# Expository Preaching > **Expository preaching explains the meaning of a biblical passage in its context and faithfully applies its message to the hearers. The text governs the sermon’s central message, emphasis, and application.** The preacher’s task is to help people understand what God has communicated through Scripture, recognize its significance, and respond with faith and obedience. ## A Detailed Definition **Expository preaching is the proclamation of a biblical text through careful interpretation, clear explanation, and faithful application, so that the meaning and purpose of the passage shape the meaning and purpose of the sermon.** This definition includes several essential commitments: 1. **The sermon arises from Scripture.** Its message comes from the passage rather than an idea the preacher wants the passage to support. 2. **The passage is interpreted in context.** Its words are understood within their literary, historical, and biblical setting. 3. **The preacher explains the author’s intended meaning.** The sermon seeks to communicate what the biblical author conveyed through the text. 4. **The sermon respects the passage’s purpose.** It considers what the passage was intended to accomplish: instruct, encourage, warn, correct, comfort, or call people to worship. 5. **The message is applied faithfully.** The preacher connects the passage’s enduring truth to the lives of contemporary hearers. 6. **The sermon calls for a response.** Biblical exposition aims at understanding that leads to faith, worship, repentance, and obedience. **A useful test:** Can a listener see how the sermon’s main claims and applications come from the passage? ## The Relationship Between the Text and the Sermon In expository preaching, the biblical passage supplies the sermon’s controlling message. The preacher asks: > What is this passage saying, why is it saying it, and how should we respond? The sermon does not need to repeat every detail of the passage. It should, however, represent the passage accurately and preserve its central emphasis. For example, a sermon on James 3:13–18 should explain the contrast between earthly wisdom and wisdom from above. Its applications should arise from that contrast: humility, peace, purity, mercy, and the rejection of selfish ambition. A sermon that uses James 3:17 merely as a starting point for general advice about making better decisions may contain helpful material, but it would not adequately expound the passage. ### The Main Point of the Text The main point is the central claim, exhortation, or message that holds the passage together. Discovering it requires attention to: - Repeated words and ideas. - Commands and explanations. - Contrasts and comparisons. - The progression of an argument. - The conflict and resolution of a narrative. - The passage’s relationship to the surrounding material. Some passages have several closely related emphases. Finding a main point should clarify those emphases without forcing the text into an oversimplified slogan. ### The Purpose of the Text A passage communicates truth to accomplish something. For example: - A warning aims to awaken vigilance. - A promise encourages trust. - A command calls for obedience. - A lament gives expression to grief and dependence on God. - A narrative may reveal God’s character, expose human failure, or advance the story of redemption. An expository sermon should seek a response consistent with that purpose. **The preacher should ask both: “What should people understand?” and “What response does this passage call for?”** ## The Three Essential Movements ### 1. Interpretation: What Does the Passage Mean? Interpretation seeks to understand the text before deciding how to preach it. Important questions include: - Who wrote this passage? - To whom was it written? - What situation was being addressed? - What comes before and after it? - What kind of literature is it? - How do its words, sentences, and paragraphs fit together? - What would its original audience have understood? - How does it fit within the unfolding message of Scripture? The passage’s meaning is grounded in its words and context. It is not determined by whatever a reader happens to associate with it. ### 2. Explanation: How Can I Make Its Meaning Clear? Explanation helps the congregation understand the passage. This may involve: - Defining an unfamiliar term. - Explaining a historical circumstance. - Showing how an argument develops. - Identifying a contrast. - Describing the significance of a narrative event. - Connecting the passage to relevant biblical teaching. The goal is to make the text understandable. Technical information belongs in the sermon when it helps listeners grasp the message. **Good exposition translates careful study into clear communication.** ### 3. Application: How Should We Respond? Application connects the passage’s meaning to the hearers’ lives. Faithful application may address: - **Belief:** What truth should we embrace? - **Trust:** Where are we called to depend on God? - **Affections:** What should we love, grieve, desire, or celebrate? - **Repentance:** What sin or false belief should we abandon? - **Obedience:** What should we do? - **Worship:** What does this reveal about God? - **Community:** How should we treat one another? Application is broader than a list of practical tasks. A passage may call people to rest in God’s promise, endure suffering, or worship with greater confidence. **A passage has a meaning grounded in context, but that meaning can have multiple faithful applications.