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The Nature and Role of Preaching Such preaching will be fruitful

Acts 15 v 7
7
After much discussion,
Peter got up and addressed them:
“Brothers, you know that some time ago
God made a choice among you
that the Gentiles might hear from my lips
the message of the gospel
and believe. 1
What is the SUBJECT of this passage?

Who is doing what?

• Peter is addressing the brethren
• God made a choice
• The Gentiles are able to
o hear the gospel from Peter’s lips and
o believe

What over-all subject covers all the above?

• How God chose to bring the gospel to the Gentiles

What does the passage tell us about the over-all SUBJECT? What are the key points?

• God made a CHOICE of

o Peter as preacher (Peter chosen “from among you”)
o Preaching as the method (“through my lips”)
o The gentiles as the audience (“might hear”)
o The gospel as the message
o Faith as the outcome (“believe”)

What is the “HEART BEAT” of the passage?

• God chose Peter’s preaching of the gospel to bring the gentiles to faith

What is the universal truth / application we should deduce from this for today?

• Preaching is God’s chosen means for bringing his truth to the world

1The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.
When Preaching is NOT Expository!
Exercise:
List as many different kinds of preaching as you can think of.
Which expound a theme or explore an idea?
Which address the issues surrounding a topical occasion?
Which expound a text?
What is the difference in approach?
Doctrinal preaching is not expository preaching.
Though all Christian doctrine originates in Scripture, expounding a
doctrine adopts a different approach to that of expounding a text.
Thematic preaching is not expository preaching.
It may well go to various Scriptural texts for its material, but it will not be
constrained by the nature, theme and contents of one passage.
Narrative preaching is not expository preaching (unless it is expounding a
parable, or other short story from Scripture).
Its focus is upon a story it has to tell, rather than upon a text it has to expose.
Topical preaching is not expository preaching.
Like doctrinal preaching it may refer to several passages, but only to support
the topic being studied.
Or it may be topical in the sense of treating a contemporary subject that is “in
the news” and searching Scripture for light and guidance upon the subject or
issue.
Apologetic preaching is not expository preaching.
Preaching in defence of a Biblical truth will refer to many passages,
and may expound many individual texts with the purpose of expounding an
argument, rather than a passage.
Evangelistic preaching is not expository preaching.
Its sole purpose is to convict sinners and present the claims of Christ by any
means.
NOTE: Expository preaching is not simply commenting on every verse in a passage
in turn.
The Case for Expository Preaching
1. What are the weaknesses in sermons heard today?
Here are some frequently experienced homiletic failings:
• Not nourishing - they provide milk, where meat is needed!
e.g. nice thoughts from “devotional” texts,
“testimonies”, sharing stories, and personal experiences.
• Emotionalism and forceful delivery - passion is needed for the total task
of bringing God’s Word to His people, not just in the presentation.
• Law preached without grace.
e.g. hearers lashed with “dos and don’ts” of everyday living,
rather than principles expounded from Scripture.
Have you noticed any others?
But note: John Stott once heard Alan Cole remark that, surprising as it may
seem, God sometimes blesses “a poor exegesis of a bad translation of a
doubtful reading of an obscure verse of a minor prophet”! But he adds
that this observation “gives us no possible excuse for slovenliness in
Biblical interpretation.” Nor in how we preach!
2. What does Expository Preaching do better than other kinds of
preaching?
• It best conveys the force of divine authority.
If Scripture is God preaching, as J.I. Packer says it is,
we would do well to focus attention on His Word and thus
allow God to do the preaching rather than ourselves.
• God is present in the speaking of His words.
The response called for in the Bible to the hearing of the words of God
is not mere assent to truths clarified,
but faith in God who speaks the promise,
obedience to God who commands,
a return to God who warns,
and hope in God who foretells the future.
“When the law of the Lord is expounded, the soul revives, the simple are made
wise, and listeners are enlightened, God’s people are warned.
Altogether there is great advantage in attending to God’s instructions.”
(Ps 19:7-11)
And therefore in expounding them also.
• It allows the Bible to determine the content and style of the
preaching, rather than the preacher.
 • It exposes people to the Word, as well as exposing the Word to its listeners.
“The Word of God….
is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
And before him no creature is hidden.” (Heb 4:12f)
• It not only presents Christ to the unbeliever, but also enriches those already
in Christ!
i.e. not merely in each sermon “tell me the same old story”,
but nourishment where its is needed for growing Christians.
Thus Paul’s prayer might be the preacher’s prayer:
“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened
in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you,
the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
and his incomparably great power for us who believe.”
• It models and teaches responsible use of Scripture and its theological
application to modern life.
Many people have difficulty in knowing how to interpret certain passages
of the Bible. Many are puzzled as to how to evaluate the more
extravagant claims that some preachers make about what the Bible teaches.
Proper exegesis of a text shows people how to interpret passages for themselves.
3. What is Expository Preaching?
“The communication of a biblical concept,
derived from and transmitted through
a historical, grammatical, and literary study of a passage
in its context,
which the Holy Spirit first applies to
the personality and experience of the preacher,
Preparing
then through an hearers.”
him to the Expository SermonW. Robinson)
(-Haddon
involves several stages, some overlapping:
• Structural analysis of the text being expounded,
without reference (at this stage) to outside information.
• Exegesis of the text (examining how it was understood originally),
paying attention to the context, author’s intention, etc.
• Exposition of the (universal) message of the text.
• Application of its message to the (particular) context of the
preacher’s audience today, giving specific examples.
An Expository Sermon
will have three components and three goals:
• Exegesis – to inform the mind,
• Application – to speak to the heart,
• Exhortation – to challenge the will to act upon what has been heard.
e.g. Moses, the first recorded preacher in the Bible, expounded (Dt 1:5), applied (Dt 29) and