SURVEYING THE TEXT
The request was made for two pamphlet-sized
articles, one on preaching with depth, and another on expositional
preaching. In my opinion, they are
inseparable. It is not the purpose of
this brief paper to try and make a case for why Expository Preaching should be
done, nor to spend much time addressing what it is and is not. That has been ably handled by others.[1] The assignment was to speak on how to go
about doing it. However, it is usually advisable to define
one’s terms, so the simple definition of exposition
as “a setting forth of meaning or intent” will be sufficient.
THE TEXT MUST SPEAK
Principally, anyone that would become an
expositor of the Bible must let the text speak for itself. That is really the whole of the matter. Everything from here on is aimed at achieving
that goal. When constructing a topical
message, the point is already decided at the outset, and Scriptures (as well as
quotations, anecdotes, and whatever else may help) are compiled to lend support
to whatever the preacher is attempting to affirm in the message. This works reasonably well with doctrinal
subjects; because in such cases, the subject is (unless the topic is a heresy)
at least something the Bible actually addresses.
But outside of that, there is always the
danger of committing the sin of eisegesis[2],
which is far too common. It is bad
enough to import, but is also lazy, to teach Biblical truth from a passage that
does not actually address that truth. It
leaves the layperson very confused as to where and how to locate Biblical
truth. However, that is not nearly as
reckless and irresponsible as to teach one’s own opinions and other man-made
traditions from Biblical passages that really have nothing to do with
them. Sound and faithful Biblical
Exposition requires setting forth the
meaning and intent of a given Biblical passage, nothing more, or less.
AND YOUR POINT WAS?
Expository preaching is
sometimes derided as boring. If the
reason for that accusation is the equation of exposition with drawn-out and
tedious word studies (in Greek, Hebrew, or English), or
a disjointed series of remarks pointing out all the subjects that suggest
themselves in a chosen passage, it is understandable. Neither of those constitute a sermon,
expository or otherwise. They are at
best, a running commentary, at worst, rambling.
As is the case with any
sermon, an expository sermon has to have a topic. Furthermore, that topic must be derived from
the text. That, in turn necessitates a
full understanding of the text, not only
in its own immediate context, but also in the context of the canonical Book in
which it is found, the purpose and design of that book, and the entirety of the
Biblical canon. It must also be understood
with regard to such details as literary form (Is this prophecy, or poetry?),
the differences between descriptive and prescriptive, or indicative and
imperative language, and of greatest importance; Is this law, or is it
gospel?
DETERMINING THE TOPIC
So then, how is a topic
to be selected? I dislike going into the
first person, but it will be necessary at this point. I was once asked by someone desiring to learn
how to better handle the Word of God, how I came at a text of Scripture, and
how learned to approach a text in that way.
After giving it some thought, what I realized was a bit of a surprise,
but also quite sensible. My response
was, “I always find North first.”
Obviously, that needs some explanation.
My marketable skill is Land Surveying,
and it is to surveying that I owe my approach.
I never sought licensure, but I
spent about 6 full years in the field and eventually became a “Party Chief”;
that is, the one responsible for seeing to it that the right data was being
gathered, accurately recorded in an understandable format, and brought back to
the office. All the design and layout
work that was to follow, which in turn was to be followed by development and
construction, would be done on the assumption that the data collected in the
field was both properly recorded and correctly understood by the people to whom
it was delivered.
Good surveyors (and I had the privilege
of working with some of the best) are very aware of the importance of
precision. They have a discernible attitude
of precision, and take great personal satisfaction at the level of accuracy
they can achieve when measuring land and locating physical structures, as well
as in “staking out” new boundaries, new roads, or the foundations of new
buildings. The good ones are much more
careful and meticulous with their medium of land than many would-be preachers
are with their medium of the Divinely spoken Word.
This attitude was so deeply drilled into
me during those years in the field that it affects, to this day, the way I
approach almost any task. Sermon
preparation has not been an exception.
Indeed, I believe that my years as a surveyor substantially affected my
approach to preaching the Bible, both in the gathering of the data and in the
presentation of it. If I have anything original
to contribute to the subject of expository preaching, it is because of the way
that surveying shaped my approach to sermon making.
In surveying, there is no importing into
the parcel under consideration anything that is not actually there. There can only be the careful gathering of
the data concerning what is there. There
is no ignoring of any significant feature.
It all must be taken into account.
How can we do less with the Holy Scriptures? Obviously, those reading this paper cannot
just get themselves a job on a survey crew and do that for several years in
order to develop this attitude. But
through my experience, it became so natural to me that I cannot easily think
another way. The best I can do in this little
discussion is to make a couple of observations that I hope will be of some
value to others.
FINDING NORTH
The most
important task is to always establish “North” before proceeding. When surveyors get out of the truck, the
first question on their mind is “Which way is North?” The Bible expositor should have a similar
commitment to getting properly oriented to his present location in the Word of
God. No exact metaphorical meaning pertaining
to Bible interpretation will be given for “North” in this paper. It may mean a sound Biblical Theology, a
sub-heading thereof, the intent of the author, the literary style employed in
the passage, or something else. In some
way, they all apply at all times. Think of North as that fixed and unchanging thing; that thing that must always be acknowledged in order to
properly assess and present the data.
