Bible Students

A reflection based on “Biblical Preaching” by Robinson (chapters 1-3)

This week’s reading begins the book, Biblical Preaching. The first three chapters cover an introduction to the topic of expository preaching, the basic components for understanding a passage, and the tools for beginning to understand a passage. Overall, this introduction is both helpful and concise. 

Chapter one introduces expository preaching. What is expository preaching? Today’s culture would rather serve tables than preach, as they are more focused on orthopraxy than orthodoxy. Today’s reformist attitude is more hooked on social change than proper belief. However, power comes through the preached Word which does not come from the written Word. Expository preaching aims to take full advantage of that. Expository preaching is a living interaction, so no definition can completely hold it. However, there are some tell-tale signs of expository preaching: Does the Scripture determine the message, or does the message determine the Scripture? One helpful way to identify expository preaching is by asking if the Scripture determines the message. The message can not be taken out of thin air, just like how words can not be understood without context. The message must be attached to the Scripture, as words must be attached to paragraphs. One important aspect of expositional preaching, which is preaching what the Bible has to say, is that the listener can check the passage for themselves to find the message of the preacher (which should be the message of the passage). Often, preachers will fail in their responsibilities as Christians before preachers. This is because they fail to study the Scriptures for themselves, and opt to attach their own thoughts to the Bible. The Bible is alive and well, and speaks to all audiences. Preachers must discern the modern application from the ancient application, and no modern people are worried about the Jebusites. Do not speak backwards to the audience of the past, but be sure to speak to the audience of today. 

Chapter two discusses the composition of a message. If the preacher’s audience is not able to understand what the preacher is talking about, the preacher has failed. Sermons often have too many unrelated ideas. The preacher must preach a truth for the audience to live. The sermon should be a bullet, not buckshot. Effective communication needs one specific theme, one major idea with smaller points. No sermon is ready until one can express it in a sentence. The preacher must address his audience because he has something to say, not say something to address them. Unless ideas are expressed in words, one does not really understand what is going on. Now, an idea consists of a subject and compliment. The subject of a sermon is the full idea of what we are talking about. The subject can not stand alone, but needs a compliment to know what is happening to the subject. The subject is a question, the compliment is the answer. 

Finally, chapter three discusses some of the tools of preaching. Many preachers do not use the biblical text but still claim they are hitting the mark. However, good expositors must try to understand what the biblical text is actually saying. An awareness of how others do the work can help preachers. How should one exegete a passage in order to say what the biblical passage is saying? First, choose the passage. The preacher should be familiar with the particular congregation and their needs. Find the biblical author’s ideas, usually paragraphs, and go off of that. For proverbs, some people will use related passages. Topical passages are important as well. A topical Bible or analytical concordance is helpful. Topical exposition has two problems: One may read something into the text, or else one may need to study the text far more than in exposition. Another challenge is time: one should not take time not granted to the preacher. Once the text has been chosen, the full context of the book should be understood. How does the paragraph fit into the chapter, into the book? Read it several times in different translations. What does this passage do in this section? Write out the problems you have with interpretations. Asking the right questions is key to getting the right answers. 

Overall, these three chapters have acted as a solid introduction to the topic of biblical exposition. I especially saw use for the third chapter in the use of tools for preaching, and made sure to grab my Interlinear and Concordance for future reference in sermon preparation. Additionally, I thought the case against topical preaching was fair: It is not evil, but it is usually less helpful than expositional preaching. The aspect of expositional preaching which has most interested me has been the gained time from not needing to choose a passage every week, as well as being able to build on the ideas of the previous weeks.