In 1928 the July issue of Harper's magazine carried an article by Harry Emerson Fosdick in which he criticized expository preaching as outmoded and undesirable. Rather than focusing upon incidents involving the history of an antiquated people, preaching, said Fosdick, should pro mote contemporary themes. It is easy to agree with his caustic remark that people seldom come to church deeply concerned about what happened to the ancient Jebusites! One still hears objections from ministers and occasionally from congregants that expository preaching has little place in the pulpit of the nineties. Let us examine these objections, define expository preaching, and review the preparation and advantages involved in this arena of homiletics.
Objections to expository preaching
1. Expository sermons are dull and uninteresting. This criticism is valid for a counterfeit of expository preaching in which the homiletic juice is drained from each word and phrase of a lengthy passage and then seasoned with a dash of platitudinous exhortation. No wonder many object to this impostor of biblical preaching.
2. Expository preaching is antiquated, doctrinaire, and unrelated to life. Society is plagued by a multiplicity of perplexing problems that demand relevant answers, whereas the Bible is clothed in the language and thought forms of antiquity. Critics of expository preaching argue that ancient peoples and places cannot speak to our problems as can the insights of modern science, particularly the sciences relating to mental, emotional, and group behavior.
Yet the Bible is a book of life; it grew out of life and speaks to life. It deals with the reality of human wickedness and failure, sorrow and death, while also confronting us with the reality of redemption, the possibility of forgiveness, and the assurance of life eternal in Christ. The effective expositor brings God's Word out of the past and lets it speak to life today.
3. Expository preaching requires time and training lacking for the average minister. Many pastors, caught up in the round of weekly activities and congregational demands, feel like hamsters in a pet store treadmill. Topical sermons are easier and less time-consuming to prepare than expositional sermons, which involve hours of intense preparation. But members can learn to respect their pastor's study hours provided they know he or she has specific time set aside for this and they hear sermons bearing the fruit of such research.
Defining expository preaching
What, then, is expository preaching? According to Jeff Ray, expository preaching "is the detailed explanation, logical amplification, and practical explanation of a passage of Scripture."1 Blackwood defines expository preaching as "the interpretation of life today, in light that comes from God today, largely through the Bible." 2 In like manner, H. E. Knott suggests that "the expository sermon is an effort to explain, illustrate, and apply the Scriptures to life. ... Its purpose is to help the hearers to find in the Sacred Writings the true interpretation of life." 3
Donald Miller offers a broader definition. He contends that all genuine preaching is expository in that it sets forth divine truth, the substance of the preaching being drawn from the Bible. Thus "expository preaching is an act wherein the living truth of some portion of Holy Scripture, understood in the light of solid exegetical and his torical study and made a living reality to the preacher by the Holy Spirit, comes alive to the hearer as he is confronted by God in Christ through the Holy Spirit in judgment and redemption." 4 For Miller, a sermon's content is far more important than its homiletic form. High definition would label as expository any sermon whether doctrinal, ethi cal, evangelistic, or life-situational provided its approach is rooted in the Scriptures and it throws biblical light on the contemporary scene.5
What is the distinction be tween the textual and the expositional sermon? In the textual sermon, the text usually a verse furnishes the topic of the main divisions of the message. It may follow the natural divisions of the text, it may consist of inferences drawn from the text, or it may be based upon a great truth within the text. When the sermon divisions are derived partly from the text and partly from the subject, we have a textual-topical sermon. An expository sermon, on the other hand, is based upon a passage or a unit of Scripture, and the theme with its divisions and development comes from that passage. The expositor is concerned about the biblical truth as the sacred writer declared it.
For example, what was the mes sage given to Isaiah or Paul or John and what does it say to us today? The unit of Scripture handled may be a verse or verses, a chapter, or on occasion an entire book. In every case, the expositor seeks to find the revealed truth and to apply it to the needs of contemporary living. Expository preaching follows the "contextual principle" emphasized by G. Campbell Morgan. It is an excellent corrective for "proof text" preaching in which preachers isolate a verse or passage and impose their own thoughts upon it. Other forms of preaching (topical, textual, etc.) may contain elements of exposition and ought to embody, illustrate, and apply biblical truth. The expository sermon must contain these ingredients; else it is not expository.
