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What Expository Preaching Is NOT

7. Expository preaching is not always historically redemptive preaching.

Biblical preaching proclaims the Person and Work of Christ. It also explains what the text means by what it says. Surveying the history of redemption may present the gospel and protect the sermon from moralism. But faithful preaching does not ignore the historical and literary setting of the text. 1 Samuel 16 is not primarily about how Christ slays the giant of sin for us. It is about how God helped David defeat Goliath to introduce the young shepherd as the newly anointed king. We must preach the former without neglecting the latter.

8. Expository preaching is not a homiletical survey of the text.

A sermon outline consisting of (1) David’s dilemma, (2) David’s devotion and (3) David’s deliverance may have a problem, beyond the possible alliteration issue. It may reflect a sermon that merely describes David’s situation, rather than prescribing truth to the hearer. As Paul models in his New Testament epistles, we must teach doctrine and duty. The expositor lands and lives in the text, but seeks to get back to the future to bring the truth to bear on the lives of the hearer.

9. Expository preaching is not about the length of the sermon text.

An expositor will typically select the natural divisions of a passage to preach. But expository preaching is not about the length of the text. It is about how you treat the text. The text can be long or short. What matters is whether you preach what the text means by what it says. Text divisions are executive decisions each pastor must prayerfully make as he ministers to his congregation.

10. Expository preaching is not about how many points the sermon outline has.

How many points should a sermon have? The congregation hopes it has at least one! Sermon outline points should be necessary and natural. You should have as many points as the text requires. If it has too many points, you may have a series, not a sermon. But three-point sermon outlines do not automatically make an expository message.

11. Expository preaching is not a pretext for predetermined convictions.

Expository preaching is truth-driven and text-driven. You are not an expositor if you have a one-track mind that drives your convictions into every text you read. That is imposition, not exposition. The expositor submits to the authority of the text to set the agenda for the sermon. Golfers play the ball where it lies. Expositors preach what the text means by what it says.

12. Expository preaching is not necessarily consecutive exposition.

A true commitment to expository preaching often produces an organic commitment to consecutive exposition through books of the Bible. It is the most faithful way to preach the text in context. But books series and expository preaching are not the same thing. Consecutive exposition is another executive decision a local pastor must make for his church. A topical series of biblical messages may be best and can still be expository preaching.

13. Expository preaching is not truth divorced from life.

Exposition involves both explanation and exhortation. Expository preachers are rightly driven to explain truth. But the expositor must live in two worlds—the world of the text and the world of the hearer. The expository preacher builds a bridge between these two worlds. Expository preaching is doctrinally sound, homiletically structured and pastorally sensitive.

14. Expository preaching is not boring preaching.

Expository preaching aims to teach, convert and renew the mind. Expositors do not play with people’s emotions. But expositors do not ignore the emotions, either. It should be a sin to bore people with the gospel! Faithful preaching should be faithful, clear and passionate. Expositors are heralds who persuade, not journalists who report. We should preach like satisfied customers, not paid advertisers.

What Expository Preaching Is and Is Not TEACHER COPY

What Expository Preaching Is and Is Not STUDENT COPY

What do you think? What is expository preaching, and what is it not?

This article addressing the question, “What is expository preaching?” originally appeared here.