This article is a summary of the following episode: Christless “Expository” Preaching
For decades, expository preaching has been the standard many pastors have aimed to uphold. In many ways, that has been a good thing. It brought a renewed seriousness to the pulpit, a return to opening the Bible, and a focus on explaining what the text actually says. But we need to ask a deeper question: what makes preaching truly Christian?
If a sermon explains the text accurately yet never heralds Christ for sinners, it may be expository, but it is not biblical. The New Testament is clear. Preaching is meant to proclaim the person and work of Jesus Christ from all of Scripture. Anything less fails to fulfill what God intends for his Word.
What Preaching Really Is
The word “expository” means to explain or expound. That is a good and biblical aim. But explaining the Bible is not the same thing as preaching Christ. Teaching may focus on information, background, and context. Preaching is proclamation. It is the public heralding of Christ as Savior, Lord, and Redeemer.
When the church gathers on the Lord’s Day, we come to hear good news. We do not come to receive data or moral instructions. The church comes to hear Christ proclaimed from the whole of Scripture. The preacher’s task is not simply to describe the meaning of a passage, but to show how that passage reveals the person and work of Jesus.
The Problem with “Running Commentary” Sermons
Many sermons today sound more like lectures. The preacher walks through each verse, explaining words and grammar, but never lifting the listener’s eyes to Christ. It may sound reverent and serious, but it leaves the hearer without hope.
The apostles never preached that way. Every sermon recorded in the book of Acts—from Peter at Pentecost to Paul in Antioch—ends with Christ. Their exposition of Scripture always moves toward the Redeemer who fulfills it.
If our preaching does not reach that point, it stops short of the gospel. It may fill minds with facts but will leave hearts unchanged.
The Apostolic Pattern
Paul wrote, “We preach Christ crucified.” He did not say, “We preach Scripture explained.” He proclaimed Jesus from all of Scripture. In 1 Corinthians 2:2 he declared, “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
That same message runs throughout his letters. He tells the Colossians, “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”
Maturity does not come from biblical data alone. It comes from faith in Christ. And faith comes through hearing the message of Christ (Romans 10:17). The power of preaching lies not in eloquence or precision but in the Spirit working through the proclamation of the Savior.
The True Meaning of Exposition
When Jesus met the disciples on the road to Emmaus, he explained the Scriptures to them, beginning with Moses and the prophets. He showed them that everything written was about him. Their hearts burned within them as he opened the Scriptures. That is the model for every faithful expositor.
The greatest commentary on the Old Testament is not found in academic books. It is found in the New Testament, where Jesus and the apostles reveal how the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms point to the Redeemer.
Faithful exposition does not skip this. It embraces it. Every text finds its ultimate meaning in Christ: his person, his work, his grace, and his promises.
Why This Matters
A sermon that never reaches Christ is not just incomplete. It withholds life. The Word of God is meant to reveal the glory of the Son. Without him, Scripture becomes a closed book. The Pharisees searched the Scriptures, thinking they could find life in them, yet Jesus said they refused to come to him.
Preaching is not about mastering biblical details. It is about proclaiming the one who fulfills them. The preacher’s job is to lead weary sinners to rest in Christ, to hold out his sufficiency, his righteousness, his mercy, and his finished work.
All of Christ for All of Life
The Bible is not a collection of moral lessons. It is the story of redemption, beginning in Genesis and fulfilled in the person of Jesus. Every law, every promise, every sacrifice, and every shadow finds its end in him.
That is why the church gathers each week, to see Christ. When the Word is preached rightly, the people of God leave strengthened in faith, not because they learned new information, but because they beheld their Savior.
Christless exposition may sound faithful, but it leaves the soul hungry. True expository preaching feeds the flock with Christ himself, the one who loves sinners and gave himself for them.
