Expository Preaching

Expository preaching (also referred to as systematic exposition) is a form of preaching that expounds upon the meaning of a particular text or passage of Scripture. Source

It is a form of preaching that seems to be neglected in most of the church today. The following articles from John MacArthur, an advocate of expository preaching, explain the consequences of not preaching expositionally.

This first article is more like a bullet point summary while the latter two articles look at the same points as the first article in detail.

Fifteen Evil Consequences of Plexiglas Preaching
Excerpt: Bullet Point

1. It usurps the authority of God over the soul. Whether a preacher boldly proclaims the Word of God or not is ultimately a question of authority. Who has the right to speak to the church? The preacher, or God? Whenever anything is substituted for the preaching of the Word, God’s authority is usurped. What a prideful thing to do! In fact, it is hard to conceive of anything more insolent that could be done by a man who is called by God to preach.

The Consequences of Non-expositional Preaching, Part 1
The Consequences of Non-expositional Preaching, Part 2
Excerpt: In Detail

The first negative tragic consequence of failing to preach expositionally is that it usurps the authority of God over the mind and soul of the hearer. And as a pastor, as your shepherd, as the one accountable to God for your care and your spiritual progress and your spiritual development, there is one very basic foundational reality that I want to establish in your life, and that is that God has total authority over your soul and over your mind, that God is sovereign, not me. That God’s truth is sovereign, not my ideas. That God’s Word reigns over your life, not my insights. It is critical to establish the authority of God over the mind and soul of the hearer. It is the question of authority.

Now we all understand that we live in a world that doesn’t like authority. We live in a world that resists authority. We live in this post-modern culture where everybody wants to think that he or she is an authority unto himself, as if he had a right to believe anything he wanted to believe, or she to believe anything she wanted to believe and therefore act in any way he or she wants to act without any recourse and without anyone stepping in and saying, “Wait a minute, that’s out of bounds, that’s unacceptable.” The rejection of a universal law, the rejection of an absolute set of standards of morality, the rejection of a universal code of ethical conduct is part of our culture. Every person is a law unto himself. And, of course, if that sounds familiar it’s because it’s nothing new. It was the way the people of Israel behaved even in Old Testament times. And so, time to establish an authority in people’s lives today is a challenging, challenging thing. God is that authority and His Word is the revelation of that authority.

When you come into this church, all I want you to understand is that God has spoken and this is what He has said. He has said…and here are the implications of what He has said on your life. In a sense, I want to pin you to the back wall with no way to escape the implications of the truth that I have explained to you. I want to show you what the Scripture says rather than tell you what it says. I want to make you a part of the process of explaining the Bible. I want to explain it in such a way that you’re coming along with the explanation and buying into it because it’s sensible, it’s reasonable. It comes across as true. It has the ring of truth. It’s verifiable.

Sometimes people ask me, “Why do you use so many cross-references?” Because they all support the interpretation of the given text so that you can see this is in fact what the Bible teaches, not just here but everywhere else. And the more you can sustain and support that throughout the Scripture, the stronger that impact of that truth on the heart and the mind.

The basic issue then is for you to recognize that the Bible is the Word of God who is absolutely sovereign and it brings to bear its authority on your life. Not just to command you, but to bless you. Not just to convict you, but to encourage you. Not just to make you feel guilty but to bring you comfort. All that comes through the Word of God is intended for your blessing and your benefit. But you must submit to its authority.

Every time you come here and someone stands to preach to you, or in your Sunday-School class, your fellowship group, to teach you, it is to bring to you the unsearchable glories of the Word of God because He alone has a right to be heard. If you go to a church, any church anywhere and you do not hear from God, then that is a ministry that has abandoned its sole responsibility.

Grace To You

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