Preach the Word A Case for Expository Preaching Dan Dumas Executive Pastor

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1 Preach the Word A Case for Expository Preaching Dan Dumas Executive Pastor I. Expository preaching has fallen on hard times. More that expository preaching is under siege today, preaching in general is being called into question! We ve lost the sobriety and gravitas in the preaching event. As in the days of Amos 8:11, There [is] a famine in the Land. Emergent Church terminology defines expository preaching as speeching or progressive dialogue, which, in their estimation, is out-of-date! We are catering to an itching ears generation. Why in the world would we let the self-centered, consumerist culture determine the message preached? The desire of unfaithful congregations should not drive us away from the mandate of God. The sacred desk is no longer the priority. It is still featured, but expositional (biblical) preaching is rare. It is no secret that Christ s Church is not at all in good health in many places of the world. She has been languishing because she has been fed, as the current line has it, junk food ; all kinds of artificial preservatives and all sorts of unnatural substitutes have been served up to her. As a result, theological and Biblical malnutrition has afflicted the very generation that has taken such giant steps to make sure its physical health is not damaged by using foods or products that are carcinogenic or otherwise harmful to their physical bodies. Simultaneously a worldwide spiritual famine resulting from the absence of any genuine publication of the Word of God (Amos 8:11) continues to run wild and almost unabated in most quarters of the Church. 1 Expository preaching is being suffocated under the pillow of pragmatism! We have sacrificed the centrality of biblical preaching on the altar of man-centered pragmatism. 2 Where there is an absence of expositional preaching, the church and culture experience the following adverse effects: A. Illiteracy in the pew People are groping for the Word of God, and they don t know it. 1 Walter C. Kaiser, Toward an Exegetical Theology, (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1981) Steven J. Lawson, Famine in the Land, (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2003) 25.

2 B. Impotency in the pulpit Isa. 55:11. He who marries the spirit of the age soon becomes a widower. Dean Inge C. Irrelevancy in the culture The idol of relevance has made us irrelevant. In our attempt to be relevant, we have become irrelevant. The bottom line we have allowed the audience to become sovereign in the local church! The temptation to dress the faith in today s fashion guarantees that it will look outof-style tomorrow; only the eternal can reach every time and culture. Frederica Mathewes-Green We are twenty-first-century Christians who must constantly define ourselves by the gospel and remain faithful to Jesus Christ in the twenty-first-century. Only then will we be truly relevant. Os Guinesss, Prophetic Untimeliness, p. 18 Our timeliness lies in the untimeliness of rejecting modern timeliness. Guiness, p. 23 For all the lofty recent statements on biblical authority, a great part of the evangelical community has made a historic shift. It has transferred authority from Sola Scriptura (by Scripture alone) to Sola Cultura (by culture alone). Guiness, p. 65 The crying need is to be relevant and faithful Guinness, p. 14 The unintended consequences for abandoning expository preaching will cause grave injury to the church. This superficial, marginal brand of preaching today sets the church up for failure in the following ways: It usurps the authority of God. The absence of expository preaching calls into question the authority of God over His people. Scripture-less preaching is empty, powerless, preaching, lacking power to covert (Psalm 19). It insults the Spirit of God. The only instrument that the Spirit of God uses is the Word of God (Eph. 4:30). The Word is the means of our sanctification (John 17:17), and it is the means of our regeneration (James 1:18). It undermines the Lordship of Christ. It is Christ s church (Matt. 16), not ours. John 5:39 makes it clear that the gospel is at stake! It stymies the people of God. Lack of biblical exposition makes the people indifferent to the Word of God. They eventually lose confidence in the Scriptures (2 Tim. 3:16 17). The people become consumed with themselves and not the glory of God. Without the Scriptures, our preaching becomes smoke and mirrors (Jer. 8:11)!

