Expositional Preaching

1. The Essence of Expositional Preaching: Faithfully Unpacking God's Word

My endeavor is to bring out of Scripture what is there, and not to thrust in what I think might be there.

Simeon's enduring legacy. Charles Simeon, a pivotal figure in English church history, championed biblical exposition for over five decades, believing it was the key to a healthy and happy church. His conviction was to faithfully extract the Spirit's mind from the text, never adding or diminishing its force. This mature restraint is often lacking in modern preaching, leading to less impactful messages.

Core aims. Simeon's preaching was guided by three clear goals: to humble the sinner, to exalt the Savior, and to promote holiness. These timeless objectives remain crucial for today's world, which desperately needs to understand humanity's fallen state, Christ's supremacy, and God's requirements for His people. Speaking God's words in the Spirit's power is the only way to achieve these aims.

Definition of exposition. Expositional preaching is empowered preaching that submits the sermon's shape and emphasis to that of a biblical text, ensuring the Holy Spirit's original intent is conveyed. It avoids imposing the preacher's ideas onto the text, instead drawing out what is inherently present. This process, though complex, is fundamental to faithful and fruitful ministry.

2. The Peril of Misplaced Contextualization: When Relevance Overshadows Truth

The preacher is bound to miss the mark of biblical exposition when he allows the context he is trying to win for Christ control the Word he speaks of Christ.

Contextualization's role. While essential for making the gospel understandable, contextualization becomes problematic when it leads the sermon preparation process, rather than informing it. A "blind adherence" to contextualization prioritizes relevance and practical gains over diligent study of God's Word, mistakenly believing cultural understanding is the key to powerful preaching. This misplaced emphasis can undermine the biblical message.

Impressionistic preaching. This approach arises when preachers, preoccupied with cultural relevance, spend more time on their context than on the biblical text, leading to shallow interpretations. Like impressionist painters who distort reality, impressionistic preachers take liberties with the text, ignoring its historical, literary, and theological contours to create "attention-grabbing messages." This often reduces God's Word to moralistic principles, missing its primary point and, crucially, Christ.

Inebriated and "inspired" preaching. Misplaced contextualization also manifests as "inebriated preaching," where the Bible is used merely to support the preacher's preconceived ideas, rather than illuminating God's intended message. Furthermore, "inspired" preaching elevates subjective devotional readings, equating personal spiritual impressions with the Holy Spirit's authoritative message. This risks dehistoricizing the text, promoting untestable "truths," and making the preacher, not the Word, the final authority.

3. Prioritizing Exegesis: Unearthing the Text's Original Meaning

If you want to be a good biblical expositor, you need to discipline yourself to put your eye on the original hearers first.

First things first. Effective sermon preparation must begin with exegesis, holding contextualization and theological reflection at bay initially. This means focusing on the biblical text's original audience and its intended purposes for them. This foundational step prevents distortion of the text's meaning and ensures fidelity to the Holy Spirit's message.

Controlling context. Exegesis involves understanding both the literary and historical contexts of a passage.

• Literary context: Examines the surrounding text, asking why the author placed the passage where it is and how it fits within the broader flow of ideas.
• Historical context: Investigates the circumstances, culture, and situation of the original audience that prompted the text.
  Allowing these contexts to control the text's meaning, rather than imposing modern interpretations, is crucial for accurate understanding.

Melodic line, structure, and emphasis. Good expositors listen intently for the "melodic line" – the essence or overarching message of the entire biblical book – and discern how their specific passage contributes to it. They also apprehend the skeletal structure of the text, identifying its organization and the author's intended emphasis. This disciplined approach ensures the sermon's shape and emphasis rightfully submit to the biblical text, avoiding overly intellectual or moralistic pitfalls.

4. The Necessity of Theological Reflection: Connecting Every Text to Christ

The gospel, at least for Jesus, is found everywhere in the Bible. It is what holds the Bible together, and it should inform how we approach it.