** ## Context in Expository Preaching ### Literary Context A verse belongs to a paragraph, section, and biblical book. The preacher should consider how it contributes to the surrounding material. **Example:** Philippians 4:13 concerns dependence on Christ in circumstances of both abundance and need. Its context is contentment, rather than an unrestricted promise of personal achievement. ### Historical Context Scripture was written to real people in particular circumstances. Historical background can clarify: - Cultural practices. - Political conditions. - Religious assumptions. - Conflicts within a congregation. - The significance of a command or image. Background information should illuminate the text. Speculative reconstructions should not control its meaning. ### Genre Different forms of biblical literature communicate in different ways. | Genre | Important Interpretive Attention | |---|---| | Narrative | Plot, characters, dialogue, narrator’s emphasis, and place in the biblical story | | Poetry | Imagery, parallelism, emotion, and figurative language | | Wisdom | General patterns of life, literary form, and the relationship between individual sayings | | Prophecy | Historical setting, covenant themes, judgment, hope, and fulfillment | | Gospel | Jesus’ identity, words, works, and the evangelist’s presentation | | Epistle | Argument, occasion, doctrine, commands, and relationships between paragraphs | | Apocalyptic | Symbolism, scriptural echoes, conflict, judgment, and hope | ### Canonical Context Each passage belongs to the whole of Scripture. The preacher considers how its message relates to: - Creation and the fall. - God’s covenant promises. - Israel’s history. - The person and work of Jesus Christ. - The life of the church. - The fulfillment of God’s purposes. Canonical connections should develop the passage’s meaning without replacing it. ## Expository Preaching and Jesus Christ Christian exposition reads Scripture in light of Jesus Christ and the unfolding story of redemption. Jesus taught that the Scriptures bear witness to Him and that His suffering and glory fulfill God’s purposes (Luke 24:25–27, 44–47; John 5:39). However, faithful preaching does not require treating every biblical detail as a hidden symbol of Jesus. A passage may relate to Christ through: - An explicit promise or prophecy. - A biblical pattern or type supported by Scripture. - A covenant that finds fulfillment in Him. - A theme such as sacrifice, kingship, priesthood, or redemption. - A human need answered by His saving work. - Instruction whose Christian application rests on union with Him. **The preacher should explain the passage in its own setting and then show its warranted relationship to Christ and the gospel.** Christ-centered exposition also considers how grace enables obedience. It avoids reducing the sermon to instructions for becoming a better person through willpower alone. ## What Expository Preaching Does Not Require ### It Does Not Require Preaching Through an Entire Book Preaching consecutively through a biblical book is a valuable approach to exposition, but it is not the definition of exposition. An expository sermon may address: - A single paragraph. - A psalm. - A narrative episode. - A larger section of a book. - A passage selected for a particular occasion. **Expository describes how the text governs the sermon. Consecutive describes the order in which passages are preached.** ### It Does Not Require a Verse-by-Verse Commentary A preacher can discuss every verse and still fail to communicate the passage’s main message. Conversely, a sermon can faithfully expound a passage by organizing its material around the passage’s central claim and supporting movements. ### It Does Not Require the Sermon Outline to Copy the Passage’s Structure Exactly The sermon’s organization should respect the passage’s logic and emphasis. However, oral communication may require a different arrangement to make the meaning clear. Any rearrangement should preserve the relationships between the passage’s ideas. ### It Does Not Require an Academic Tone Expository preaching can be warm, vivid, simple, and accessible. Stories, illustrations, questions, humor, and memorable language can serve exposition when they help people understand and respond to the text. ### It Does Not Require Explaining Every Detail The preacher must select what will best communicate the passage’s message. A faithful sermon may leave some secondary details unexplored while clearly explaining the central meaning and its implications. ## Expository, Textual, and Topical Preaching These categories describe different approaches, although preaching traditions use the terms somewhat differently. | Approach | Typical Organizing Principle | Key Question | |---|---|---| | Expository | The meaning and purpose of a passage | What does this passage teach and call us to do? | | Textual | A short text supplies the main divisions | What sermon can be developed from these words? | | Topical | A subject organizes the sermon | What does Scripture teach about this topic? | A topical sermon can faithfully interpret every passage it uses. Some preaching traditions call this **topical exposition**. The essential concern is whether Scripture’s meaning controls the message, rather than whether the preacher uses a particular label. **Using many Bible verses does not automatically make a sermon faithful to the Bible. Each passage must be used in a way consistent with its context.** ## Biblical Foundations ### Nehemiah 8:1–12 — Reading and Explaining Scripture The law is read publicly, and its meaning is explained so the people understand. Their understanding leads to a response. This provides an important biblical pattern for reading, explaining, and responding to God’s Word. ### 2 Timothy 4:1–5 — Preach the Word Paul charges Timothy to preach the Word with patience and instruction, including correction, rebuke, and encouragement. The passage establishes the preacher’s responsibility to proclaim God’s message even when hearers prefer something else. ### 2 Timothy 2:15 — Handle the Word Faithfully Paul calls Timothy to be a worker who rightly handles the word of truth. Faithful preaching requires diligent interpretation. ### 1 Timothy 4:13 — Reading, Exhortation, and Teaching Paul connects the public reading of Scripture with exhortation and teaching. The congregation needs to hear the text, understand it, and be encouraged to respond. ### Acts 20:20–27 — Teach the Whole Counsel of God Paul describes his commitment to proclaiming what was profitable and declaring the whole counsel of God. This encourages breadth and faithfulness in ministry rather than repeated attention only to a preacher’s preferred subjects. **These passages establish responsibilities that expository preaching seeks to fulfill. They do not prescribe one mandatory modern sermon format.