3 It sabotages true worship. It strips the pulpit of power (Heb.4:12). Simplistic, unbiblical preaching gets a simplistic response. We are called to provide the worshipping community with depth. Worship is to transcend ourselves and take us to God (John 4:23). II. Expository preaching needs to be reclaimed. The pulpit is the throne for the Word of God. Martin Luther Yet there is an inordinate desire to be motivational speakers rather than heralds of God s Word; there is a confusing sound coming out from our pulpits. We will be a millstone around the neck of the church, an evil shepherd misleading the flock and leading them to disaster if we do not preach. Albert Mohler We have thrown off the text of Scripture and the fear of God. Playing fast and loose with the Bible is a dangerous enterprise! Have we forgotten that preaching is a calling with a liability? (James 3:1; Heb. 13:17) It would be criminal for a doctor to withhold life-saving information for personal gain. Such negligence would be unconscionable! Greater is the case where there is an absence of expositional preaching. For certain, we will be brought before the court of God with the charge of ministry malpractice. For those who claim to be physicians of the soul, as the Puritans called us, there is a reckoning day coming. The occupation of preaching incurs the strictest judgment (James 3:1; Heb. 13:17). Shame on us to not preach the Word (2 Tim. 2:2)! The yoke of responsibility is upon each of us to preach the Word. The question for our generation of churches is, Where is the army of expositors to rise up and demand a resurgence of biblical preaching? We want again Luthers, Calvins, Bunyans, Whitefields, men fit to mark eras, whose names breathe terror in our foemen s ears. We have dire need of such. Whence will they come to us? They are the gifts of Jesus Christ to the Church, and will come in due time. He has power to give us back again a golden age of preachers, and when the good old truth is once more preached by men whose lips are touched as with a live coal from off the altar, this shall be the instrument in the hand of the Spirit for bringing about a great and thorough revival of religion in the land. I do not look for any other means of converting men beyond the simple preaching of the gospel and the opening of men s ears to hear it. The moment the Church of God shall despise

4 the pulpit, God will despise her. It has been through the ministry that the Lord has always been pleased to revive and bless His Churches. 3 2 Timothy 4:1 But You, Timothy (contrary to popular opinion; 2 Tim. 3:1) III. Expository Preaching Defined Expose means to lay open, or uncover. Exposition, then, may be defined as the process of laying open a biblical text in such a way that its original meaning is brought to bear on the lives of contemporary listeners. An expository sermon can therefore be defined as a discourse that expounds a passage of Scripture, organizes it around a central theme and main divisions which issue forth from the given text, and then decisively applies its message to the listeners 4 Haddon Robinson states: The type of preaching that most effectively lays open the Bible so that people are confronted by its truth is expository preaching. At its best, expository preaching is the communication of a biblical concept, derived from and transmitted through a historical, grammatical, and literary study of a passage in its context, which the Holy Spirit applies first to the personality and experience of the preacher, then through him to the listeners. 5 Richard L. Mayhue defines expository preaching as preaching that focuses predominantly on the text(s) under consideration along with its (their) context(s). Exposition normally concentrates on a single text of Scripture, but it is sometimes possible for a thematic/theological message or a historical/biographical discourse to be expository in nature. An exposition may treat any length of passage. 6 Preaching that is severed from the Scriptures is not Christian preaching! The regular proclamation of Christ through the close exposition of Scripture is more relevant in creating a worshipping and serving community than political causes, moral crusades, and entertaining services. 7 Mayhue gives a helpful summary of the essential elements of expository preaching. They are as follows: 3 Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Early Years, C.H. Spurgeon Autobiography, vol. 1 (London: Banner of Truth, 1962) v. 4 Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix, Power in the Pulpit, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999) ) Haddon W. Robinson, Making a Difference in Preaching, (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 6 Richard L. Mayhue, Rediscovering Expository Preaching, Preaching: How to Preach Biblically, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2005) 9. 7 Michael Horton, James Montgomery Boice: Servant of the Word, Modern Reformation 9 (September October 2000): 10.

