Following Judah's Lion

All Preaching is Topical

There is from some corners a certain arrogance about the style of their preaching. Their assumption is that a verse by verse preaching style is not only desirable, it is superior. This would be true except for one very conspicuous truth. All preaching is topical. Let us deconstruct that straw man and see it for what it actually is, a self righteous attempt to attribute supremacy to preaching methodology. It cannot be ignored that most of the men who claim this about their preaching methodology abhor elevating methodology in almost every other arena of Christian communication. And as you will see, this claim is without merit and leads to hubris in the very thing about which we all should have humility, the preaching of God’s Word.

Many refer to this as “expository preaching” which means that they read a verse or a few connected verses and expound or expose their meaning. This style is very good and affords opportunities to preach and teach God’s Word many times going all the way through one particular book. I have preached many messages within the context of exposition. But that style neither guarantees accuracy nor affords methodological parameters that aid in revelatory precision. Methodological pragmatism has no bearing on truth and/or error, only the careful and prayerful study by the human conduit is a factor in how clear and accurate is the truth which is preached.

It is also quite evident that as we read and interpret verses expositorally, we many times bring all our doctrinal biases to bear and give them place within the style of verse by verse preaching. Listen to two men who have different theological views on a subject, and these two men are committed to expository preaching. Listen as they preach through a New Testament book, verse by verse, both claiming original language credentials, and both sincerely attempting to remain faithful to the original contextual meanings. Listen as these two men teach some very different views. I have heard that many, many times and so have you. My point being that expository, verse by verse preaching lends no more of a safeguard against error than does most others types of preaching including topical preaching.

Of course when arriving at truth from Scripture one must draw from the entirety of Scripture and indeed investigate context and background, but that carries with it a topical flavor as well. Systematic theology itself is a packaged and organized reference material that is designedly topical. So as I have suggested, the theology that one espouses usually rears its doctrinal head within the verses being preached expositorally.

Historically many anointed men of God preached from a topic and drew verses to that topic, which is what topical preaching actually is. Spurgeon, Whitefield, Edwards, Luther, Wesley, and most great preachers of the past used topical sermons to communicate God’s Word. I have a treasure trove of Spurgeon’s classical sermons based upon certain Scriptural topics. The cross, the resurrection, the incarnation, the Scriptures, and a hundred other topics are wonderfully and powerfully preached through the anointed lips of Charles Spurgeon. And using a Scriptural topic as your base does not handicap the preacher one bit as it pertains to preaching faithful truth.

The sum total is this: If you have an unscriptural view of some doctrine, you will find a way to see it taught even when teaching verse by verse. And when some preacher proudly proclaims his hermeneutical prowess based upon the construction of his sermon style he is not only being prideful, he is significantly exalting a methodology and thereby diminishing truth itself. The Holy Spirit is the revealer and guide to all truth, and He is well able to unfold God’s Word through many different methods.

But let us examine this verse by verse way of preaching that claims superiority over the topical methods. If you look closely you will see that every book in the New Testament contains many topics. Every chapter contains one or more topics, and every verse deals with at least one or more topics. The entire Bible is a collection of divine topics. And when a preacher opens his mouth to teach he is dealing with a topic. Even expository preachers have a three part series dealing with topics. Every sermon deals with a topic and topics, and even if you teach verse by verse through one book of Scripture you will undoubtedly speak about several topics. All preaching is topical.

But somehow a person leaves a topical church and joins an expositorial church and they believe they have had an epiphany. If indeed they are learning and exhibiting Christ more deeply and profoundly in this setting, there three plausible reasons.

1. Their former pastor wasn’t teaching the Word regardless of style.
2. The expository style helps them personally learn more effectively.
3. They’ve been told this style is what God wants.

Delivering God’s truth by preaching God’s Word can take several forms. Some teach whole books while others teach verse by verse while others teach Biblical topics. Jonah’s sermon to Nineveh certainly wasn’t a verse by verse message, and Peter and Stephen and even Paul did not just dissect one Old Testament verse after another. As a matter of fact, the sermons in Acts were basically overall narratives of God’s dealings with the saints of old and how it culminates with Christ. Paul’s letters to the churches were topical and doctrinal, not verse by verse Old Testament exegesis. The writer of Hebrews does quote certain Old Testament verses and expounds upon them, but it is all in a topical context. It is my favorite New Testament book.

So do not get enraptured with preachers that claim superior methodology in preaching, God has used all different approaches. The flesh of man is not satisfied with suggesting better truth or more anointing or even more accurate theology, our flesh will even stoop so low as to claim my style of music is better, my way of worship is better, and of course my preaching structure is better. And the word “better” is translated by some as “God approved”. That kind of self serving definition obfuscates the permeating attribute without which God will resist.

Humility. Simple, profound, and elusive humility.