In 1541 when John Calvin returned to Geneva after his exile, he picked the exposition where he had left off, continuing his exposition through the Psalms. The consecutive preaching through Bible books is commonly referred to as expository preaching. It can be traced to early church fathers like Augustine and Chrysostom.
If people are to grow, they need a consistent and faithful diet of the Word of God, rightly and accurately explained and applied to their lives. Martin Lloyd-Jones famously stated, “The most urgent need in the Christian Church today is true preaching; and as it is the greatest and most urgent need in the Church, it is the greatest need of the world also.” And I would add that churches urgently need a steady diet of expositional preaching.
If people are to grow, they need a consistent and faithful diet of the Word of God, rightly and accurately explained and applied to their lives.
Mark Dever reminds us, “Expositional preaching is not simply producing a verbal commentary on some passage of Scripture. Rather, expositional preaching is preaching that takes for the point of a sermon the point of a particular passage of Scripture.” It is this preaching that shapes and strengthens God’s people as they are exposed to the truth of God’s Word rightly explained and applied, equipping them to become and multiply disciples.
Expositional preaching teaches people the authority of Scripture.
The church is God’s sheep that grows and is strengthened by God’s Word. Preachers will, therefore, do well to go to the Scriptures with the intention of finding and applying the God-given nutrients for his people (Nehemiah 8:8). The authority of the preacher lies in what he preaches: the authoritative Word of God. The more committed a preacher is to explaining the meaning of the passage, the more he demonstrates and teaches his people the centrality and authority of Scripture in their lives.
Expositional preaching teaches people how to study the Bible.
Further, by working through texts and explaining the main point of the passages, the preacher models for a congregation how to study the Bible. As they watch their pastor wrestle with a text, asking and answering questions, making connections, and highlighting the logical flow within the context, people are learning how to study the Bible. It further helps liberate people from the popular “devotions” of one sentence, followed by an inspirational story or poem, plus a prayer. Bible study is hard work, and it must be learned.
Expositional preaching exposes people to the storyline and themes of the Bible.
As people learn to study the Bible, they soon discover that there is a storyline. It is not a collection of random books, but the different books tell the story of how God rules the world and draws people for himself through his Son, and all of this is for his glory. Expositional preaching helps the preacher and the people to trace and see the storyline and themes of the Bible.
Expositional preaching forces the preacher to preach unwanted texts and topics.
As preachers work through the books of the Bible, they are forced to wrestle with and tackle unwanted or uncomfortable texts and topics. Whether it is slavery, polygamy, divorce, or giving, expository preaching forces the preacher to preach the next text, whatever the subject. It also prevents the preacher from becoming a one-stringed guitar, but it also protects him from any accusations of targeting individuals when handling a subject that is closer to home.
Expositional preaching teaches doctrine from the text.
Preaching imparts a body of divinity. This system of doctrine is gleaned from the text. It is common for people to think if you want to teach doctrine, you primarily must have a doctrines class. The Word of God is profitable for doctrine.
And the expository preacher who ensures he is working through the various books of the Bible and making the main point of every text the main point of his sermons will ensure that he is not only teaching the full counsel of God’s Word or the storyline of the Bible, or the various topics and themes, but he is also teaching sound doctrine to his listeners. This becomes a safeguard against false teaching. The congregation is equipped to notice and avoid false teaching.
There is great value in learning doctrine systematically from various systematic theology textbooks, but there is greater value when one’s doctrine is gleaned with regular exposure to God’s Word.
The more a church studies Scripture, the more it understands its role in the Great Commission to multiply disciples.
Expository preaching equips the church to be on mission.
A congregation that is on a weekly dosage of expository preaching will grow to appreciate and understand their role as Christ followers. The more a church studies Scripture, the more it understands its role in the Great Commission to multiply disciples. Furthermore, it will give its congregation a good foundation of Scripture knowledge and theology, preparing them to share the gospel with nonbelievers.
The regular diet of a local church dished out from the pulpit will have a bearing on her health and spiritual vitality. May your church’s teaching equip its congregation to become disciples so that the gospel may spread forth in your city and beyond.
Chopo Mwanza is the pastor of Faith Baptist Church Riverside in Kitwe, Zambia. He is a Lecturer at Central Africa Baptist University. He is married to Kunda and they have three children.