5 1. The message finds its sole source in Scripture. 2. The message is extracted from Scripture through careful exegesis. 3. The message preparation correctly interprets Scripture in its normal sense and its context. 4. The message clearly explains the original God-intended meaning of Scripture. 5. The message applies the Scriptural meaning for today. 8 Faris Whitesell, in Power in Expository Preaching (pp. vii-viii), clarifies what expository preaching is by identifying what it is not: 1. It is not a commentary running from word-to-word and verse-to-verse without unity, outline, and pervasive drive. 2. It is not rambling comments and offhand remarks about a passage without a background of thorough exegesis and a logical order. 3. It is not a mass of disconnected suggestions and inferences based on the surface meaning of a passage but not sustained by a depth-and-breadth study of the text. 4. It is not pure exegesis, no matter how scholarly, if it lacks a theme, thesis, outline, and development. 5. It is not a mere structural outline of a passage with a few supporting comments but without other rhetorical and sermonic elements. 6. It is not a topical homily using scattered parts of the passage but omitting discussion of other equally important parts. 7. It is not a chopped-up collection of grammatical findings and quotations from commentaries without a fusing of these elements into a smooth, flowing, interesting, and compelling message. 8. It is not a Sunday-school-lesson type of discussion that has no outline of the contents, informality, and fervency but lacks sermonic structure and rhetorical ingredients. 9. It is not a Bible reading that links a number of scattered passages treating a common theme but fails to handle any of them in a thorough, grammatical, and contextual manner. 10. It is not the ordinary devotional or prayer-meeting talk that combines running commentary, rambling remarks, disconnected suggestions and personal reactions into a 8 Richard L. Mayhue, Preaching: How to Preach Biblically, 13.

6 semi-inspirational discussion but lacks the benefit of the basic exegetical-contextual study and persuasive elements. The true idea of preaching is that the preacher should become a mouthpiece for his text, opening it up and applying it as a word from God t his hearers, talking only in order that the text itself may speak and be heard 9 J. I. Packer When the Bible speaks, God speaks. If you don t have the meaning of the Scripture, you don t have the Scripture. John MacArthur J. I. Packer writes that preaching is letting texts talk. We are heralds, not originators we are to preach what we have received, not invent a message that will be received. Expository preaching demands our absence and the presence of the glory of God. What is important is not that we are seen or heard but that the Word of God is faithfully proclaimed. When a man preaches, he should never remove his finger from the Scriptures. If he is gesturing with his right hand, he should keep his left hand s finger on the text. If he reverses hands for gesturing, then he should also reverse hands for holding his spot the text. He should always be pointing to the Scriptures. 10 Walt Kaiser We are under divine imperative to preach the Word! The strongest, loudest and clearest text (2 Tim. 4:1 2) is largely being ignored. Contemporary genres of preaching in our pulpits: Moral talks devoid of the gospel You base the message on Scripture but don t touch the Scripture. It is polished rhetoric with no scriptural content! Proof-texting You form a message and then find a text. Haddon Robinson asks the question, Does the preacher subject his thought to the Scriptures, or does he subject the Scriptures to his thought? (Making a Difference in Preaching, pp ) Is the passage used like the national anthem at a football game it gets things started but then is not heard again? Or is the text the essence of the sermon to be exposed to the people? Topical You get the drift of the text and talk for 45 minutes. We are servants of the text, not masters of it. 9 J.I. Packer, God Has Spoken (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1979) Walter C. Kaiser Jr., A Call to Renew the Work of God, commencement address, Dallas Theological Seminary, 29 April 2000.

7 Text-based exposition You speak out of a text with clarity and authority. Thus says the Lord! The most urgent need in the Christian Church today is true preaching; and as it is the greatest and the most urgent need in the Church, it is the greatest need of the world also. 11 Martyn Lloyd-Jones IV. Expository Preaching is Compulsory We have such a cloud of witnesses, both living and dead! A. Exemplified in the Old Testament 1. Ezra 7:10 2. Nehemiah 8:7 8 (teaching, clarifying, and persuading) B. Modeled by Christ 1. Teaching was central to His earthly ministry. 2. For three and a half years He taught His disciples. 3. They called him teacher (John 13:13); He called them learners (Luke 6:40). 4. He came preaching the Gospel of God (Mark 1:14; 38). 5. Post-resurrection He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures (Luke 24:27). C. Commanded in the Great Commission Matt. 28:19 20 D. Practiced in the Early Church 1. It was on a regular, ongoing basis (Acts 3:11 26; 4:1 2; 8 12, etc.) 2. It was in every context (Solomon s Temple, Acts 3:11 26; in public gatherings, 4:2; from house to house, 4:20; the Sanhedrin, 4:8 12) 3. They filled Jerusalem with their teaching (Acts 5:28). 4. It is undesirable to neglect the Word of God (Acts 6:2). E. Reinforced in the Pastoral Epistles 1. Instruct the church in proper doctrine (1 Tim.1:3). 2. The church is the pillar and support of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15). 3. Give attention to teaching (1 Tim. 4:13). 4. Don t neglect the gift of preaching (1 Tim. 4:14). 5. Pay close attention to your teaching (1 Tim. 4:15 16). 11 Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1971) 9.

