Sam's Biblical Insight, Exploring the Word, Faith, Theology, Doctrine, and Christian Life in the Spirit

The true measure of preaching is not its form, but its fidelity to God’s Word and its dependence on God’s Spirit.

Note: In this post, “preaching” is used inclusively to mean both the sermon (content) and its delivery (proclamation).

Introduction

When it comes to preaching, two main approaches are often contrasted:

• Expository preaching — working through a passage verse by verse, explaining its meaning in context.
• Thematic (or topical) preaching — organizing a sermon around a central theme, drawing from one or more passages to illuminate it.

Most of Jesus’ and Paul’s teaching was primarily thematic, shaped by context, and often conveyed through narrative. While Romans 4 gives something close to an expository treatment of Genesis 15:6, other passages such as Luke 4 and Matthew 5 are better seen as textual proclamations or thematic expositions rather than verse-by-verse exposition in the modern sense.

So, should one method be exalted as superior, or claimed to be “more biblical”?

The Strengths and Limits of Expository Preaching

Expository preaching is often praised for:

1. Keeping the preacher tied to the text
2. Covering the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27).
3. Guarding against selective or hobbyhorse preaching.

These strengths are valuable. Yet expository preaching by itself does not ensure faithfulness to God’s Word. It can be distorted by misinterpretation, twisted by theological bias, or misused to serve either a façade of noble common good or personal agendas — resulting in eisegesis rather than exegesis. Even when a verse-by-verse sermon engages in an almost anatomical analysis of the text, it may still miss the Spirit’s intent — all the more if the passage is pressed into a human framework.

The Strengths and Limits of Thematic Preaching

Thematic preaching is not automatically unbiblical or inferior. When done with care and honesty, it can faithfully unpack God’s Word by bringing passages together to illuminate truth and make the sermon relevant to the audience. Jesus’ parables, Paul’s exhortation to love (1 Cor. 13), and the great salvation themes in Ephesians are clear examples of thematic proclamation.

The danger, however, lies in cherry-picking verses to prop up human ideas — as seen in prosperity preaching or moralistic sermons, sometimes even used to target individuals. Even when a thematic sermon draws from multiple passages to highlight a biblical truth, it may still miss the Spirit’s intent — all the more if the verses are lifted out of context to serve a human agenda, with Bible verses sprinkled in rather than allowing Scripture to speak for itself.

Historical Witness: Errors From Both Sides

History makes it plain that neither method of preaching guarantees faithfulness to Scripture. Both expository and thematic approaches, when bent to human agenda, have produced serious distortions of the truth. To give major historical examples:

Cessationism arose with the claim, particularly among some Reformed theologians — many of whom championed expository preaching — that spiritual gifts were only provisional and ended with the apostolic age. Preachers argued that the gifts ceased when “the perfect came,” interpreting this as the completion of Scripture. Yet even its proponents admit that Scripture itself never says so. At the same time, cessationists have often been uneasy with the Pentecostal phenomenon within the Roman Catholic Church. To acknowledge such manifestations as genuine would seem, to them, to legitimize Catholic orthodoxy — something they were unwilling to do. Moreover, among Reformed “elite” theologians, highly educated in their tradition, there has been discomfort with the prospect of being perceived as spiritually second-class compared to Pentecostal believers, particularly those from minority and lower-class communities where spectacular gifts such as tongues were more common. As one leading Cessationist candidly admitted in his publication, after many years of ministry without such manifestations: “Then am I a second-class Christian?” (my post ‘Unmasking Cessationism)

Augustinian-Calvinist reprobation went further, teaching that God unilaterally and irrevocably foreordained all things in eternity — including the eternal destiny of both the saved and the lost. In this view, the saved are “once saved, always saved,” while the lost never truly had a chance to respond to the gospel call. This imposes a deterministic system upon Scripture, rather than allowing the text to speak for itself.

Prosperity Gospel — On the thematic side, this particular brand of preaching originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the United States. First known as the “health and wealth” movement or the “name it and claim it” group, the Prosperity Gospel stands out as a glaring abuse. With promises such as, “Plant a $1,000 seed, and God will return it manifold,” it reduces the gospel to a financial transaction and exploits Scripture as a fundraising scheme. (Note: These so-called teachings, widely disseminated through various platforms, are extreme aberrations of genuine Pentecostal doctrine — and even more so of biblical truth. They may well be among those whom Jesus described as claiming to do great works in His name, only to hear His rebuke: “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23).)

Theodicy — This faulty line of teaching traces back to Augustine of Hippo in the 4th–5th centuries and was later coined as Théodicée by Gottfried Leibniz in 1710. Some theologians and preachers have claimed that God does not know the future — even suggesting He did not foresee the Fall. Such teaching diminishes Jehovah God, reducing Him to less than the eternal and infinite One in all His omni-attributes, and misrepresents Him as little more than a pagan deity. (My post: Theociy Unvailed)

In sum: As is common practice in the unrighteous world, the same set of data can be spun into interpretations and packaged attractively to serve self-interest — and sadly, the same happens in preaching.

These examples, drawn from both sides, underline a sobering truth: the safeguard for preaching is never the method itself, but humble submission to God’s Word and dependence on the Spirit.

The True Measure of Preaching

What matters most is not the format but being a person of integrity — firmly rooted in God’s Word, balanced in Scripture, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and marked by humble servanthood.

True preaching communicates honest exegesis, submits to God’s authority, depends on the Spirit’s illumination, and points people to Christ. In this way it fulfills Scripture’s purpose: “teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

Jesus warned against twisting God’s Word (Mark 7:13), prioritizing tradition over truth (Matthew 15:6–9), or diluting it with human precepts — the same tactic the serpent used in Eden (“Did God really say…?”). The safeguard is not the form of preaching but the preacher’s integrity, humility, and dependence on the Spirit.

As Paul reminds us, the gospel comes “not only in word, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 1:5). He would not boast of anything except what Christ accomplished through him (Romans 15:18–19), and he knew that “the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power” (1 Corinthians 4:20).

Conclusion

Expository preaching has undeniable strengths, but it is not the only biblical method. Thematic preaching, when rooted in faithful exegesis, is equally valid. Both can edify the church; both can also mislead if distorted, twisted, or misused to serve human agendas.

The true measure of preaching is not its form, but its fidelity to God’s Word and its dependence on God’s Spirit.

As Paul reminds us, the gospel comes “not only in word, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with great conviction” (1 Thessalonians 1:5). He would not presume to boast of anything except what Christ accomplished through him (Romans 15:18–19), for “we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). Truly, “the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power” (1 Corinthians 4:20).

And Jesus Himself promised: “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). Therefore, those who preach must not relax even the least of His commandments, but faithfully teach and obey them (Matthew 5:19). Anything less risks falling under His warning: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven… but the one who does the will of my Father” (Matthew 7:21).

Sola Scriptura! Solo Spiritu! Solo Christo!