Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
Topical or Expository?
Are topical (where you take verses from all over the Bible) or expository (stay with one text) better? Here’s a story, probably a preacher’s-story, but still a good one:
1) “Judas hung himself”; 2) “Go and do likewise”; 3) “do what thou doest quickly”. The lead in is two friends talking about Bible study and one of them said she was guided by the Bible and her method was to just randomly open her Bible and blindly put her finger on the page and then she’d do whatever the passage said. She illustrated to her friend by opening her Bible to Matthew 27:5 by happenstance, and then Luke 10:37, and so on. Such is not only bad hermeneutics, it is dangerous.
However, Paul in Romans 3:10-18 beautifully strings together six different passages: Romans 3:10-18: “as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away; all alike have become useless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one (Psalm 14:1-3). Their throat is an open grave; they deceive with their tongues (Psalm 5:9). Vipers’ venom is under their lips (Psalm 140:3). Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness (Psalm 10:7). Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and wretchedness are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known (Isaiah 59:7-8). There is no fear of God before their eyes (Psalm 36:1)” (HCSB).
The truth is every book in the Bible is topical; and when studying verse by verse (exegetical) in order to form a coherent thought (expository), you are studying an inspired topical lesson.
The point is, neither expository nor topical are more scriptural than the other even though: 1) Some have said expository is the only way to preach scripturally; 2) Others almost exclusively preach topically, admitting they do not know how to preach expository sermons.
The same is true with our personal studies. Study verse by verse and whole books. Study topics. In both types, just make sure to retain the inspired meaning of the original author: understanding comes before application. Even then the Holy Spirit makes some connections we would never think of (Matthew 2:13; Hosea 11:1). Don’t get hung up on just one type, because even the Bible doesn’t do that.
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