** ## A Practical Preparation Process ### 1. Select a Coherent Passage Choose a unit that communicates a complete thought, argument, poem, or narrative movement. Avoid selecting verse boundaries merely because they produce a convenient sermon length. ### 2. Read Repeatedly Read the passage and surrounding context several times. Record observations before rushing to conclusions or applications. ### 3. Study Its Meaning Examine its structure, key terms, genre, background, and place within the book. Use reliable commentaries and language resources to check your interpretation. ### 4. State Its Central Message Write a sentence that summarizes what the passage communicates. Ask whether the sentence accounts for the passage as a whole. ### 5. Identify Its Intended Response Determine whether the passage primarily calls for trust, repentance, obedience, hope, worship, or another response. ### 6. Connect It to the Whole Bible Consider its relationship to Christ, the gospel, and relevant biblical teaching. Keep these connections accountable to Scripture. ### 7. Develop Faithful Applications Identify how the text addresses the congregation’s actual circumstances. Distinguish the passage’s command from your suggested ways of carrying it out. ### 8. Build a Clear Sermon Organize the message so listeners can follow the text’s meaning and implications. Use illustrations to clarify specific truths. ### 9. Check the Sermon Against the Passage Ask: - Is this what the passage actually says? - Have I preserved its emphasis? - Can listeners follow how I reached these conclusions? - Are my applications warranted? - Have I added certainty where the text leaves a question open? ## Example: James 3:13–18 ### Central Message True wisdom is demonstrated through humble conduct and bears the peaceful, merciful fruit of wisdom from above. ### Movement of the Passage 1. Wisdom is shown through good conduct and humility — verse 13. 2. Bitter jealousy and selfish ambition reveal earthly wisdom — verses 14–16. 3. Wisdom from above is pure, peaceable, gentle, and merciful — verse 17. 4. Peacemaking cultivates a harvest of righteousness — verse 18. ### Faithful Applications - Evaluate wisdom by character and conduct, rather than confidence or intelligence alone. - Examine whether selfish ambition is shaping a conflict. - Practice gentleness and a willingness to listen. - Pursue peace without abandoning purity and truth. - Look for the fruit your approach produces in relationships. ### A Possible Sermon Aim Help the congregation recognize the source and fruit of its “wisdom” and pursue the humble, peaceable conduct God commends. ## Common Pitfalls ### Proof-Texting Using a verse to support a claim without accounting for its context. ### Reading Ideas into the Text Making the passage communicate an idea supplied by the preacher rather than drawn from the passage. This is commonly called **eisegesis**. ### A Running Commentary Without a Clear Message Explaining details without showing how they contribute to the passage’s central meaning. ### Information Without Application Helping people understand the ancient setting without showing why the passage matters for their faith and life. ### Application Without Explanation Giving advice without establishing how it follows from Scripture. ### Moralism Reducing the message to good behavior while neglecting God’s character, grace, and saving work. ### Forced Connections to Christ Treating incidental details as symbols of Jesus without sufficient biblical warrant. ### Overstating an Application Presenting the preacher’s preferred method as though God directly commanded it. **Example:** Scripture commands generosity. A particular budgeting system may help someone practice generosity, but that system is not itself a biblical command. ## Evaluating an Expository Sermon A faithful expository sermon should be: - **Text-governed:** Its controlling message comes from the passage. - **Context-aware:** It interprets the passage within its setting. - **Accurate:** It represents the text responsibly. - **Clear:** Hearers can understand and follow it. - **Theologically coherent:** It fits the broader teaching of Scripture. - **Appropriately Christ-centered:** It relates the passage to Christ through warranted biblical connections. - **Applicable:** It addresses the beliefs, desires, relationships, and actions of hearers. - **Pastoral:** It communicates truth with care for the people receiving it. No sermon fulfills these qualities perfectly. They provide a framework for preparation, reflection, and growth. ## Why Expository Preaching Matters ### It Places the Preacher Under Scripture The preacher receives and communicates a message rather than inventing one. ### It Helps the Congregation Learn to Read the Bible When the preacher shows how meaning arises from context, listeners develop habits they can use in their own study. ### It Encourages Theological Breadth Especially when practiced through whole books, exposition brings the congregation into contact with subjects the preacher might otherwise avoid. ### It Supports Discernment Hearers learn to evaluate claims by Scripture rather than by a speaker’s confidence, personality, or popularity. ### It Connects Biblical Depth with Everyday Faithfulness The purpose of careful study is to help people know God, trust Him, and live according to His Word. ## Personal Ministry Reflection My goal in expository preaching is to help people **understand Scripture so they can live it and teach it to others**. Depth includes careful interpretation, but it also includes clarity, theological understanding, and faithful application. A simple explanation can communicate a profound truth. Complexity by itself does not demonstrate depth. Before preaching, I can ask: 1. What will people understand about this passage that they may not have understood before? 2. What will they see about God? 3. What response does the passage call for? 4. Have I made the connection between the text and that response clear? 5. Am I helping people become more confident readers of Scripture?