A little while ago, I was in the process of preparing a message on Psalm 130:

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord… If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared."

Now, you know how it is when you see a text that goes right to the heart of the gospel—your mind races with ideas as to how you can apply it to the people. So I pulled together several pages of thoughts about the great forgiveness of God. I'm sure it would have been useful and, in fact, true. However, this first question challenged me: Does my sermon say what this text says? Psalm 130 says, "With you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared." After pondering the text on a deeper level, it occurred to me that if I had been writing this, I would never have written the last part of that verse. I would have maybe written: "With you there is forgiveness, so that you may be loved. But the text says "with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared." A kind of forgiveness that brings me into the fear of the Lord—that took me somewhere I would not otherwise have gone had I just preached my standard lot of thoughts on the subject of forgiveness.

Expository preaching will always take you further than topical preaching. Topical preaching can only take you where you have already gone with what you already know. Expository preaching stretches what you know and challenges what you think you know. It brings a certain freshness and depth. So we must ask the question again and again: "Does the sermon say what the text says?" Asking it will take us where we would not otherwise go because it will encourage us to follow where the Scriptures want go.

This excerpt was taken from PreachingToday Audio, Issue 290. To become a member of PreachingToday Audio, sign up today!

Colin Smith is pastor of Arlington Heights Evangelical Free Church, Arlington Heights, IL, and an editorial advisor to PreachingToday.com.