Is It Wrong to Preach Topical Sermons?
There are many defenders of expository preaching that would be very critical of topical sermons. Some would say that it is never appropriate to preach topically.
I can understand the concern because there is a danger. The worry is that the pastor just preaches their opinion and then appends a few Bible passages to add authority. That sounds bad.
There are a few problems with this.
One is that there are plenty of opinions to be found in expository preaching. It sounds wonderful that people claim to only preach the text, but they preach their interpretation of the text and when it’s time for application, lots of opinion goes into how the Bible applies to our culture today.
I would also suggest that there are many expository sermons that are topical sermons in disguise. A passage is read as jumping off point and the sermon gets a life of its own. Even the great Charles Spurgeon does that. He was not near as expository as people claim.
Finally, a topical sermon does not have to begin with what the preacher predetermines the congregation needs to hear. A pastor can recognize that a congregation needs teaching on prayer and so they choose a passage from the Bible on prayer and they do their best to express the original intention of the author.
I know that it sounds very spiritual for preachers to preach verse-by-verse through a book of the Bible. I’m glad some pastors do that and I think that is helpful for some people’s discipleship.
However, there is nothing in the Scriptures that tells us that we have to systematically work our way through a book. In fact it does not give us a pattern for what every sermon should look like. This means we should be careful when judging how others preach.
I am not trying to stop people from either preaching or listening to expository sermons. Nor am I arguing that topical sermons are the “right” way. I am only suggesting that there is room for both.
