sunday or two in order to preach a verse by breaking it down a word at a time. That’s not an expository sermon either.

 It’s not a dry academic exercise (or a boring discussion) where one demonstrates his academic prowess. Preachers should never be boring or dry. Expository preaching ought to be engaging and applicational. In fact, you could call expository preaching applicational preaching. Good expository preaching takes the audience into consideration. It is not necessarily academic (unless preached to seminary professors and students) and it is always accessible to the ‘common, garden variety Christian.’ It’s often exciting and compelling! What is expository preaching?

 Here’s a simple definition of expository preaching. Expository preaching is explaining the mind of God to the people of God using the word of God. After all exposition, according to Webster’s exposition is a “a discourse or an … designed to convey information or explain what is difficult to understand.” The aim of expository preaching is to explain the mind of God revealed through the word of God so that we can understand it (and apply it). The aim of the preacher is to make the word/will of God understood using his Bible so that people can respond to it intelligently and intentionally.

There are many species of expository preaching. One species of expository preaching resembles what we described above. There are examples of textual, sequential, or verse by verse, exposition of a passage or book of the Bible. However, this goes beyond reading and commenting… reading and commenting. It entails finding the flow of thought in the passage and unfolding it. John MacArthur is best known for this style of expository preaching. Some preachers engage in unpacking and explaining the larger thought (or big idea) of a chapter or book of the Bible. Alistair Begg and Mark Dever often do this. Others unload a lesson from a biblical narrative (like Chuck Swindoll).

 But there are other kinds of expository preaching. Some forms of expository preaching involve theme by theme preaching of the Bible (think Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount). There is doctrinal expository preaching where the preacher explains a doctrine of the Bible using the Bible, finding a passage that unlocks it nicely and then cross-referencing judiciously).

Expository preaching can in fact be topical. You can take a passage like Ephesians 5:21-33 and use it to preach on marriage and roles in marriage. You’re not preaching the whole book, just covering a topic from this chapter. You might bring in 1 Peter 3:1-8 to this sermon. It’s topical (and expositional). You could also use Ephesians 4:25-32 and speak to relationships or communication (there are principles for both found in this passage).

The common denominator for expository preaching is that it comes from the text. It comes from the text and not your favorite agenda. The development of an expository sermon involves discovering the meaning (authorial intent) of the passage and making application of it to our lives today. Since God communicated to be understood, we are to understand and obey. The ultimate aim of expository preaching is the spiritual maturity and growth (betterment) of the listener.

 Let’s talk about bad sermons, or bad topical sermons. Many times, too often, the preacher comes up with a conclusion or an agenda then writes a speech and snatches a few Bible verses here and there to make his talk sound biblical. He has an idea and glues or patches in an assortment of unrelated verses or passages out of context. This is what many people think of as a topical sermon. It may be topical but it’s not a sermon—no matter how gifted the communicator might be.

Is expository preaching found in the Bible? You bet! I remember someone trying to tell me it’s not but it is. The two best descriptions of expository sermons in the Bible are found in Nehemiah 8 and Luke 24:27: “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself (Luke 24:27).” Jesus is the Master Expositor. A longer, lengthier description is found in Nehemiah 8 and reveals where many of our practices in preaching come from today:

 And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel. 2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. 3 And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand… 4 And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose...5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. 6 …the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. 8 They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. (Nehemiah 8:1-8)—-note that last sentence carefully. Why?

 All biblical sermons are expository. They explain the mind of God to the people of God using the word of God, giving the sense of His meaning. And if it was good enough for Jesus and Ezra, (OT and NT), it should be just fine for us. Accept no substitutes. If you want to know and do the will of God and His Kingdom, listen to expository sermons. Again: accept no substitutes.

Sensing God's Presence

O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether..Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. (Psalm 139: 1-12)

Have you every entered a room or a church and sensed the presence of God? Have you ever entered a room and felt that God was not there? How many times do we hear someway say, “I really felt God’s presence today in this service (or in this place or that place)?” I remember hearing a pastor (on television) once say, “I’m about to call down the Holy Spirit on this place!” Have you every considered the implications of such statements?

