A Good Witness: How Expository Preaching Can Lead to Effective Evangelism

It was the 4^th of July weekend. James and Matthew were tasked by James’ grandfather with catching enough fish to feed the family and some neighbors. The boys had planned a two-day trip targeting catfish, crappie, and anything else that might take the bait. Unfortunately, on the first day of the trip, it rained. It was an early-season tropical storm. The second day, the road was flooded, leading to the lake. They only had one day to catch as many fish as they could. They planned that on the final day, they would fish from dawn to dusk. The only day that the boys were able to fish was met with frustration. They only caught five fish between the two of them. Considering neither of the boys was Jesus, they did not know how to get enough fish to feed their family. Sure, they could buy some from the local grocery store, but that would be expensive and still might not feed the whole family. James would call his grandfather with the bad news as the boys prepared to leave. His grandfather told James and Matthew to stop by the house on their way home, and they would figure something out. As the boys pulled into the driveway, James saw his grandfather standing beside two coolers full of fish. “Since I caught them, you clean them.” It was a fair deal. It turns out that James’ Grandfather knew about the boys' struggles. His friends were commercial fishermen willing to share some of their catch for the family gathering. These men were willing to share what was good so the family would be fed.

The goal of being a Christian is to worship God in spirit and truth as mandated by scripture. The mission is to go and make disciples. Their mission is to share what is good with the world so that the world can be fed. Should every sermon have an evangelistic tone or, at the very least, an evangelistic element? The answer is an emphatic yes. However, evangelism should never overshadow the truth of Scripture. Both are necessary to lead to changed lives and deeper relationships with Christ.

Any preacher's goal when crafting a sermon, whether topically or book-by-book, should be to expose the text appropriately. Many have argued that expository preaching lacks application. That's fair enough. But that does not mean that expository preaching should be ignored altogether. It just means every sermon needs a healthy dose of information and transformation. The church is for believers to gather together and worship God in spirit and truth. However, pastors need to be aware that someone who does not believe in Christ could be sitting in the pew within the walls of their church on any given Sunday. If a preacher only preaches information, the non-believer may not connect with the text. If a preacher only preaches transformation, the believer may not grow in their walk with Christ. “Jesus charges us to feed his sheep. As we do that, by God’s grace, Christians become more evangelistic, and they bring their non-Christian friends to church to hear the gospel.”[1] Growing closer to Christ and knowing his truths are essential to Christian health. By correctly preaching the text through expository sermons, Christians will be given the tools they need to go out and evangelize the world. After all, this good news was not meant to be kept to ourselves. The world needs to hear it.

[1] Mark Dever and Paul Alexander, How to Build a Healthy Church: A Practical Guide for Deliberate Leadership (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021), 123-124.