What is Expositional Preaching?

welcome to the front porch I'm on the porch with my two friends only two friends I got in the whole world at least at the moment at the moment to be Leon you bullied Tony Carter and today we're gonna talk about expositional preaching you're about it a lot don't you read about a lot on the web expositional preaching would when you hear any time we say we say Tony people talk about an awful all the time talk about it yeah I haven't hey by talking about a lingo who there you go so you're by talking about it ain't doing it you're doing it so then what we need to do I think initially is to define it that was great yeah easy that's why it's on tap or you know you have to have crazy folk on a porch right so Tony's our crazy man for they put it for this session T what what is expositional preaching I'll try to answer all of it some I'm gonna ask Tony the same question oh gee let me give you a partial answer give me not partial majestic don't give me some freedom star I'm saying don't bridge it shot him so expositional preaching is that kind of preaching that takes a Texas scripture explains the meaning of that text in context explains the meaning of that text as it points to Christ and the gospel and applies that text to the heroes if you want to add I agree with that shorthand on definition it is it is not simply saying what the text says it is meaning what the text means I think comes you know and it is taking and understanding that meeting not only in the context of that passage but in the broader context that it is the scripture and the redemptive plan of God and placing it in that context which brings you to the person in the work of Christ you know and so on meaning what it means and then knowing that that ultimate meaning finds its meaning and fulfillment in Christ so it's not like you that you married to two concepts that people sometimes keep separate something you've married expositional preaching with Christ centered preaching yeah so you're saying they're both in the same because the text ultimately is talking about Christ right and so if you're doing a good exposition you're going to get to Christ yeah yeah and and when I when I say when I say expositional preaching I basically mean biblical preaching which is right which is preaching Christ yeah so it's biblical preaching and and we know that at the center of the Bible which is a revelation of God is the person and work of Christ okay yeah so then so let me ask you guys this because you you said something at very beginning you start laughing and I'm thinking you're laughing in agreement so we're talking about it and if it's not happening then what are we hearing what is it that we're hearing well like I said in the beginning um you know a lot of times we say what the Bible says and I think that's what we're hearing we're hearing people say what the Bible says but we're not hearing all of those people mean what the Bible means you see but simply because we say what the Bible says we like to call that expositional preaching for example that would be Joseph had a dream you need to follow your dreams right now Joseph had a dream is what the text says sure and we've said that Joseph had a dream that's saying what the text says but then when you move over the saying you need to chase your dreams that's not heretical or wrong necessarily but it ain't what the text means there's a particular redemptive historical visit has a particular plan of salvation meaning that's important to detect so if we're going to mean when Moses means when he writes the latter chapters of Genesis right we're probably not going to be moving from Joseph had a dream to follow your dreams we're going to be moving from Joseph had a dream what did that mean to Israel reading that text in around that point in time and what does that mean then going from that context to Christ's fulfillment and then out of that we're going to get that application and we'll probably find that the application is not go chase your dream right yeah because Joseph's dream is unique historical redemptive history in a way it doesn't transfer in a straight line to what to be T is just buyers to so Tony I think you're making a critical distinction when you simply say it's not only same with the text says but same text means because I think the difference between those two in that gap between those two is where 80% of the bodies are bearing to do exposition but when you listen to the tape Monday or Tuesday you go that's not quite there you can quite get there and it's the meaning of the text that has to drive the preaching the message is exposition is it a sermon long thing or is exposition the beginning of the sermon and then somehow if I even if I get to the meaning what it means I like the way you put that because you'll never forget that if I get to that then once I've done that with the text then is my sermon does it remain expositional if I take leave of that and go someplace else or get into our you know and here's where the the cliff note definition of exposition that doesn't service best right because if if we're really let me give you a different phrase for exposition okay revealing the mind of God that's what the preacher is doing when he's expositing the scripture he's taking the meaning that God has put in attacks and he's opening it before the people exposing execute closing their meaning spells right now if we are heralds of God's Word in a certain sense we have to be bound by God's Word right so that so that really for the length of the message what we're doing is rooted in that tax and not just in that text but exposing that things.you preacher sometimes something out I'm choosing this text as my jumping-off point and you wonder what they jumped into right you go back over here and you do get that you get guys who will explain the text lovely in a lovely way in the first 10 minutes alright and the first 40 minutes you don't see the text again and again it's not that guys are being heretical so that you know I hear a lot of preaching where guys are saying a lot of truth in just has no relationship to that text alright and and the mind of God and the meaning that God put in that tax and so it's not an essence exposition I think I think rigorous exposition sort of brings the preacher under the text not just for his subject and and not just for the framing of the sermon but for the length of the sermon what you're doing is you're like a screw you're twisting that sermon in that that text into the hearts and minds of the people and you just you just twist in that screw and twisting that screw until the text is nailed down in the heart for me that's the kind of expedition I love that just keep driving the text and and and that takes for you an entire sermon yeah yeah yeah um doctrine net dances mmm-hmm right I remember a portion of the book where he whether the author had sent a candidate he had actually Robert Smith as Barbara