The Case for Expository Preaching

Currently, our church is studying Paul's first letter to Timothy on Sunday mornings together, and this past Sunday, we investigated chapter two in which the apostle notably gives instructions pertaining to how women should conduct themselves in the church. Such passages can make modern evangelicals bristle a bit, even if they are fully committed to the inerrancy and infallibility of Scripture, as Paul and the Holy Spirit prohibit women from teaching men and indicate that women will be saved through childbearing. These kinds of verses will never be plastered on articles of clothing or coffee mugs, but they are included in the divinely inspired Word of God, so Christians must wrestle with them one way or another.

I will admit to you today that I would, more than likely, never willingly choose to preach from 1 Timothy 2 if we had not decided to preach through the entire epistle. For even lifelong theologians, this chapter, in particular, is difficult to interpret, and in today's day and age, there are so many varying thoughts regarding a woman's role in the body of Christ one must take into consideration when preaching from texts like this one or when engaging in general discussion on the matter. First Timothy 2 is, by no means, a straightforward passage of Scripture, which means that the preacher must be extra diligent to ensure that his proclamation of this chapter gets to the heart of God's instruction without allowing personal opinions or preferences to interfere in that process.

However, as I have been convicted of recently as I continue to mature in my faith and in ministry, a portion of the Bible being challenging to understand does not mean that the preacher should just outright avoid that portion in the pulpit. If we truly believe that God's Word is God's Word, then we should not shy away from certain texts simply because they buck up against societal norms or push us to our mental edge. After all, ministers of the gospel are called to preach the whole counsel of God without exception (see Acts 20:27). Thus, passages such as 1 Timothy 2 need to be proclaimed for the sake of doing just that and for the sake of possibly illuminating the minds of the congregation through the power and influence of the Holy Spirit.

This is why expository preaching is the best method of preaching. Expository preaching seeks to expose the true meaning of the biblical text within its proper historical and theological context in a chapter-by-chapter, verse-by-verse manner. Another term for this style of preaching is "text-driven preaching," which indicates that the biblical text guides the entire structure and message of the sermon. In essence, pastors who preach in this manner come to the biblical text first and proceed from there, asking the Lord to reveal to them what the Scripture is actually saying in a specific text. On the other hand, preparing a topical sermon requires the pastor to come to the biblical text only after developing a topic idea, which could result in the pastor's own thoughts being more prevalent in the sermon than the Bible. Expository preaching provides the preacher with a biblical springboard for dissecting a specific point whereas topical preaching provides the preacher with personal springboard for dissecting a specific point.

For instance, if a preacher favored the topical approach, they may desire one Sunday to preach on giving. The idea of "preaching on giving" is, therefore, the driving force behind their sermon, and they would naturally proceed to forming their sermon around this idea rather than on the biblical text itself. That does not mean they ignore the Bible altogether, but it means that the Bible is subservient to their own presuppositions. They may choose to preach from 2 Corinthians 9:7 where Paul states that "God loves a cheerful giver," but the topic was the springboard, not the text itself. Thus, this verse becomes a proof text for the pastor's idea, akin to how a college student may cite a book for his or her research paper's bibliography. The church may wonder why the preacher so randomly decided to preach on giving that Sunday, and disengagement may become a factor, as a result, because the congregation may feel like the pastor is preaching at them instead of for them. The message becomes "You need to give!" rather than "This is the Word of the Lord." The Bible should never be reduced to a proof text.

In expository preaching, though, the preacher has decided ahead of time that he is going to preach through the entirety of 2 Corinthians, allowing the text to lay the groundwork for each unique sermon in the series. When he comes to chapter nine, then, the message of giving is not viewed as random whatsoever, but rather, since it is the next logical chapter in the overall study of the epistle, listeners are more engaged with the content of the sermon as they continue to systematically and comprehensively understand all points of Paul in this letter instead of a singular point. Expository preaching starts and ends with the biblical text as the preacher expounds on the Spirit-inspired meaning of the passage at hand. The topic of the sermon flows from the Bible; the Bible does not flow from the sermon's topic.

To be clear, I am not against topical preaching when utilized appropriately by pastors on occasion, but I do believe that, in general, expository preaching is the most beneficial method of preaching because it elevates the Word of God above all else. If I were to randomly preach from 1 Timothy 2 one Sunday, I may get some raised eyebrows in concern as to why I chose this passage, but since we had established ahead of time that we would be studying 1 Timothy all the way through, chapter two's sermon was not random but sequential. Topical preaching has its place, but even when preaching topically, the preacher still must root his topic in Scripture so that the church is more amazed at God's Word than they are at an individual's speaking ability. The main result from any sermon should be that each person more readily comprehends the contents of the biblical text at hand, and if anyone has a different takeaway, the preacher has squandered a golden opportunity to do what he has ultimately been called to do: preach the Word (2 Timothy 4:2).

I can firmly make the case for expository preaching because I believe the Bible makes the case for expository preaching. In the aforementioned exhortation of Paul to Timothy, he does not charge him with preaching topics or opinions, but rather, he is tasked with preaching the inerrant, infallible, and sufficient Word of God. The pulpit is the sacred place where God's messenger delivers God's message to God's people, and since God has spoken perfectly in His Word, the preacher must, in humility, fully submit to the authority of His Word in how they prepare and deliver the sermon. When individuals leave the church building, pastors, ensure that they are leaving with a better understanding of Scripture rather than a better understanding of your opinions, for it is only through the proclamation of the Word that lives can be changed.

At the end of the day, we need to preach the Word because it is "able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 3:15b). Every page of Scripture echoes the name of Jesus, and when we declare the truth of the Bible in preaching, we invite congregants to fix their gaze exclusively on Him, who is the hope of the entire world. Through the power and influence of the Holy Spirit, in conjunction with scriptural proclamation, the hearts of sinners can be convicted and their eternal destiny can be changed forevermore. Pastor, when you stand behind the pulpit, preach the Word to reach the sinner. Preach the Word to plea with their wandering soul that they need Jesus and that He is the only way to heaven. Preach the Word so that God can be glorified and so that Christ can be exalting.