The Downside Of Topical Preaching

Topical preaching is the most common approach to ministering God’s word. This means the speaker chooses a topic they want to preach on, and then they select scriptures that will be utilized to present their topic to their audience. In some churches, each sermon will be based on different, random topics, while some churches will do topical series, where several sermons will focus on a particular topic. But both of these methods utilize topical preaching, with the speaker choosing the topic they want to focus on.

Suppose a schoolteacher is given a quality textbook that they are expected to utilize to teach history to their students. But instead of utilizing the entire book, the teacher spends a lot of time teaching and re-teaching certain material from the book, while disregarding large portions of the book. Is it wise to leave it to the teacher’s discretion to pick and choose which aspects of history they prefer to teach? Would this be considered an effective and responsible way for children to acquire a well-rounded understanding of history?

It’s strange that we accept an approach to teaching God’s word, that we wouldn’t accept for teaching history to our children. And the Biblical education of believers is far more important than history lessons.

♦♦♦

Church leaders will defend topical preaching by saying that it allows them the flexibility to be led by God, so that they are able to preach the specific word that God has for their congregation at that moment. But in reality, this approach to preaching ends up being very subjective. Those who are preaching tend to gravitate to topics they like and feel comfortable preaching, while they tend to avoid topics they don’t feel proficient in, and especially topics that might make their audience feel uncomfortable. This results in much Biblical truth never being presented to the congregation, and people having a distorted view of the Lord and not understanding how to walk in his ways ¹.

While church leaders may declare that they highly esteem the word of God, topical preaching allows them to control what is presented as the word of God. While claiming that topical preaching allows them to receive a specific word from God, they seem to ignore the following word from God.

All* Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV).

*All is the Greek word pas, which means: each scripture, every scripture, any scripture, all scripture, the whole of scripture.

This verse is a powerful declaration about the amazing benefits of scripture! But we won’t see these results if we choose to utilize only a portion of the scriptures. These incredible results come from embracing all that the scriptures have to say.

But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all* the words of this Life. (Acts 5:19-20 ESV)

*All is the Greek word pas – each, every, any, all, the whole.

Talk about receiving a special message from God! The angel of the Lord told the apostles to speak all the words of this life.

But he [Jesus] answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every* word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4 ESV)

*Every is the Greek word pas – each, every, any, all, the whole.

When contending with the devil, Jesus quotes a specific word from God. And the scripture he quotes declares that man will live by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Notice the similarity of the phrase “comes from the mouth of God”, and the phrase “all scripture is breathed out by God”, that was quoted above.

♦♦♦

Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. (John 21:25 ESV).

Although we might view the Bible as quite extensive, this verse says there is no end to the books that could have been written. So, God was very purposeful in what he chose to include in the scriptures. He was very selective with the words he gave us, to communicate the truths he wants us to know. Think about that for a minute. What should our attitude be towards the scriptures that we have been given? How can we think that picking and choosing what we will focus on is a wise approach to learning the fullness of what God has chosen to communicate to us through His word?

Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? (Mark 12:24 ESV).

When correcting some people, Jesus not only tells them they are wrong, he also tells them why they are wrong. He says they are wrong because they don’t know the scriptures. There’s an old saying that goes, “You don’t know what you don’t know”. It’s a play on words that communicates a sobering truth. If we pick and choose which Biblical topics we want to focus on, and then sift through the Bible looking for scriptures to communicate those topics, we will end up with large gaps in our understanding of God. And we will think wrong, and act wrong about a lot of things, because we don’t know the scriptures. And we will be unaware of how much we don’t know.

I suspect that for many church leaders, most of their time spent in God’s word is when they are preparing a sermon. And with topical preaching, they have already chosen a subject, and they are selecting material to communicate that subject. This doesn’t constitute studying the scriptures, and this approach doesn’t lead to a growing understanding of the full message of God’s word. The big challenge is, will we use scriptures to say what we want to say, or will we tenaciously study the scriptures to see what God has to say?

Even if topical preaching is approached with integrity and a sincere desire to present a whole and balanced truth, it will still fall short. It’s unrealistic to think that by our own wisdom and planning we can consistently present the fullness of God’s word in a balanced manner.

♦♦♦

I’ve been using the word preaching, because that’s the terminology most people relate to when it comes to the ministry of God’s word. But when the Bible talks about the word being ministered to believers, it places far more emphasis on teaching. As quoted earlier, All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all* that I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:19-20 ESV)

*All is the Greek word pas – each, every, any, all, the whole

Just before ascending back to heaven, Jesus gave the church the assignment to make disciples, and he said this would be accomplished by teaching them all that he had commanded.

whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:19 ESV)

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another. (Colossians 3:16 ESV)

Believers need to be taught the word of God. They need to be educated in God’s ways. But in our Christian culture, preaching is usually more focused on inspiring people than it is on educating them. Paul, the apostle, was a master builder at laying the foundation of Jesus Christ ², and he said that even if he was unskilled in speaking, he was not so in knowledge ³. He wasn’t interested in trying to wow people with exhilarating sermons ⁴, but he was dedicated to imparting the knowledge of God.

