Expository Preaching is Biblical Preaching

I have been quite the outspoken advocate for expository preaching.  I don’t see any possibility of that changing.  It is the Biblical method of preaching – and I say that with complete confidence. 
 
Oddly enough however, there has arisen a group of conservative pastors who have frequently spoken out against such a commitment to exposition.  One can only hope that these men are ignorant of what expository preaching is.  I recently heard of one pastor who equated such a commitment to the exposition of the Bible with a departure from the truth…heresy, if you will.  Such a comment would be laughable if it weren’t so concerning.  Expository preaching promotes the truth like no other form of preaching.  In fact, it seeks to ensure that the truth only is taught to a congregation.  Expository preaching is a commitment to preach the Word of God as it has been “breathed out by God” (2 Timothy 3:16).  Expository preaching maximizes God’s Word and minimizes the words of the speaker.
 
For the sake of clarity, let’s define our terminology.  “Expository preaching is a form of preaching that details the meaning of a particular text or passage of Scripture. It explains what the Bible means by what it says. Exegesis is technical and grammatical exposition, a careful drawing out of the exact meaning of a passage in its original context.”  As bad as I hate to admit it, that definition is found on Wikipedia.  And…well…it’s quite accurate.  The expositor seeks to preach the Bible as it has been given to us.  He seeks to read a passage and explain it to the people.  Mark Dever says, “Expositional preaching is preaching in which the main point of the biblical text being considered becomes the main point of the sermon being preached.”  In other words, the expositor isn’t in the business of reading between the lines.  He isn’t seeking hidden meanings in catch phrases and words.  His goal is to read a passage and relay the meaning to the congregation – the same meaning intended by the original author to the original audience. 
 
The expositor doesn’t approach the Bible as a book that contains a bunch of “one liners”.  In seeking to preach a passage, he considers the book as a whole – the subject, the setting, the author, the recipients.  Then, he looks at the passages that surround his passage.  Context is critical to the expositor.  He understands that every line of Scripture has context.  He understands that every line of Scripture has authorial intent – and that intent, “breathed out by God”.  He understands that a passage means today the same thing it meant originally. 
 
The expositor isn’t seeking to prove he is right by the Bible.  Bear with me here.  The Bible isn’t used by the expositor to prove the system of belief that he already holds to.  Such an approach often leads to snatching verses kicking and screaming out of context.  Such an approach will use a passage to say something that was never intended.  It is even possible to preach some true things from the wrong text – I’ve often heard that done.  But, such a use of the Bible is a mishandling of the Scripture.  It is not “rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).  The expositor understands that the Bible is the authority and he is not.  His goal is not to prove himself right.  On the contrary, his ambition is to show the people what God’s Word actually says. 
 
The expositor wants to show the congregation what a passage means.  Every time he steps into the pulpit, the goal of the expositor is that the people may learn a certain passage of Scripture – and the truth of that passage.  The expositor understands that if there isn’t a passage that establishes his position, his position is incorrect.  The doctrinal position of the preacher and his congregation is derived from the Bible.  So, he teaches the Bible to the people.  In doing so, he shows the congregation how we are to approach Scripture rightly. 
 
The expositor can preach topically.  However, he will still exposit the meaning of Scripture in doing so.  Normally, even when preaching a topical sermon, he will find a passage that shows forth the topic he is speaking on and exegete (or, pull out) the meaning of the passage.  He will put forth great effort to make sure he is approaching the passage in the immediate context, the context of the book and ultimately the context of the entire Bible.  He will find his main thought and it’s supporting points in the text of Scripture – in the passage that promotes his topic.  So, even good topical preaching should meet the standards of exposition.  There is no place for using the Bible as a springboard to leap out of a passage (or even a word) into some topic that isn’t in the text.  The expositor is intent on preaching the meaning of the Word of God as given – even when he preaches a topical message. 
 
We may often find the expositor preaching through books.  He knows the importance of Bible study.  He knows the importance of teaching the Bible to those God has entrusted to him.  He knows the best balance of truth is given in the Scripture itself.  He knows the likelihood he stays in context is much greater if he preaches through a book from start to finish.  He knows he is certain to touch on everything a congregation needs if he seeks to teach “every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4).  He knows God inspired His Word in this way for a purpose.  And, while he may teach topically from time to time…while he may teach systematic theology from time to time…he understands that beginning in the middle of a book or even the middle of a passage is not the way the original recipients of a letter would have read it.  Books have a logical order…an inspired, logical order.  And, the expositor realizes that we miss something when we don’t at least touch on the preceding passages in a book – the context, if you will.   
 
Now, at this point, it doesn’t seem that any student of the Word would oppose such an approach to the pulpit.  I mean, the most basic definition of expository preaching is that it is biblical preaching.  The idea that we could somehow not preach the truth of Scripture by preaching the Scripture itself is simply indefensible.  I’m hoping such comments have arisen from ignorance.  If not, a preacher would be supporting supposed truth (i.e. tradition) over the Bible itself.  Such a position on the place of Scripture is that of Rome – not conservative, Bible centered churches.  To equate a devotion to Biblical preaching in the pulpit with a departure from the faith is a concerning charge, at the least.  And, if said with complete understanding, it is the defense of tradition over Biblical truth.  Jeff Short writes, “When the actual Word of God is in conflict with your doctrine and is a danger to it, you're holding tradition rather than truth”.  That is the understanding of the expositor.
 
In closing, I’d like to quickly show just a couple of examples of such an approach to the Scripture.  When Ezra read from the book of the Law in Nehemiah, he had helpers…teachers, if you will…who helped the people.  We read, “They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading” (Nehemiah 8:8).  This is the goal of the expositor – read the Word and explain it to the people.  Paul instructed his young protégé, Timothy, “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.” (1 Timothy 4:13).  There it is again – read the Scripture and teach it to the people.  That’s exposition.  And whether it’s done in a topical manner or in a sequential verse-by-verse manner, the goal remains the same – read the Bible and explain it (in context) to the people. 
 
We live in a day of quick responses.  We love to fire back a response to somebody or something…often without thinking.  Sadly, this sometimes puts us on the wrong side of the truth.  We may, if we are not cautious, find ourselves to be opposing the very thing we think we are standing for.  Understand – expository preaching is not a style of preaching.  It is a devotion to preaching God’s Word in context as “breathed out by God”.  It is a devotion to preaching God’s Word as He gave it – without adding to or subtracting from it.  Expository preaching is meant to open that which is absolute truth…God’s Word – the Bible…to the people and show them from the text of Scripture what God actually says.  If that is wrong, then I don’t want to be right.