Why I Believe in Expository Preaching
The role of preaching in regards to our faith cannot be understated. The Apostle Paul saw preaching as a serious matter with eternal consequences. In his last words to Timothy he exhorted him to “preach the Word” (1 Timothy 4:1-2). The Reformers of the 16th century recognized the necessity of faithful preaching for the existence of the church. Calvin remarked, “Wherever we see the word of God sincerely preached …there we cannot have any doubt that the church of God has some existence (The Institutes of Christian Religion, Hendrickson, 2008, 678). In more recent times, John Stott in his classic work on preaching, Between Two Worlds, argued, “Preaching is indispensable to Christianity” (16). Preaching matters to God, the Church, and our faith.
However, not all preaching is created equal. Not everyone who is a “preacher” and standing in a pulpit is preaching! Some may even open and read the Bible but still never preach. Alistair Begg speaks of this when he says, “There's a way to preach the Bible unbiblically...You can use the Bible as the springboard for all kinds of ideas, can't you? Look around in here and find something that fits your fancy and then launch a rocket off it. People say, 'That was amazing, wasn't it? Remarkable what he got out of that.' Well of course it is because he put it in before he got it out.”
The inequality in preaching is not based on the preacher’s personality or the sermon style, but rather the underlying conviction from which the sermon was crafted. Unfortunately, many preachers today lack the appropriate conviction to supply the preaching that matters. What is this conviction and the preaching it produces? John Stott provides the answer when says, “It is our conviction that all true Christian preaching is expository preaching” (125).
The word expository means to set forth or display. Expository preaching aims to proclaim or set forth the author’s intended meaning of a passage of Scripture, its theological significance, and implications for the hearers’ lives. An expository sermon will expose the text’s meaning. The points of an expositional sermon are derived from the text; expository preaching is word driven preaching. Therefore, expository preaching does not share the opinions of man but rather the very word of God upon which we can build the church and our lives.
Here are four reasons why I believe in expository preaching:
EXPOSITORY PREACHING GLORIFIES GOD.
Expositional preaching holds a high view of the Word of God, and by connection the God of the Word. There is an inseparable link between God and His Word. Psalm 138:2 says, “for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.” The word God has given to us in Scripture is the revelation of himself to us. Thus the faithful proclamation of the Word of God is the display of the glory of God. This is what John Piper refers to as “expository exultation.” This comes through expository preaching.
EXPOSITORY PREACHING DISPLAYS CONFIDENCE IN THE WORD OF GOD.
Scripture is replete with references to the power of God’s Word (see. Heb. 4:12, Jer. 23:29, 2 Tim. 3:16, 1 Pet. 1:13, Ps. 119:105, Isa. 40:8, Ps. 119:89, Ps. 19:7-11). It’s described in part as living, active, eternal, powerful, and profitable. There’s power in the word of God. As the Spirit inspired meaning of a text is shared and applied the power of the Spirit is at work. The expositional preacher doesn’t rest in his own abilities or wisdom; his confidence is in the Word. He knows that transforming power comes not through the words of the preacher but through the word of God. As the preacher faithfully expounds on the Word the power of God is at work in the lives of those listening. As God’s Word goes out faithfully it won’t return void but will accomplish his eternal purposes.
EXPOSITORY PREACHING COVERS ALL OF SCRIPTURE.
With expository preaching you can’t hide from the Word. Through the practice of systematic exposition, preaching verse by verse through a book, there is no avoiding what God has said. Hobby horses are left riderless and difficult passages are faced. And this is good because, “All Scripture is profitable…. so that [we] may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16-17)
EXPOSITORY PREACHING GROWS HEALTHY CHURCHES AND MATURE CHRISTIANS.
In his book, The Priority of Preaching, Christopher Ash says, “The church’s DNA is the DNA of the preached word of God.” (96) For the church to be healthy she needs the right kind of preaching. She needs expositional preaching. Mark Dever, pastor and director of Nine Marks ministries, sees expositional preaching as the first mark of a healthy church. The church will rise and fall upon the preaching of God’s Word. However, through the faithful preaching of God’s word faithful churches are grown. In turn, these churches produce mature believers. Their spiritual lives grown through the steady diet of expositional sermons. Not every meal (sermon) may be memorable but each one received supplies the nourishment our souls need to grow strong in Christ.