The Primacy of Expository Preaching in the Local Church
PAPER • As tempting as it may be to try to replace biblical preaching with promising novelties of various sorts, nothing actually can replace biblical preaching. This paper gives three arguments for why and three applications for how to prioritize the expository preaching of biblical texts in the gathered assembly.
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Abstract
Numerous influential voices within evangelicalism are suggesting that the age of the expository sermon is now past. Its absence, nonetheless, always leaves a vacuum, and churches scramble to satisfy the ever-changing preferences of its consumers. Religious movies, dramatic reenactments of Bible stories, musical experiences, and book clubs cannot replace the Spirit-empowered proclaimation of the biblical text. John Broadus, considered the father of modern expositional preaching, once affirmed, “The great appointed means of spreading the good tidings of salvation through Christ is preaching—words spoken whether to the individual, or to the assembly. And this, nothing can supersede.” Therefore, as tempting as it may be to try to replace biblical preaching with promising novelties of various sorts, nothing actually can replace biblical preaching. In part one of this paper, I argue that expository preaching is a biblical necessity for local churches, drawing three arguments from (1) a thoroughly biblical definition of ‘preaching’ from the New Testament data, (2) the way the New Testament both mandates and models Scriptural, text-based preaching, and (3) the biblical centrality of preaching God’s word in salvation, sanctification, and corporate worship. In part two, I consider three practical implications of expository preaching—for pastors, church leaders, and churches as a whole. ❖