8 6. Work hard (1 Timothy 5:17; 6:17, 6:20). 7. Handle the Word accurately (2 Tim. 2:15). 8. Preach the Word (2 Tim. 4:2). 9. Refute false doctrine (Titus 1:9). 10. Teach sound doctrine (Titus 2:1). John MacArthur summarizes the biblical expectation for us all: The Word of God is what Jesus preached (Luke 5:1). It was the message the apostles taught (Acts 4:31 and 6:2). It was the word the Samaritans received (Acts 8:14) as given by the apostles (Acts 8:25). It was the message the Gentiles received as preached by Peter (Acts 11:1). It was the word Paul preached on his first missionary journey (Acts 13:5, 7, 44, 48, 49; 15:35-36). It was the message preached on Paul s second missionary journey (Acts 16:32; 17:13; 18:11). It was the message Paul preached on his third missionary journey (Acts 19:10). It was the focus of Luke in the Book of Acts in that it spread rapidly and widely (Acts 6:7; 12:24; 19:20). Paul was careful to tell the Corinthians that he spoke the Word as it was given from God, that it had not been adulterated and that it was a manifestation of truth (2 Cor. 2:17; 4:2). Paul acknowledged that it was the source of his preaching (Col. 1:25; 1 Thess. 2:13). 12 F. Demonstrated throughout Church History 1. The Reformers must be rolling over in their graves over the principle of Sola Scriptura. 2. Jonathan Edwards wrote, The primary importance of the pastor is to be an expository preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, We cannot play at preaching. We preach for all eternity. 4. James Stitzinger, in chapter three of Rediscovering Expository Preaching, said: The era of the early Christian church (AD ); the medieval period ( ); the Reformation period ( ), including the examples of Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli; and the modern period (1649-present), with a discussion of William Perkins, Richard Baxter, John Owen, Bunyan, Charnock, Whitefield, Matthew Henry, John Broadus, Alexander Maclaren, Spurgeon, Ironside, 12 John MacArthur, The Mandate of Biblical Inerrancy: Expository Preaching, Preaching: How to Preach Biblically, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2005) ) Ralph Turnbull, Jonathan Edwards: The Preacher (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House,

9 Barnhouse, Criswell, G. Campbell Morgan, Lloyd-Jones, Stott, Boice, MacArthur, and many others. If you pursue being an expositor, you re in very good company. Stitzinger s conclusion, after examining the history of the church, is expected: A study of the history of expository preaching makes it clear that such preaching is deeply rooted in the soil of Scripture. Thus, it is the only kind of preaching that perpetuates biblical preaching in the church. Throughout history, a few wellknown men in each generation representative of a larger body of faithful expositors have committed themselves to this ministry of exposition. Their voices from the past should both encourage the contemporary expositor and challenge him to align his preaching with the biblical standard. Scripture demands nothing less than God-enabled exposition as demonstrated by those worthy saints who have dedicated their lives to this noble task. 14 G. Born out of Bibliology 1. God has spoken (Hebrew 1:1 2) through the living Word (Christ) and finally through the written Word (the Scriptures). His Word comes in words! 2. Scripture is God preaching. J.I. Packer 3. The Second Helvetic Confession of 1566 states, The preaching of the word of God is the word of God. 4. Belief in the inspiration of Scripture demands expositional preaching. 5. The doctrine of verbal, plenary inspiration (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20 21) demands expositional preaching. The Word is God-breathed. 6. Belief in the inerrancy of Scripture demands expositional preaching. Scripture contains no errors. God conveyed truth to divinely chosen individuals. And what they wrote did not stray from the original formulation of truth as it existed in the mind of God (Psalm 19). Expository preaching is the declarative genre in which inerrancy finds its logical expression and the church has its life and power. Stated simply, inerrancy demands 14 James F. Stitzinger, The History of Expository Preaching, Preaching: How to Preach Biblically (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2005) 43.