Smith had recommended a candidate for a church or that he knew was looking for a preacher and he happened to know one of the people who was on the pulpit committee and so when he inquired as to how did the young man do she said well you know he started off pretty good I'm paraphrase he said then he start chasing a little bear around so you're saying exposition is no bear chasing well right and and and and here and here's an argument for sequential exposition right well sure because because a lot of guys and this isn't sin this isn't wrong right but a lot of guys will you know are picking different tags they're bouncing around the scripture you know they're praying about it you know what they want pretty but but I think there's a greater temptation to then have a sermon going in search of a text rather than having a text drive the sermon and so if we if we think preaching is unfolding the thoughts of God the best way to do that is going to be sequential exposition as you're working through the book of Romans or through the book of Galatians with a book of Judges unfolding the next part of Revelation from from text attacks but you're not saying that's the only way no no yeah that's not sound do something on the right you have to be deep reach excellent sermons topical that's right sure topical series and and and so but they're expositions but they're exposition I think a lot of times we we kind of posit exposition verses topical sure I don't know what that is that and there are places in the life of a congregation we're going topical is precisely the right thing to do should a shepherd the congregation well but even so I'm not at liberty to stand up and talk about a topic divorce from the tech now right right so I and in that sense even what I say needs to be governed by the text you know not just I'm not I'm not using the Bible for fodder right you know I'm not using it for kindling from my own thoughts I'm actually trying to bring my thoughts under the pattern of sound words you know under the word scripture under the life Scripture and preached there cuz my people don't need to know what pastor Teague things they actually know what God that's right yeah and I'm glad you said I'm glad you mention that because what happens today's that's exposition is it's it's contrasted with topical preaching right right and you can preach a good topical exposition you know you know so let me ask you this Tony um help a guy out he wants to do exposition right he wants to be faithful to the text how would you counsel him I mean in terms of his study the kind of study he should be doing the kind of protease should take to preparation yeah you know yeah Wow how much time we get um a few minutes get off my board primarily if he doesn't believe that he has been doing it and he is sincere about wanting to do it first thing he needs to do he's need to go listen to some good preaching I remember growing up and playing sports and playing basketball and football and my coach would always tell me son if you want to get good go watch somebody who is good right do you want to become a better good basketball player watch basketball and so if he's sincere about that the first thing I would do is just encourage him to go and listen the guys who are faithfully doing expositional preaching then once you get a sense and you contrast that with what you've been doing I think you'll get a sense okay I can see where I am I'm lacking them where my shortcomings are and then I think it's just appropriate to now just to get some good helps you know whether it means where there's books or other guys some training but the first thing I would just come somebody just go listen yeah listen some good preaching who would you send him to how 17 you look to me or to BD ah see that was my next - I know oh you know right I'm beat um man if there's any number of guys that town because we've heard recommendations yeah all the time yeah of yeah and even with recognitions we hear you run to that person and and what we find is what you described a few moments ago you know a five or ten minute getting up what the text says not catching with the text means and then taking off you know so and usually the victim of that is Jesus sure usually what happens is all the airtime is given to something else and and Jesus becomes circumstantial or gets tacked on in some way yeah where what I would understand if you're actually doing exposition and what Jesus would teach in terms of exposition Luke 24 is that all the scriptures about me so if I've got 45 minutes in front of my people and they're only getting four or five minutes of Jesus and I hear a lot of preaching at 45 minutes where they're not getting that much Jesus even though his name is mentioned even though his name is mentioned that's not exposition it's not the best kind of exposition and I hear a lot of Jewish sermons and Christian churches you know I hear a lot of exhortation a lot of moralism again true stuff being said right but not gospel not Christ not the person and work of our Lord not as you agree what goes within that you can't preach a biblical Christian sermon without mentioning Jesus mmm what does that even mean yeah we have a bunch of Christian sermon and not many it can't it can't be Christians him he proclaimed yeah you oppose any proclaim we decided no nothing else but Jesus Christ is crucified what false ad Galatians I pluck hearted Jesus crucified before you and if if we're not doing that something's amiss I'm sure something's amiss either because one of the things I would want to say in your questioning I was Tony that new guy who wants to expose writer would you send them I agree listen to you know watch film we don't study enough family okay listen to guys who get well the other thing I would say is read and reread and reread and reread your Bible yeah because as I listen I feel like I can I can listen to a guy and discern whether or not they've reread that text and when I say rewrite so so sermon prep for me and it's just not to suggest anybody to do what I do but I'm depending on the size of the text and I'm preaching my first three hours is just rereading the text you know just reading and rereading and noting and observing the tax reading and different translations because if you read it if you read the Bible in a shallow way the preaching will be shouts right yeah you know and so I would say that God if just be a reader of the Bible and if you're a reader of the Bible it's going to shape your thinking it's right and that's going to shape your preaching so you mentioned you mentioned Goldsworthy yeah so you're kind of leaning the guide it's a good biblical theology yeah down order - yeah definitely is the center I think that's the next step and be conversation that we're having about biblical preaching because right now we're talking about how yeah but the you need to get to know what you know and I think that's where a lot of the bodies are