Beyond exegesis. Stopping at exegesis alone can lead to preaching that is either overly intellectual, resembling an academic commentary, or merely imperatival, resulting in moralism. Theological reflection is the crucial next phase, a rigorous and prayerful discipline that meditates on how the text relates to God's overarching plan of redemption, particularly through Jesus Christ.

Christ-centered instincts. Jesus himself demonstrated how "Moses and all the Prophets—all the Scriptures—concern him," focusing on his suffering, resurrection, and the proclamation of repentance and forgiveness. Paul mirrored this practice, reasoning and proving Christ from the Scriptures in diverse contexts. Like Spurgeon, preachers should ask, "what is the road to Christ?" from every text, ensuring the gospel remains central.

Historical challenge. A significant challenge in theological reflection is avoiding the dehistoricization of the text, where the Old Testament's original historical meaning is discarded in favor of a spiritualized or abstract gospel. This risks undermining the historical foundation of Christianity. Therefore, theological reflection must begin with prayer, seeking the Holy Spirit's extraordinary help to reveal Jesus as the center of Scripture without compromising historical integrity.

5. Leveraging Biblical Theology for Rich Gospel Connections

The discipline of biblical theology offers preachers a certain benefit. It prevents merely intellectual or moralistic preaching.

Progressive revelation. Biblical theology is the discipline of understanding the Bible as a progressive unfolding of God's redemption plan, culminating in Christ's death and resurrection. It helps preachers legitimately connect specific texts to the heart of the Christian gospel, ensuring the "main thing" remains the main thing. To develop this skill, consistent and complete reading of the Bible is paramount, alongside consulting foundational biblical theology resources.

Following the NT's lead. The New Testament writers serve as primary models for biblical theology, frequently referencing and alluding to the Old Testament to demonstrate Christ's fulfillment. Paul's sermon in Acts 17, for instance, effortlessly moves from creation to consummation, highlighting God as Creator, humanity's fall, Christ's resurrection, and his return in judgment. This provides a framework for connecting any passage to the grand sweep of biblical history.

Making gospel connections. Even without explicit New Testament citations, preachers can make legitimate gospel connections using four categories:

• Prophetic fulfillment: Identifying Old Testament promises directly fulfilled in Christ.
• Historical trajectory: Placing a passage within the overarching redemptive history (Creation → Fall → Redemption → New Creation).
• Themes: Tracing recurring motifs like kingdom, covenant, temple, or exodus, and showing their culmination in Christ.
• Analogies/Typology: Recognizing persons, events, or institutions that foreshadow Christ, where the antitype (Christ) escalates the significance of the type. These tools ensure a rich, Christ-centered exposition.

6. The Guiding Role of Systematic Theology: Ensuring Doctrinal Soundness

God has not revealed his truth in a system; the Bible has no system as such.

Synthesizing doctrines. While biblical theology traces the historical unfolding of God's plan, systematic theology organizes all that the Bible says into logical, hierarchical doctrines. It helps synthesize Scripture's parts and whole, demonstrating their logical connections. However, preachers must heed Simeon's caution: avoid becoming "system preachers" who impose a system on the Bible, instead remaining "Bible Christians" who submit to its words.

Holding to orthodoxy. A key benefit of systematic theological reflection is its role as a constraint, holding the preacher to orthodox doctrine. When faced with difficult exegetical choices, sound doctrine guides interpretation, preventing unintentional contradictions within Scripture. For example, understanding the systematic doctrine of justification by faith helps reconcile passages like James 2 and Paul's writings, ensuring a coherent understanding of biblical truth.

Connecting to gospel and non-Christians. Systematic theology is particularly useful for connecting to the gospel from genres like Old Testament poetry or New Testament Epistles, which often address fundamental concepts like sin, grace, or faith. Furthermore, it hones a preacher's ability to speak to non-Christians by addressing their common questions about evil, guilt, or redemption through established theological categories. This allows for a legitimate and accessible entry point into God's Word for those unfamiliar with biblical narratives.

