The Christ-Centered Expositor: A Field Guide for Word-Driven Disciple Makers

by Tony Merida

Sometimes we hear well-meaning people try to explain the Bible this way. Such interpreters may tell us things like the wood of Noah’s ark symbolizes the wood of the cross. Or they may stretch a bit further and suggest that the wood of the ark was made of “gopher” wood, and that is supposed to remind us of the resurrection—since gophers live in the ground and Jesus came up out of the ground.

Prior to Jesus, the Scriptures had been progressively and consistently revealing the nature of the grace of God that would culminate in Jesus.

Not every verse in the Bible mentions Jesus, but every passage does reveal aspects of God’s character and care that relate to his saving work.

Finding that gospel truth is not only required so that we will get the right and full meaning of the text. Consider what happens if all we do is teach a passage’s moral instructions or doctrinal information. If that is all we do, then we are saying this passage is only about increasing the quality of our human performance or competence.

The other possible human response to a message that focuses entirely on increasing human performance or competence is despair. When we actually face the holiness that God requires in the context of our own human brokenness, we will inevitably despair that heaven will ever receive or bless us (Isa 6:5).

Paul would never want us to believe that the moral and doctrinal standards of Scripture don’t apply to our lives, but neither would he want anyone to teach that our path to God is made by the perfections of our obedience. Jesus makes our path to God.

So, when we are interpreting a text from the Old or New Testament, we need to do more than show the duty others should do or the doctrine they should know. We also need to explain how the Scriptures are pointing us to dependence on our Lord for the grace that makes us his own and enables us to do as he requires.

A healthy church is filled with healthy teaching.

while God appoints some men to the office of a pastor, every believer is called to teach in some capacity.

Of course, Peter is not saying that every believer has the “gift of prophecy” (1 Cor 12:10), but he does mean that every believer shares (in a general sense) the privilege and responsibility of Old Testament prophets.

While it is most certainly true that God has gifted some in the church with a unique ability to teach and preach (Rom 12:7; Eph 4:11; 1 Tim 3:1–7; Titus 1:5–9; Heb 13:7; 1 Pet 4:10–11), all believers share this responsibility in different ways.

others. If you are a disciple of Christ, then you should listen to sermons not merely as a “receiver” but as a “reproducer.” Listen to learn and apply the text to yourself first, but also listen to teach others (such as your friends, neighbors, small group, or family members).

much of great preaching and teaching rests on the individual’s personal life and with the sovereign Spirit of God.

1: Love for the Word of Christ and the Christ of the Word.

Let the Word drive you to the pulpit; do not let the pulpit (only) drive you to the Word.2

Beware of becoming “The Sermonator,” mechanically churning out sermons weekly but failing to meet with the risen Christ personally.

“I don’t think there is much you can do to become a preacher except know your Bible and be unbelievably excited about what’s there. And love people a lot.”3

2: Love People.

love. The goal is not only to get through a message but also to get through to the hearts of people.

3: Gifts.

4: Experience.

To grow as an expositor, you need to find ways to preach and teach a lot.

5: A Mentor.

6: Models.

7: Holiness and Prayer.

Faithful preachers are faithful prayers.

8: Instruction.

9: The Sovereign Spirit of God.

Preachers in the biblical period were characterized by two primary factors: calling and content.

Old Testament scholar C. Hassell Bullock commented, “We cannot ignore the basic fact that the prophets found their legitimacy and valid credentials first of all in Yahweh’s call.”8

True prophets preached God’s Word alone, and their message proved true in time (Deut 18:21–22).9

John Stott stated, “It is impressive that in all these New Testament metaphors the preacher is a servant under someone else’s authority, and the communicator of someone else’s word.”10

it! The frequently quoted remark allegedly uttered by Francis of Assisi, “Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words,” sounds good, but it is nonsense.

It is better to say, “Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary, use a microphone!”

So preach the Bible. When God’s Word is truly proclaimed, the voice of God is truly heard. Believe this, and go deliver it to your generation.

faithful preaching involves explaining what God has said in his Word, declaring what God has done in his Son, and applying this message to the hearts of people.

Expository proclamation requires you to keep your focus on the text. It means rooting your application in the text. Say what God has said, and declare what God has done.

Preach the Word, not your opinions and hobbyhorses, so that people put their faith in Christ, not in man’s wisdom.

The act of preaching involves three characteristics that are not always present in the act of teaching: exhortation, evangelism, and exultation.

True preaching is an act of worship on the part of the preacher and the receiver (e.g., Neh 8:1–8).

Not all teaching involves preaching, but all good preaching contains careful teaching.

“Preaching is the bringing of truth through personality.”17

Karl Barth stated, “Preaching must be the exposition of Holy Scripture. I have not to talk about Scripture but from it. I have not to say something, but merely repeat something.”19

John Stott went so far as to say that “all true Christian preaching is expository preaching.”23

Expository preaching as a sermon form means to preach “verse by verse” instead of preaching “verse with verse.”

Expository preaching as a sermon process means that exposition deals with the in-depth study of the text for the purpose of communicating the message the original author intended.

Expository preaching, when understood as the content of the message, means the essence of the sermon is biblical—regardless of the form or style of the message.

Expository preaching as a sermon style means that there is a certain way to deliver an expository sermon.

No one likes boring exposition that includes no application for real life, and no one likes cloned exposition—trying to imitate a certain preacher.

Haddon Robinson: “Expository preaching is the communication of a biblical concept, derived from and transmitted through the historical, grammatical, and literary study of a passage in its context, which the Holy Spirit first applies to the personality and experience of the preacher, then through the preacher, applies to the listeners.”26