buried - that it's not simply how you preach is what you preach and and then that gets to your theology you know because your theology is going to come through you're preaching sure it's going to die your preacher and so if your theology is not rooted in the scriptures and if you don't have a good understanding of systematics and biblical theology it's going to affect your preaching in a in negative way yeah that's good that's good that's good work because because part of what's showing through in your preaching is not just your theology sure but also and this and this is another argument for exposition also is what's showing through your preaching is whether or not you're confident in the scripture that is the scripture that does the work right and and a temptation in african-american church in particular we love oration and we love eloquence it's an oral culture and so if we're not careful we become we can become a kind of sophist that Paul is talking about in the early chapters of first Corinthians where we sound sweeter and we saying nothing and the temptation to the preacher right and I notice in my own heart is to want to be well thought of as a preacher and and to want to preach a good sermon and there's this sneaky little thing in my heart that wants just a little bit of applause and you know God I'm gonna give you the glory but I'm going I'm going Nussle up real close to it first you know and an exposition sometimes forces the preacher to pull back the personality and the pull back all the other kinds of things that we could do in our giftedness and let the text shine because we're confident that is the word that does the word not our giftedness and and not our skill now that's huge that's usually because because we've been raised in a tradition where your giftedness it's it's on par with the depths of Scripture yeah and I've been thinking for a long time if you handle the text correctly right it's going to carry the freight of everything else that you're that your giftedness and your oration is going to bring that's right it's gonna make you say you know what this is about Christ and this is about you know making much of God and when folks are left with that man they don't get him about you know you know your ability to I love when Paul says Paul says hand oh you want to come to that salvation Paul Paul's I ask you before we go you know right now one of things appall says it churches is he wants their faith to rest on the power of God that's right and I want the people's faith to rest on the power of God in the word not on my eloquence or mice die right that's right I'm and and I think that's the priority the scripture so when I think of 1st Corinthians chapter 14 and Paul says the Spirit of the Prophet is subject to the Prophet sure and he gives those instructions therefore prophecy it's striking to me that the Apostle Paul is saying God the Holy Spirit would be doing something special then giving gifts and using gifts and revealing stuff and the Prophet has a responsibility to sit out write to pull it back to stop you know if he's going to obey Paul's instructions and and Paul comes down near the end of that chapter and he says something is the Word of God only come to you and he says let those who think they're prophets acknowledge that what I'm writing is the Word of God so even before the Canon is finished in a time where there are New Testament prophets speaking the Word of God Paul says actually this thing I'm writing is what has the rain is what has to come through and and I think that ought to be reflected in our and our approach to preaching that our confidence is in God's Word and and the preacher is under it and they've happily so so that the people's faith rest on God's power and not on our eloquence then you're almost answering my next question I'm only asking it because it's it's it's being kicked around a lot you know the internet the blogosphere and that's what you guys has take on it though I know what your take is but I want the front porch folks to hear Johnny hear what they think about whooping always dogs up the who is God so the celebrations what is called you know in last 20 years I think they pick up on calling a celebration and stone the hoop which normally comes at the end or close to the end of the message yeah what do you think about that that very very traditional thing yeah you hoop Carter in the shower home to do a shower oh wow thank we you a yoga what about a teaspoon nah nah we don't who know T how about first map as a grande que me get you a blonde no now here's what I want to say really quickly after that okay is that doesn't mean that that exposition is emotionless I think it ought to be intense we're talking about the weightiest matters in the universe sure right now so there ought to be intensity there ought to be in motion once again appropriate to the task up to the death right so so my concern about hooping is it isn't necessarily hooping as such my concern about hooping is is it consistent with the text is it revealing attacks so they're places in the scripture where it's a lot of places where it's completely appropriate to end on a celebratory note but you can do that in every text in Scripture you know if you don't have a minor key in preaching then you can't preach much of the songs you can't preach lamentations you're right you can't preach a lot of Revelation there's a whole lot of Bible you can't preach if you don't if you don't know how to bring a congregation down to a whisper and to speak with them so clearly and to leave them with a conscience bound by the terrors of the Lord that won't who if you hope that chances are you've got people celebrating when they should be in sackcloth and ashes so once again I think it's the text that drives I and and and if the whom and it's this would be my other critique of the hoop it's often times for guys preaching for 40 minutes you know oftentimes just 10 15 minutes in whoo right and I'm not getting Jesus and the last thing that the congregation is left with is not necessarily Jesus and it's completed work it it's that is that catharsis is that emotional release and the danger is is is when that release isn't really connected to the truth other tax and the work of Christ I got that in my opinions just not helpful yeah yeah you know we could go on and on and on I'm talking about biblical exposition experts no preaching yeah something that we all love to do but as they say the lights are on the poor and it's time for everybody to go home you know so you got to go home but you got off to forge so we are glad you all joined us and come and see us again on the front porch you

Channel: The Front Porch

Views: 39,017

Rating: 4.9299364 out of 5

Keywords: Expostitional Preaching, Tony Carter, Louis Love, Thabiti Anyabwile, The Front Porch, The Black Church, Heaven

Id: xpQkxOaDBKM

Length: 24min 4sec (1444 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 29 2014