Surveying the Text

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.

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[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.