Why is Expository Preaching so Important?

Someone does not have to hang around Reformed pastors and churches very long before the kind of preaching which Reformed churches typically have, namely expository preaching, is brought up. Reformed churches love expository preaching. It is difficult to imagine how any church which does not make use of expository preaching could be Reformed. What is Expository Preaching and why do Reformed Christians love it so much?

Expository preaching is a kind of preaching which “exposes” the text’s purpose clearly for a congregation. In other words, it looks at all the details of a text (cultural, linguistic, theological, literary, canonical, etc.) and it communicates this in the clearest and most applicable way for its audience. It helps to define expository preaching from so-called “topical” and “textual” sermons. While a “topical” sermon typically focuses on the goal the pastor has for the audience, an expository sermon is focused on what the Bible’s goals are for those who read it. While a “textual” sermon is typically focused on the text, they do not always proceed from insights about a single verse to insights about the way the verse fits into the chapter, and they typically are less concerned about the ways a text might apply to its audience. The expository preacher aims to show how his congregation fits within the trajectory of the text that he is preaching and, therefore, make its application clear. One caveat is helpful here: this is something of a spectrum. Some expository preachers might lean more textually or more topically. Some particular sermons are helpfully supplemented by one approach, some by another. Some textual preaching or topical preaching is somewhat expository. The important distinctives of expository preaching, however, is making the text’s purpose clear and its application to the congregation clear.

Usually, expository preaching systematically preaches through books of the Bible in a style known as lectio continua (Latin for “continual reading”). I say “typically” because sometimes expository preachers might preach a topical series. Some expository preachers make use of the lectionary. Sometimes expository preaching will preach a series on many texts from a common theme. Sometimes expository preaching will trace a grand theme across the Scriptures. All of these have utility. However, the main approach of expository preachers is preaching through books of the Bible, one section at a time.

Many of my friends who are not Reformed might not be opposed to this kind of preaching, but they might not see it as necessary. So, why do Reformed Christians care about it so much?

First, there is clear precedent in both the Bible and the ancient church. We are told that when God’s people renewed the covenant after the exile, Ezra and the other scribes “read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading” (Neh 8:8). The kind of preaching happening here is a clear explanation of what the text says and what the “sense” or purpose of the text is. But the preaching also takes into account the people who were present, the point of which was so that they might understand. Jesus preaches similarly in the Synagogues (cf. Luke 4:16–30). When the apostles sent their letter after the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:23–29), they assume that the letter will be read and preached in their church. This is what was happening with Paul’s letters (2 Cor 1:1, 13; Eph 3:4; Col 4:16; 1 Thess 5:27). Add to this examples such as Augustine and Chrysostom who clearly preached this way in the ancient church. Anyone who cares about church tradition should believe in expository preaching.

Second, it makes the best sense of the Bible’s instructions about preaching. A concern I have about audience-centered, topical preaching is that it seems to ignore Paul’s very clear instructions in 2 Timothy 4:2 to “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” The “felt needs” of the congregation is not to be the basis for our preaching, but the Scriptures themselves. In fact, there might be times when the “felt needs” of the congregation oppose the preaching of God’s Word! On the other hand, concerns about textual preaching might include that they do not always give the “sense” (Neh 8:8) of the whole passage. Preaching that makes little application and has little reference to the congregation seems to misunderstand the Scriptures, which Paul himself says are “able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” and is “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:15–17). But expository preaching’s emphasis on the purpose of the text and its application to the audience is best able to take all these concerns into account.

Third, Jesus gives strong rebuke to those who read (and preach from) some of the Scriptures but not all the Scriptures. Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for a piecemeal reading of the Old Testament, for failing to read the whole Scriptures (Matt 12:3, 5; 19:4; 21:16, 42; 22:31; Mark 2:25; 12:10, 26; Luke 6:3). Many of these verses are about David’s eating the showbread on the Sabbath (cf. 1 Sam 21:1–10). Jesus’ point is that they had failed to consider the whole of Scriptures when preaching and teaching on the Sabbath. This is even more severe when we consider that the word “read” in this context is the same one used to describe preaching (Luke 4:16; Acts 13:27; 15:21; 2 Cor 3:15). When someone is only preaching topical sermons, it is difficult to see how they could be giving an accurate representation of all that the Scriptures have to say. Frankly, this is one of my concerns about lectionary preaching as well, as sometimes the lectionary skips over difficult passages. On the other hand, if someone is preaching textual sermons, only attending to one verse, it is difficult to see how this verse does not get taken out of context, both its immediate context and its context in the whole of Scriptures. This is what it means to teach the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:26–27).

Fourth, expository preaching is the best way of protecting the congregation from the pastor. The pastorate carries enormous authority, as it should (1 Pet 5:1–5; Heb 13:7). But what about when the man is not up to the job? And no pastor is truly up to the job. It is easy for pastors to say the text says one thing when it says another. Expository preaching over time trains a congregation to spot abuses and misuses of the text. A congregation only familiar with topical preaching is not trained to spot this abuse of the text, and, consequently, to put too much trust in the pastor’s word. Good expository preaching requires the preacher to apply the text first to himself, forcing the preacher to regularly see his own sin as much as anyone else’s. Expository preaching, particularly lectio continua, does not permit a pastor to focus only on his favorite themes and passages. Nor will it allow a pastor to skip over controversial passages. Most pastors are not terribly charismatic, but good expositional preaching is focused on the text, not the preacher. In other words, regular, sustained, systematic preaching through the Bible protects a church from pastoral abuse, failure, a pastor’s pet topics, a pastor’s cowardice in facing hard texts, and poor communicative style. Every congregation should plead with their pastor to preach this way!