7. Contextualization's Rightful Place: Knowing and Loving Your Audience

If those who specifically desire to preach the Word do not possess a heart for the people of the world, they should not be allowed to stand regularly behind the preaching lectern.

Serving the people. After rigorous exegetical and theological work, contextualization finds its rightful place in the final phase of sermon preparation: "today." It informs how we preach God's Word by considering the makeup of the audience. Preachers must cultivate a growing, godly passion for people, understanding that disciplines exist to serve the congregation, not the other way around. This echoes Jesus's charge to Peter: "Feed my lambs... Tend my sheep."

The church and prayer. The primary audience for expositional preaching is the church, God's people, whom the Word creates and sustains. Faithful expositors are keenly aware of their dependence on God, bringing all sermon preparation before Him in prayer. They understand that conversion and establishment of the church rest on the Holy Spirit's power, not human ingenuity. This desperation for divine power drives them to pray before, during, and after preaching.

The city and its citizens. Preaching in increasingly urbanized and diverse contexts demands an awareness of the city's challenges and opportunities. Preachers should adopt interpersonal strategies, like Paul's reasoning in the synagogue and marketplace, and integrated strategies, using cultural objects (like Athens' "unknown god") to introduce the gospel, rather than iconoclasm. While contextualization helps speak the culture's language, preachers must recognize its limits; even well-contextualized messages may be mocked or misunderstood, underscoring the indispensable role of the Holy Spirit.

8. Arranging Your Message for Clarity and Textual Conformity

Biblical expositors don’t step into the pulpit to preach without first being able to articulate the theme of their text in one coherent sentence.

Clarity is paramount. Once the exegetical and theological work is complete, the preacher must arrange the material for maximum clarity and conciseness. As Dick Lucas emphasized, preaching "can never be too simple." Preachers must understand their audience's needs and speak their language, ensuring the glories of Christ are made clear and accessible to both believers and non-believers.

Stating theme and aim. Two practical steps enhance clarity:

• State the Text's Theme: Articulate the big idea or dominant issue of the text in one coherent sentence. This helps the congregation grasp the author's primary teaching point.
• Articulate the Author's Aim: Define in a single sentence what the biblical author intended his original audience to do or think differently as a result of the theme. This simplifies contextualization, as implications and applications are drawn directly from the text's inherent relevance.

Textual conformity in outlining. The organization of the sermon should ordinarily follow the organization of the biblical text itself, emerging from the exegetical and theological work. This "textual conformity" means the preacher does not superimpose an external outline or interpose extraneous material. By rightly submitting the sermon's shape and emphasis to the Spirit-intended structure of the text, preachers ensure they are truly "bringing out of Scripture what is there," allowing God's voice, not their own, to be heard.

9. Applying the Message for Deep Heart Transformation

The heart is the seat of power. And the heart is the agent of change.

Aim for heart change. The ultimate goal of sermon application is a complete change of heart, not merely intellectual assent or outward action. Preachers must "take dead aim at heart repentance," calling listeners to a full turning of mind, heart, and will. This profound transformation requires the Holy Spirit's power to apply God's Word, as only God can truly change the human heart.

Prayer and awareness. Effective application is rooted in "heart prayer," acknowledging that only God can achieve the goal of repentant hearts. Preachers must also possess "heart awareness" of their audience, discerning their deeply held values, commitments, and the internal struggles that keep them from Christ-like worship and obedience. This involves listening skills, like those demonstrated by Augustine and Paul, to understand the "landscapes of the heart" in contemporary culture.

Text-driven application. While audience awareness is vital, application must always emerge from "the heart of the biblical text," not solely from perceived congregational needs. Preachers should ask:

• What is the biblical author's intention for his readers?
• How do characters respond to God's truth or Anointed (especially in narratives)?
• Is this the primary application, or merely a possible one?
• Does this application undermine or contradict other biblical texts?
• Is it grounded in the gospel, or does it risk becoming moralism?
  These questions ensure applications are faithful, relevant, and truly transformative.

Last updated: February 10, 2026