Preparing the expository sermon
Expository preaching involves two types of preparation: the making of the preacher and the making of the message. To Jeff Ray, the expository preacher of the Word must be an inherently religious person endowed with vivid imagination and intellectual honesty.6 If preaching is "the communication of truth through personality," then the first task is the making of a messenger of God who will handle aright the Word of truth. The making of the message, however, is our concern in this discussion.
Expository sermons, like other forms of preaching, include subject, scripture, introduction, discussion, conclusion, explanation, illustration, and application. As in the case of the Welsh woman and her recipe for rabbit pie, a great deal depends on get ting the rabbit! There must be an idea and a passage of Scripture before there can be a sermon.
The expositor must take at least five steps:
1. Selection. This is the prelude to preparation. The preacher may wish to bring a series of messages on the great texts of the Bible, expounded in the light of the immediate context (the paragraph or chapter) or the remote context (the book and its main thought or purpose). This would involve the notable texts that have gripped him or her from the Bible not from one of the sermonic "lazy aids." There might well be a continuous exposition of some particular book. Having a planned course of sermons should be flexible enough to allow for interruptions caused by special occasions within the church year. In any case, the passage gives the preacher a theme to develop.
2. Exegesis. The expository sermon rests upon a thoroughgoing exegesis of the passage. This involves a "microscopic" study of the text, a careful analysis of words and phrases to determine what they mean in the biblical setting. With the aid of a lexicon, commentary, and Bible dictionary, the expositor mines the high-grade ore. A grasp of the ancient languages is a tremendous asset, yet a preacher can do a pretty fair job without a Greek shovel and a Hebrew spade.
Exegesis is an exciting part of sermon preparation, but what may fascinate the preacher may be meaning less to the congregation. An expositor with any degree of wisdom will not therefore parade his exegetical abilities in the pulpit. The people are in need of a word from God, not a series of word studies. Hungry people want good food, not a lot of talk about cooking processes!
Exposition rests upon careful exegesis. An exegete is the diver bringing up pearls from the ocean bed; an expositor is the jeweler who arranges them in proper relation to each other.7
3. Interpretation. The expositor focuses on the question "What does the Bible say?" The goal is presenting a faithful interpretation of the sacred writer's thought, giving regard to the history, customs, and religious and mental framework of that age. Es chewing allegory, typology, and other unworthy forms of interpretation, the expositor seeks the true understanding of the passage. A superficial treatment of the passage threatens to impose unnatural meanings upon it. If our chief responsibility is to "preach the word," our aim in sermon preparation must surely be to discover what that word is and discern its relevance for our congregation.
4. Organization. The expository sermon must show unity and progress. It is not a rambling commentary on consecutive verses of the passage, ignoring logical arrangement, encouraging anticlimax, and boring the audience with needless details.
Unity is achieved partly by the selection of a sermon theme that reflects the theme of the passage itself. The sermon divisions grow out of the theme; consequently they are derived from the scriptural text. It is perfectly permissible, in the interest of logical order, to rearrange the ideas found in the text. Such a rearrangement will not destroy their essential meaning, and often aids the movement of the sermon toward the climax. True ex position builds the structure of the sermon out of the biblical materials at hand. Frequently, however, some of the materials gathered have to be dis carded. A preacher must learn the art of omitting if the sermon is to move smoothly, show unity, and keep within proper time limits. There will be other days when the discarded ideas can be used. For, as one discerning member reminded her pastor, "we want you to preach the whole gospel, but not at one time!"
Sometimes a word or phrase in the text or passage may assist in sermon development. Psalm 51 is one of the most penitential pieces of literature in existence, communicating David's longing for divine forgiveness and restoration to useful moral living. One word leaps out at the thoughtful reader, the word "spirit." This suggests a possible topic: "The Spirit of a Cleansed Person." The introduction might give the setting of the psalm. Three uses of the word "spirit" furnish the divisions of the sermon, thus: the penitent spirit (verse 17), the stead fast spirit (verse 10), and the willing spirit (verses 12, 13). The conclusion could promote the possibility of forgiveness and moral renewal for any person who has lost the joy of salvation. Obviously the psalm could not be used in its entirety, but the essential theme can be preserved.