10 exposition as the only method of preaching that preserves the purity of Scripture and accomplishes the purpose for which God gave us His Word. 15 John MacArthur John Piper comments: Where the Bible is esteemed as the inspired and inerrant Word of God, preaching can flourish. But where the Bible is treated merely as a record of valuable religious insight, preaching dies Belief in the authority of Scripture demands expositional preaching. Simply stated, Scripture has the final say! Geoffrey Thomas writes: It is not their perfect reliability that gives the Scriptures their unique authority. It is not even their complete truthfulness. The Bible is powerful because it is the Word of God; what it says God says. Our authority rises and falls on the authority of the text being preached. If you do not have the meaning of the text, you have no authority 8. Belief in the sufficiency of Scripture (Psalm 19; 2 Tim. 3:17; Heb. 4:12; 2 Pet. 1:3 4) demands expositional preaching. A belief in the sufficiency of Scripture prohibits any attempt to integrate it with psychology or worldly philosophies. To not preach the Word, or to integrate man s opinions with it, says that it is not sufficient to help man deal with the issues of life. We affirm inerrancy and deny sufficiency by abandoning the clear exposition of Scripture. 9. Belief in the relevancy of Scripture demands expositional preaching. Scripture is totally relevant for every situation (Psalm 19; 119:105; Isa. 40:8; 2 Tim. 3:17) regardless of culture. We don t MAKE the Bible relevant it IS relevant. PEOPLE must become relevant to IT. It may not give us an explicit answer to every specific problem, but it will always give us the principles by which we can, through obedience, glorify God. When people say the Bible isn t relevant, the implied conclusion is that pastors must preach what people want to hear rather than what God wants proclaimed. But this violates the warning in 2 Timothy 4:3. 15 John MacArthur, Preaching: How to Preach Biblically, John Piper, The Supremacy of God in Preaching, (Grand Rapids: Baker Publishers, 2004)

11 Regardless of what new directives and emphases are periodically offered, that which is needed above everything else to make the Church more viable, authentic, and effective, is a new declaration of the Scriptures with a new purpose, passion, and power. 17 H. Simplifies and Satisfies the Biblical Mandate 1. It inoculates a congregation from doctrinal error (Titus 1:9). 2. It ensures that the gospel is preached (John 5:39). 3. It honors the whole counsel of God (Acts 18:24; 20:26 27). 4. It saturates your message in Scripture (1 Pet. 4:11). 5. It promotes the highest level of biblical literacy among our people. 6. It provides accountability for the preacher. It fosters good scholarship. I never fret about Sunday. It holds me accountable to preaching what God says and not my own opinions. We are called to be not novel, but faithful. 7. It protects the preacher. An expositor rarely wastes time wondering what to preach next or where to go next. You get to observe the marvelous providence of God. It keeps you from attacking people, developing hobby horses, and wasting valuable study time. It is not a homiletical straitjacket. It is a philosophy, not a style. Its form reflects the genre and text. 8. It prevents inaccurate proof-texting and Scripture twisting. You inadvertently train your people to hijack verses out of their context. Proof-texting robs the text of its meaning and power. 9. It gives your people an appetite for the Word (1 Pet. 2:2). 17 Walter C. Kaiser, Toward an Exegetical Theology, 242.