In surveying, unless everything is
located, and recorded with proper reference to known locations and directions, nothing is of any real value. It will not do to draw diagrams on paper of
trees, roads, manholes, fences and other features without showing their
relationship to one another. Those same
things all exist in many different places, but they exist in that particular place in particular
relationship to one another. It is
the surveyor’s job to properly record that information. To switch metaphors for a moment, every
musical composition is made up of twelve notes.
But after hundreds of thousands of musical compositions, the
possibilities of arrangement of those notes is still not exhausted.
Likewise, in Scripture one can find
doctrines, laws, practical instruction, principles, blessings, cursings, examples
of obedience, rebellion and much more.
But they do not appear the same way everywhere. Just as it would not do for me to stride into
the office and say – “Over there where you sent me today, there’s a road out
front, a fence around most of the property, a couple of buildings, lots of
trees, and some utility services”, it also will not do in a sermon to just
remark on the occurrence of a doctrine or a blessing in a passage. It is there for a reason, in concert with
everything else that surrounds it. All
that is there serves a purpose in that place, or it would not be there. It may not be necessary to talk about it
much, but you had better understand what it is doing there; and in most cases,
it should be pointed out to those listening.
Establishing
North on the ground can be done in a number of ways. Of course, the compass comes to mind
immediately. Sometimes just knowing
which way the streets run, or recognizing the position of the sun in the sky
will suffice. Orienting to a map of some
kind is also a commonly used means. But
that map is only valuable if the cartographer understood the direction of North. There were many companies whose work we would
never consult. They had proven to be
unreliable too many times to risk it. There
are others that we would generally trust until we found reason not to. The same can be said for commentators and
theologians.
Sometimes
“finding North”, requires more effort.
At times, a survey crew may spend days establishing what is called
“control”. That is a set of “points”
with known coordinates, from which everything else could be “tied-down”. There is no allowance for skipping this step
simply because it may be difficult in a particular situation. A robust theology, such as expressed in a
time-tested confession of faith can be very helpful here.
Don’t
ever simply assume you know where you are, or where North is. You may know, but the gravity of task demands
the humility to make certain. Check to
be sure that what you assume is really so.
Surveyors eventually become conditioned to always be aware of which
direction they are facing. They don’t
have to remind themselves to do it. It
becomes second-nature to them. A good surveyor
will always begin by determining exactly where he is at the time, by degrees,
minutes, and seconds, and by 100ths of a linear foot. The expositor of the Bible should do no less.
LOOSE ENDS
After “North”
is determined, the surveyors objective is to locate correctly all known
features, such as: the many things that can indicate a property line, a
recognized boundary, topographical features.
These and much more are evaluated and recorded.
Furthermore,
it is essential that everything be recorded in such a way that it can be easily
understood by the person to whom it is delivered. Every preacher should be able to relate to
that.
There are more surveying practices that
would serve as metaphors, but there is no reason to twist the analogy that many
times. To do so would be committing the
very sort of allegorizing than we are trying to correct. Those I employed are in an attempt to
explain the sort of approach and set of mind that is needed in order to
properly and faithfully size up a text.
And though this has more to do with exegesis than exposition, without
sound exegesis, there is nothing to properly exposit. All that can be done without it is ranting
and nagging about things imported, without Biblical warrant, into the text by
the preacher.
PRESENTING THE DATA
During your data-gathering, some subject
contained in the text will appear dominant above the others. There will be some fixed point of reference
to which everything else is related. This
will likely provide you with a topic worthy of a sermon. There may be more than one, but one will
have to do, and the others set aside for another time. Do this, or your message will lack focus, and
something other than a sermon will be the result.
Once you have established, from the
text, what it is that God has said, and that you are now endeavoring to press
home, use every point given in the text
to build your argument. Tie it all in
to one or more of your control points. You
may need to rearrange the order differently than the text presents them –
especially in narrative portions of the Bible.
But unless re-arrangement is
obviously called for, it is best to follow the order given. Stay with the order of the text because the
reason for the order, while not initially noticeable, may become more clear as
you proceed to put down your thoughts.
Concerning outlining, it is advisable to
lay out the headings you want to cover and organize your thoughts beneath
them. This is another way of “tying in”
to the existing control. When delivering the message, try to have one
thought flow as naturally into the next as possible. Know that a truly “good outline” is not one
that has good symmetry or allows for ranting on pet peeves, but one that actually headlines faithfully the
content of the text. If a sermon
can be alliterated, or otherwise cleverly constructed for rhyme, or rhythm, the
better it will be. But the outline must
always serve the text, not the inverse, or something other than exposition, something
more akin to eisegesis, will be happening.
The Word of God demands a more
respectful treatment than sloppy analysis, careless eisegesis and disorganized
presentation, and the people of God deserve a more faithful delivery of the
Bread of Life. May God enable you to
adopt diligent methods of Bible study and always approach His Word with
reverence and an attitude of precision that will not be satisfied with anything
less than getting it right.
[1]
See Samuel P. Logan’s The Preacher and
Preaching,
[2]
Eisegesis is certainly sinful.
The word means reading into the text what is not there
- and interpreting everything based upon those assumptions. That is to mishandle and twist the Scriptures
to teach the opinions of man – one’s self, or some other, likely an admired
teacher or leader within a sect or
movement.
