Is it possible to preach an expository topical sermon? Of course. But it does take a lot of work. If you have three points in your topical sermon you have to do at least three times the exegesis required to preach a single biblical passage. It gets worse. Topical preachers typically decide what they want to say and then go looking for passages that say what they want to say. But this process may force you to exegete a number of passages before you find one in which the original author intended to say what you want to say. As many of my students can tell you, finding biblical passages in which the authorial intent meshes with the preacher’s intent is not easy. And when time is short it is very tempting to preach in God’s name what God did not say. When I preach through books of the Bible, I only have to exegete one passage at a time. As I work my way through a book of the Bible, it is far easier to understand a text in its context. The exegesis I do for one week’s sermon always contributes to next week’s message.

Preaching consistently through a book of the Bible is an effective use of my time. But I choose to preach through books of the Bible not just because exegetical topical preaching is so hard. It also makes good pastoral and theological sense to me. I have found that preaching through the scriptures produces:

Balanced preaching

God often presents His truths in tension. Prayer vs. God’s sovereignty. Election vs. free will. Suffering vs. blessing. One of the benefits of preaching through the Bible is that it makes it harder for me to “shave off ” unpalatable passages. I cannot skip over sections that do not fit my personality or doctrinal system. God’s canon becomes my canon. Preaching through books of the Bible helps me preserve the doctrinal tensions that God intentionally placed in His Word. 

Creative preaching

Cooking the same kind of food every day will bore the people who sit around your dinner table. Preaching the same kind of sermons every week will have a similar effect. A commitment to preach the various books of the Bible, however, will force you to wrestle with ideas wrapped in a smorgasbord of genres.You cannot preach a psalm the same as you would preach the book of Revelation. Or Proverbs like Romans 5. The different forms of literature in the Bible demand different forms of sermons. The very nature of God’s inspired word forces preachers out of their topical comfort zones and demands inspired creativity in the pulpit.

Nourishing preaching

How do you know if your preaching is providing your congregants with the spiritual nutrients they need for healthy growth? If “all Scripture is God-breathed and . . . useful . . . so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17), then my congregation needs all of Scripture in order to be thoroughly equipped. If they don’t get all of Scripture, they will not be getting what they need to grow. Since the books of the Bible are enriched with all the nutrients necessary for spiritual maturity, I have decided to stick with God’s menu plan — to say what God said. Paul said to the church he pastored in Ephesus that he was “innocent of the blood of all men (because he had) not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God” (Acts 20:26-27).Whatever form of preaching we may prefer, let’s make sure we can say the same thing. ❖