5. Application. To make biblical truth clear, there must be explanation; to make it relevant, there must be application. Like all good preaching, expository sermons need a specific objective. Unless there is a definite purpose, why preach at all? "The object of preaching is not alone to convey information, not merely to convince the intellect. . . . The words of the minister should reach the hearts of the hearers." 8 We desire changes in the lives of people. Sometimes a preacher may start with a contemporary need and then relate biblical truth to it. Other times he or she will set forth the principles found in the pas sage, then make suitable application either along the way or in the conclusion. In any case, the preacher will throw the light of divine revelation upon human need and will present the resources of grace sufficient for that need. Such sermons disclose the vital relation between the passage and actual life. Though the setting of the text is ancient, the living word through it speaks to personal need and in the present tense.
Anyone who has dealt with human nature will appreciate the wisdom of making pointed applications in preaching. The effective sermon is specific and direct: "Thou art the man"; "This do and live"; "Thou ailest here and there." While the business of conviction and confrontation belong to the Holy Spirit, the preacher is the herald who proclaims the gospel that touches every corner of human life, bringing hope and peace.
Advantages of expository preaching
Expositional preaching has impressive historical precedent to showcase its advantages. This is true whether it be Ezra causing the congregation of returned exiles to understand the words of the law (see Neh. 8:8); Jesus expounding a passage from Isaiah (see Luke 4:6-21); Peter at Pentecost interpreting God's acts; Paul disclosing God's purpose in Jesus by references to the Old Testament; the writer of Hebrews giving his understanding of the gospel; or the giants of the church from Augustine and Chrysostom to Luther, Calvin, Knox, Alexander Maclaren, G. Campbell Morgan, and John A. Broadus, effectively using this mode of preaching. Historical usage encourages the exposition of Scripture today.
A distinct advantage of expository preaching is that it magnifies the Bible, thus communicating the inspired and authoritative Word of God. Further, the people who sit under such preaching are helped to think and live biblically. Both pastor and people develop what Charles R. Brown has called "the scriptural point of view" with regard to the great doctrine of our faith. 9 They view the whole panorama of divine truth rather than the tiny segments found in isolated texts.
Expository preaching also adds depth and comprehensiveness to preaching. From Scripture the preacher can handle controversial ethical is sues, challenge unchristian attitudes and erroneous views, and encourage people in moral living. Is there not clear insight from the Word that can be thrown upon the disturbing problems of family disintegration, race relations, alcoholism, tyranny in political life, and labor-management conflicts? Is there not help for moral problems? Guidance in ethical dilemmas?
John Mac Arthur, Jr., sums up the case for expository preaching in this enticing appeal: "For those of you who want to preach the Word accurately and powerfully because you understand the liability of doing any thing less; for those of you who want to face the Judge on the day of reckoning and experience the Lord's plea sure with your effort; for those of you who are eager to let God speak His Word through you as directly, confrontively, and powerfully as He gave it; and for those of you who want to see people transformed radically and living godly lives, there is only expository preaching." 10
In a day when preachers strive to say something new, we need the faithful proclamation of the Word that is eternally true.
1. Jeff Ray, Expository Preaching (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub. House, 1940), p. 11.
2. Andrew W. Blackwood, Expository Preaching for Today (Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1953), p. 13.
3. H. E. Knott, How to Prepare an Expository Sermon (Cincinnati: Standard Pub. Co., 1930), p. 11.
4. Donald Miller, The Way to Biblical Preaching (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1957), p. 17.
5. Ibid.,pp. 26ff.
6. Ray, pp. 37-42.
7. Ibid., p. 72.
8. Ellen G. White, Testimonies to Ministers(Boise, Idaho: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1962), p. 62.7
9. Charles R. Brown, The Art of Preaching (New York: Macmillan Co., 1942), p. 44.
10. John MacArthur, Jr., Rediscovering Expository Preaching (Irving, Tex.: Word, Inc., 1992), p. xvii.
