The Primacy of Exposition

Expositional Preaching is the simplest form of preaching, yet one of the most arduous tasks for the pastor. Basically, exposition consists of explaining the meaning of a specific Biblical text and showing the spiritual implications that the text has on the listener’s lives. Exposition is simple in that the main idea of the sermon is nothing more or less than the main idea of the particular Scripture. It is difficult-not because Scripture is difficult to understand (although some passages are heavy), but because we humans tend to make too much or too little of God’s Word. At times, we tend to miss the point of the passage because we are distracted by movements, systems, or prejudices. Sometimes we miss the point of the passage because we have already come to a text of Scripture with our preconceived ideas of what we think God is saying or perhaps, what we wish God were saying. Some times we make too much of a text of Scripture. What I mean by that, is that we are looking for that jewel or gem that will save a marriage, finally penetrate that rebellious heart, or get some desired result in the listener’s lives and so we contort the plain sense of the text in order to garner results, maybe even good results. But the danger in either extreme is that the Scripture may be hindered from speaking because we, the mouthpieces have injected our designs and desires on the text.

Jeremiah 23:22 “But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.”

Expositional preaching is causing people to hear the the Words of God. Failure to do that, will result in people running to evil ways.