As Christians we can get a little sloppy with our terminology. Sloppy terminology often leads to sloppy thinking. What do we mean by this? Let’s use a little common sense and logic. We know that God is everywhere present, as we read above. Bible scholars and other theologians call this omnipresence.

We are creatures with feelings. Our feelings don’t always square with the facts. You may enter a room and ‘feel like God is not there.’ Or… you may sense God’s presence. But the fact is your feelings don’t necessarily square with reality. God is always there. There is no place on this earth—-in this universe—-where God is not present.

God is with you when you feel all alone. He is with you when you are having a mountain top spiritual experience. He is there in the hard times too, even in the deep dark valleys (Psalm 23:4).God is always there… always present. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. He never abandons us (Deuteronomy 31:6; Joshua 1:9; Hebrews 13:5-6; Matthew 28:20). God’s presence is everywhere. He is everywhere present.

This means neither you or I, or the pastor on TV, can “call down the Holy Spirit.” You can’t call Him down on a room, or into a situation. He is already there. Says who? Says the Psalmist (above) and says Jesus (below):

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:16-17)

God is everywhere… everywhere present—-whether you sense Him or not. No need to call Him down—-He’s already here. He is with you now. And that is very good news indeed. Be encouraged! Take heart! Cling to what is true!

So what do you do with this information? Pass it on. Speak with clarity for the sake of others, particularly new believers. And rest well—-knowing you are never alone, never on your own, and never without resources!

How Do I Get the Most Out of My Bible Reading?

This is a question I am often asked. And it’s a good one! For many (particularly new Christ-followers) the Bible is intimidating. It shouldn’t be. God wrote it to be understood by children and adults. Sometimes we make a task or undertaking harder than it should be. Reading the Bible is easier than you think. Moreover, if you are a believer, a Christian—a Christ follower, then the indwelling Holy Spirit will grant you abilities to understand His Word that go beyond even your ‘routine’ reading comprehension levels. He will make God’a word known and understandable (John 16:12-15).

So, how does one go about reading, studying, and understanding the Bible? First, let’s understand that not all passages are equally complex (or equally simple). Their difficulty varies with subject matter and genre. Second, as we reading any book, use common sense. Ask yourself three questions:

1) What do the words say? When you tell someone “open the door” they understand they are to open the door. “You shall not murder” means what it says… you shall not murder. Employ a natural, common sense reading of the text. Now, it’s also helpful to use common sense in terms of things like turns of phrase, poetic language, etc. When Jesus says “I am the door…” He’s not saying or implying He has hinges. Recognize word-pictures. He’s using a metaphor to describe Himself. When Jesus says “Jerusalem… you who kill the prophets… how long I have wanted to gather you under my wings… like a hen her chicks…” Jesus is not claiming to have feathers. He’s expressing a desire to care for His people, even those who are far away from Him.

2) What do the words mean? Contrary to pop culture, words do have meaning. “You shall not murder” means you shall not murder. Now the fact that Hebrew uses different words for murder and kill is helpful. But when you read with common sense and read the words naturally you understand their meaning. “Jesus wept…” means Jesus wept. “Pray for those who persecute you” means just what is says. “Do nothing from selfish ambition” means just what is says. Using common sense we understand the Bible means what it says and says what it means. There is but one meaning, or interpretation to the text. Our job is to find it. So ask yourself, what do these words mean?

3) How should I live (what should I do)? We are given information that we might act upon it. When God gives us a command we are to act, to obey. When God prohibits something, we are to avoid it. We said a moment ago that there is one meaning to the text. There is. But there are multiple applications. “You shall not steal” means just that. This may involve stealing answer off a neighbor’s paper or laptop during a quiz, test, or exam. This may mean that we are not to take credit for someone else’s ideas. It may mean we are not to download pirated software——or turn in a false expense report.

Read the Bible like you would any book AND read the Bible unlike you would read any book. Am I contradicting myself. No, not really. You see we read the Bible to understand it as we would read any book. However, the Bible isn’t just any book. It is the word of God. And God has something to say about every inch of thread that makes up the fabric of our existence in His Bible. He writes for our good and our protection (one reason I refer to the Ten Commandments as the 10 protections… or “Ten Rules for Life.” So while we understand that other books are from men and we may take or leave some of their opinions, the Bible is the Word of God and we do well to follow His Word.