Biblical Justification for Expository Preaching

What is an expository sermon? A sermon is considered expository if its content and intent are controlled by the content and intent of a particular passage of Scripture. The preacher says what the text says, and his goal is to achieve the same thing in the hearts of the listeners that God seeks to achieve through the chosen passage of His Word.

Preacher, imagine God sitting in the audience as you preach. What expression would be on His face? Would He say, «That’s not what I meant by that text at all»? Or would His face perhaps express agreement, «Yes, that’s exactly what I meant»?

The biblical justification for expository preaching begins with the connection between the gift that the ascended Christ gave to the Church in the form of pastor-teachers (Eph. 4:11) and the biblical command for pastor-teachers to «preach the word» (2 Tim. 4:2). Those who preach are to preach the Bible.

«"The Word of God" as a brief description of the sermon

Perhaps the best place to demonstrate the validity of identifying preaching with «the Word» is in the book of Acts. In this book, the phrase «the Word of God» is regularly used as a brief description of apostolic preaching. For example, in Acts 6:2 the apostles say:

«It is not right for us to neglect the word of God and serve tables» (see also Acts 12:24; 13:5, 46; 17:13; 18:11).

This phrase is also frequently found as «the Word of the Lord» (Acts 8:25; 13:44; 15:35-36, etc.), and not infrequently it is shortened to «the Word» (cf. Acts 4:29; 8:4; 11:19). In the book of the Acts of the Holy Apostles there is a clear and consistent identification of the apostolic preaching with the phrase «the Word of God.».

The basis of apostolic preaching was the gospel—the message of reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ, and this message was almost always proclaimed and explained through an interpretation of the Old Testament. Thus, preaching in New Testament times involved the proclamation of «the Word of God,» and a key element of this preaching was the explanation of Old Testament texts. This, in turn, leads us to the conclusion that the Old Testament Scriptures must be included in our understanding of «the Word» that is to be preached. This conclusion is supported by both direct (e.g., 2 Tim. 3:16; Rom. 3:2) and indirect statements (e.g., Rom. 15:4) of the New Testament.

This «Word» is the word of Jesus as predicted in the Old Testament and now made clear in the apostolic preaching. It is the Word that is «spoken» (Acts 4:29), «preached» (Acts 13:5), and is to be «received» (Acts 17:11) as «the Word of God.» This same identification is maintained throughout Paul’s letters. He does not hesitate to call the message he proclaims «the Word of God» (2 Cor. 2:17; 4:2; 1 Thess. 2:13) or simply «the Word» (Gal. 6:6).

Even in the context of Paul’s command to Timothy to «preach the Word» there is confirmation of this identification between preaching and the proclamation of the Word of God. Timothy would have immediately understood which «Word» Paul meant. His biography emphasizes that this certainly included both «Holy Scripture» and the apostolic epistle:

«But you, continue in what you have learned and have been entrusted with, remembering from whom you learned it…» (2 Tim. 3:10-17).

Conclusion: The Bible as a source of preaching

So the conclusion we must draw from all this is that the "Word" we are to preach is the body of truth consisting of the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament and the apostolic teaching of Christ, that is, the New Testament.

Therefore, the identification of «the Word» with our Bibles is entirely appropriate. This is what pastor-teachers who are commissioned to preach should teach. Our task is to proclaim «the Word» that God has spoken, preserved in Scripture, and entrusted to us. The spiritual life of God’s people depends on this Word (see Deut. 8:3). That is why the young pastor is instructed to «give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine» (1 Tim. 4:13). If this appeal has any meaning for us today, and it certainly does, then our Bible should be the sole source of our preaching.

What will this look like? In sermon preparation, this means carefully studying clearly defined passages of God’s Word so that we can «rightly handle the word of truth.» In the pulpit, this will look like what we see in Nehemiah 8:8:

«They read clearly from the Book of the Law of God, explaining its meaning, so that the reading could be understood.».

God intends and has promised to use this kind of preaching to accomplish one of His great purposes—the unification and edification of His people.