12 10. It has the inherent power of God (Isa. 55:11; Heb. 4:12). A Scripture-soaked preacher is an awful weapon in the arsenal of God. 11. It has inestimable value. Rediscovering Expository Preaching lists benefits to expository preaching in the following way: Expositional preaching best achieves the biblical intent of preaching: delivering God s message. 2. Expositional preaching promotes scripturally authoritative preaching. 3. Expositional preaching magnifies God s Word. 4. Expositional preaching provides a storehouse of preaching material. 5. Expositional preaching develops the pastor as a man of God s Word. 6. Expositional preaching ensures the highest level of Bible knowledge for the flock. 7. Expositional preaching leads to thinking and living biblically. 8. Expositional preaching encourages both depth and comprehensiveness. 9. Expositional preaching forces the treatment of hard-to-interpret texts. 10. Expositional preaching allows for handling broad theological themes. 11. Expositional preaching keeps preachers away from ruts and hobby horses. 12. Expositional preaching prevents the insertion of human ideas. 13. Expositional preaching guards against misinterpretation of the biblical text. 14. Expositional preaching imitates the preaching of Christ and the apostles. 15. Expositional preaching brings out the best in the expositor. V. Expository Preaching s Goal Excellent preaching must have four commitments: 18 Richard L. Mayhue, Preaching: How to Preach Biblically, 15.

13 A. It must be crystal-clear. B. It must stir the heart. If you would make others feel the text you must feel it yourself. C. It must encounter the greatness of God. Biblical preaching must be transcendent, lofty, and majestic. People are starving for the grandeur of God, and the vast majorities do not know it. John Piper, Supremacy of God in Preaching, p.107 Preaching that does not have the aroma of God s greatness may entertain for a season, but it will not touch the hidden cry of the soul: show me thy glory. John Piper, p.9 D. It must insult the will (Acts 17:30; 2 Cor 5:20). The goals of preaching are to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God. (James Stewart in Piper s book, p.19). E. It must be intense. Compelling preaching gives the impression that something very great is at stake. (Piper, p.103) VI. Expository preaching is hard work. Fling him into his office. Tear the Office sign from the door and nail on the sign, Study. Take him off the mailing list. Lock him up with his books and his typewriter and his Bible. Slam him down on his knees before texts and broken hearts and the flock of lives of a superficial flock and a holy God. Force him to be the one man in our surfeited communities who knows about God. Throw him into the ring to box with God until he learns how short his arms are. Engage him to wrestle with God all the night through. And let him come out only when he s bruised and beaten into being a blessing. Shut his mouth forever spouting remarks, and stop his tongue forever tripping lightly over every nonessential. Require him to have something to say before he dares break the silence. Bend his knees in the lonesome valley. Burn his eyes with weary study. Wreck his emotional poise with worry for God. And make him exchange his pious stance for a humble walk with God and man. Make him spend and be spent for the glory of God. Rip out his telephone. Burn up his ecclesiastical success sheets. Put water in his gas tank. Give him a Bible and tie him to the pulpit. And make him preach the Word of the living God! Test him. Quiz him. Examine him. Humiliate him for his ignorance of things divine. Shame him for his good comprehension of finances, batting averages, and political in-fighting. Laugh at his

14 frustrated effort to play psychiatrist. Form a choir and raise a chant and haunt him with it night and day Sir, we would see Jesus. When at long last he dares assay the pulpit, ask him if he has a word from God. If he does not, then dismiss him. Tell him you can read the morning paper and digest the television commentaries, and think through the day s superficial problems, and manage the community s weary drives, and bless the sordid baked potatoes and green bean, ad infinitum, better than he can. Command him not to come back until he s read and reread, written and rewritten, until he can stand up, worn and forlorn, and say, Thus saith the Lord. Break him across the board of his ill-gotten popularity. Smack him hard with his own prestige. Corner him with questions about God. Cover him with demands for celestial wisdom. And give him no escape until he s back against the wall of the Word. And sit down before him and listen to the only word he has left God s Word. Let him be totally ignorant of the down-street gossip, but give him a chapter and order him to walk around it, camp on it, sup with it, and come at last to speak it backward and forward, until all he says about it rings with the truth of eternity. And when he s burned out by the flaming Word, when he s consumed at last by the fiery grace blazing through him, and when he s privileged to translate the truth of God to man, finally transferred from earth to heaven, then bear him away gently and blow a muted trumpet and lay him down softly. Place a two-edged sword in his coffin, and raise the tomb triumphant. For he was a brave soldier of the Word. And ere he died, he had become a man of God. Rediscovering Expository Preaching; pp