Expository Preaching

True expository preaching.
By Caleb Kolstad (and Dr. Philip Ryken)

Many churches claim to be doing “biblical exposition” these days; sadly very few are really doing it. In light of 2 Timothy 4:1-5 this should not totally shock us. I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach he word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

I am thankful for Pastor Flatt’s commitment to Word of God through his expository preaching ministry here at First Baptist Church. He has been faithfully laboring in the Word for 30+ years. Dr. Philip Ryken recently wrote an excellent article helping us understand what genuine biblical exposition really is. How beautiful are the feet of those who bring us the good news (Romans 10:15).

"Preaching the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments is the divinely-appointed means of bringing sinners to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and building believers up in the gospel. How can they hear without someone preaching to them? (Rom. 10:14). At a time when people will not tolerate sound teaching, but would prefer to hear something that reaffirms their own selfish desires, we are charged with this perennial imperative: "Preach the Word" (2 Tim. 4:2). Although our preaching is weak in itself, we believe it has the power to transform people's lives by the life-changing work of God the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:3-5).

By expository preaching we mean preaching that is driven by Scripture and derived from its divine authority, so that God's Word is declared to God's people. It is not preaching that merely begins with a biblical text and then proceeds to communicate the preacher's own spiritual ideas or the values of contemporary culture. Expository preaching carefully and thoroughly communicates what the Bible actually teaches, exploring its context, explaining its meaning, expounding its doctrine in connection to the person and work of Jesus Christ, and applying its gospel to the spiritual needs of those who listen, exalting the glory of God. Because God's Word is supremely "useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness" (2 Tim. 3:16), expository preaching is of its very nature practical." (Taken from www.reformation21.org)