Expository preaching has declined nearly to the point of
extinction. Yet I have found that the few expository preachers who remain, are
greatly appreciated by their Bible-loving audiences.
What is expository preaching? Very simply, it is letting God’s Word speak for itself. The expository preacher (1) reads
aloud a passage of Scripture, (2) explains its meaning in its original context,
(3) discerns the basic spiritual principle revealed and (4) applies that
principle to himself and his hearers. The expository preacher follows the
Scriptural pattern of Ezra and his fellow Levites:
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)
The word translated “read” is a Hebrew word that suggests an
energetic proclamation, not a dry recitation. That dramatic reading was
followed by interpretation and application. That
is the essence of expository preaching.
Some have limited the term “expository preaching” to preaching
through a book of the Bible, but there is no reason to impose such a limit.
Charles H. Spurgeon preached on different texts from week to week as he felt
the Lord’s leading, but he was always faithful to the biblical context and the applied
a valid principle from each text. Spurgeon was an admirer of the Puritans, and
he studied their commentaries diligently. Yet the Puritans favored preaching
through a book of the Bible systematically. Either approach may be, and should
be, preached in an expository manner.
As I have already mentioned, expository preaching let’s
God’s Word speak for itself. It is not the preacher’s agenda that is being
expounded – it is God’s. When a preacher chooses a topical approach, the
temptation is great to impose the preacher’s own agenda, to make the preacher’s point. In expository preaching, the biblical text dictates the
agenda and makes God’s point. It should, by the way, bring conviction and
edification to the preacher, as well as to his congregation!
May God raise up more expository preachers in these last
days!
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