Knowledge itself, does not automatically produce a genuine relationship with God. It’s possible to know about God, and not know God. But you can’t know God if you don’t know about God. Scripture places a high value on knowledge and understanding.

♦♦♦

When constructing the scriptures, God didn’t organize them according to topics. Instead, there are threads of truth that are woven together all through the scriptures, and these truths intermingle with one another according to God’s design. If we want to know the fullness of God’s truth, and to know it in a balanced way, we should simply study the scriptures as God choose to write the scriptures.

There’s probably no better approach to God’s word than teaching books of the Bible verse-by-verse. This requires us to study what is there, to study what is right in front of us, as God chose to present it. We must treat the scriptures with integrity, leaving out nothing, looking into everything, addressing all of it. This approach is far more objective than topical preaching. It allows all the diversity of God’s truths to be brought to light, forcing us to consider all of His ways, resulting in a more complete and balanced understanding of God. There are times when topical teaching is appropriate, but it should be the exception rather than the rule.

Not only does studying scripture verse-by-verse result in a broader revelation of God’s truth, it also brings balance to the truths being presented. In other words, in the Bible, God is communicating a lot of things, but what is He emphasizing? As you study verse-by-verse, you soon realize that certain things come up more often than others, and God’s priorities are revealed by what He talks about the most. You’ll also realize that what preachers talk about the most, doesn’t always line up with what God talks about the most.

♦♦♦

While I believe there is a Biblical case for verse-by-verse teaching, I don’t believe the Bible prescribes a specific way to go about this. Some will advocate starting in Genesis and teaching straight through to the end of Revelation. I really value the Old Testament and view it as the word of God just as much as the New Testament. However, the Old Testament makes up seventy-five percent of the Bible, and I don’t think it’s advantageous for born-again believers, learning to live in the new covenant, to spend seventy-five percent of our time in the Old Testament when we study God’s word. I know there are different views on this, but this is my opinion.

What I share next isn’t a formula, but just an example of how efficient verse-by-verse study can be. Suppose you studied the Gospel of John, then Acts, and then Romans, three sequential books. And you approached these books as mentioned before, leaving out nothing, looking into everything, addressing all of it. This would result in addressing every theme in the Bible, and major themes would be touched on multiple times. If this is done thoroughly and with integrity, it will lead to a full and balanced presentation of truth, eliminating any large gaps in our understanding.

Again, this is not a formula, just an example of how this can work.

♦♦♦

The method we utilize for approaching God’s word is very important, yet the attitude of our heart is far more important. The following is a rich passage that presents attitudes that are essential for discovering the knowledge of God.

My son, if you will receive my words And treasure my commandments within you, Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding; For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding; If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will discern the fear of the LORD And discover the knowledge of God. (Proverbs 2:1-5 NASB)

There is so much in this passage that stirs and challenges. Let’s look more closely at some of the key words and phrases.

• If – The passage ends with a wonderful promise, but first it declares several requirements.
• Attentive – Make your ear pay attention and listen!
• Incline – to turn, to turn aside. This is the opposite of being set in our beliefs. This indicates a hungry, humble heart that is open and willing to turn to a deeper, more complete understanding of God’s ways.
• Cry – to call loudly, to cry out. This is not a casual attitude. This communicates a sense of urgency.
• Lift your voice – This speaks of intense desire.
• Seek and Search – This indicates an investment of time, energy, and effort.
• Hidden treasures – Treasures are something of tremendous value. Hidden, indicates that the endless depths and riches of the knowledge of God are not seen by the casual observer.
• Discover – This is not a phase we go through as new believers. We are called to a life-long journey of discovery.

This passage describes an intense hunger and desire that is the driving motivation for discovering the knowledge of God. It also calls for a tenacious effort that brings about discovering the knowledge of God.

♦♦♦

Verse-by-verse teaching, versus topical preaching, is not just a matter of style. It’s not about people simply choosing different methods of ministering the word of God. This is about the tremendous power of God’s word and its ability to impact people’s lives and transform them for God’s purposes. How we approach God’s word will either hinder or release this power.

They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He [Jesus] was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us? (Luke 24:32 NASB)

If you found this article helpful you might enjoy reading the following article. https://testeverything.blog/2022/04/21/preaching-in-todays-church-vs-preaching-in-the-bible/

---

Thanks for reading! Comments and questions are welcome.

If you found this article beneficial, you can share it by using the buttons below.

To be notified when new articles are posted, check the appropriate box below.

Footnotes:

1. Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
2. 1 Corinthians 3:10-11 ESV According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
3. 2 Corinthians 11:6 ESV Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.
4. 1 Corinthians 2:4 NASB and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,