Pulpit Magazine

(Review by Nathan Williams)

Toward An Exegetical Theology is a foundational book for understanding how to practice expositional preaching. (Click here to order a copy of this resource from Grace Books International.)

The word foundational is appropriate for a couple of reasons. As this book approaches its 30th anniversary, it still speaks to the greatest need of the Church today, sound expository preaching. Despite being over a quarter century old it still reads in a fresh manner that could lead one to believe it was written in the past year.

Another reason to think of this book as foundational is that many men who have been trained to preach expositionally have been influenced by the method laid out in Toward An Exegetical Theology, whether they realize it or not. This book provides the starting point for the discussion concerning methods of exegesis.

An abundance of ideas have been suggested as to what the basic problem is in evangelicalism today. Kaiser has surveyed the landscape for many years and he expressed his concern this way: “I have been aware for some time now of a gap that has existed in academic preparation for the ministry. It is the gap that exists between the study of the Biblical text (most frequently in the original languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek) and the actual delivery of messages to God’s people.” (p. 8 ) It is this gap which Kaiser attempts to fill in this book. When it comes to preaching today, the struggle for many is bridging the gap between the study of what the text says and how to express that in a way in which contemporary people will understand and be able to apply.

Kaiser divides Toward An Exegetical Theology into four parts. He begins by explaining the current crises in exegetical theology and hits on much of what I have already explained. In the first chapter he explains, “Nowhere in the total curriculum of theological studies has the student been more deserted and left to his own devices than in bridging the yawning chasm between understanding the content of Scripture as it was given in the past and proclaiming it with such relevance in the present as to produce faith, life, and bona fide works.” (p. 18) This first section also includes a discussion of the definition and history of exegesis.

In the second section of the book, Kaiser goes into the nuts and bolts of the proper method for determining the meaning of the passage and then expressing that meaning to today’s audience. This portion includes chapters discussing contextual analysis, syntactical analysis, theological analysis and homiletical analysis among others. This segment provides incredible insight into the actual process of understanding the text and relating it to our current lives.

In most of the chapters in this section, Kaiser goes into such detail that he presents a list of steps to developing each aspect of the message. He points out what to look for, what to do, what to think about, and how to organize. He also provides biblical examples of what he believes should take place in each chapter.

Moving on from the details of how to develop a sermon from the study of the text, Kaiser gives three chapters dealing with special issues related to expository preaching. These three chapters include three of the most difficult and troublesome areas of Scripture or the exegete; prophecy, narrative, and poetry. Since comparatively little of Scripture consists of didactic passages, these chapters should be read and re-read to help one grasp the authorial intent of difficult passages of narrative, poetry and prophecy.

In the final section of the book, Kaiser provides one chapter explaining the connection between the exegete and the power of God.

Toward An Exegetical Theology will continue to provide a firm foundation for those aspiring to rightly divide the Word of Truth and deliver powerful messages to contemporary people. At this point it will be helpful to provide quotations from the book to encourage and challenge.

“Should the ministry of the pulpit fail, one might just as well conclude that all the supporting ministries of Christian education, counseling, community involvement, yes, even missionary and society outreach, will likewise soon dwindle, of not collapse.” (p. 8 )

“A gap of crisis proportions exists between the steps generally outlined in most seminary or Biblical training classes in exegesis and the hard realities most pastors face every week as they prepare their sermons.” (p. 18)

“Those sermons whose alleged strength is that they speak to contemporary issues, needs, and aspirations often exhibit the weakness of a subjective approach.” (p. 19)

“The Scripture cannot be understood theologically, until it is understood grammatically.” (p. 27)

“For large segments of the christian Church is is a truism to say that biblical exposition has become a lost art in contemporary preaching.” (p. 37)

“The sole object of the expositor is to explain as clearly as possible what the writer meant when he wrote the text under examination.” (p. 45)

“Accordingly, hermeneutics may be regarded as the theory that guides exegesis; exegesis may be understood in this work to be the practice of and the set of procedures for discovering the author’s intended meaning.” (p. 47)

“To begin with, let it be stated as a sort of first principle that preparation for preaching is always a movement which must begin with the text of Scripture and have as its goal the proclamation of that Word in such a way that it can be heard with all its poignancy and relevancy to the modern situation without dismissing one iota of its original normativeness.” (p. 48)

“But we contend that the original languages serve best when we become aware of the syntax and grammar involved in phrases, clauses, and sentences. The bonding material between these otherwise isolated words or groups of words is what all the sweat and tears are about in language study.” (p. 49)

“The aim of the grammatico-historical method is to determine the sense required by the laws of grammar and the facts of history.” (p. 87)

“In other words, moderns have shifted their interest in the hermeneutical quest to the other end of the interpretive spectrum. They are more interested in ‘what the text,’ as they say. ‘means to me-what I can get out of it.’”(p. 89)

“The difficulty this time is not in understanding what is said, but in bridging the gap from the ‘then’ to the ‘now’ of contemporary audiences.’” (p. 92)

“Words, then, are the basic blocks for building meaning. We repeat, they must not be torn from their contexts.” (p. 129)

“Exegesis is never an end in itself. Its purposes are never fully realized until it begins to take into account the problems of transferring what has been learned from the text over to the waiting Church.” (p. 149)

“When truth is not internalized within the hearers, but is left as just so many notions floating around outside their experience, the exegete is in effect a mere diletante-a trifler in the art of interpretation.” (p. 151)

“The whole objective of what we are here calling ‘textual expository preaching’ is to let the Scriptures have the major, if not the only, role in determining the shape, logic, and development of our message.” (p. 160)

“Good preaching has a twofold job: it must teach the content of truth as set forth in each passage and it must also suggest a reproducible method of Bible study.” (p. 205)

“To find God’s meanings and emphases, we must discover what the author’s were-first in the book as a whole and then in the particular section and passage we wish to use for our messages.” (p. 210)

“From the beginning of the sermon to its end, the all-engrossing force of the text and the God who speaks through that text must dominate our whole being. With the burning power of that truth on our heart and lips, every thought, emotion, and act of the will must be so captured by that truth that is springs forth with excitement, joy, sincerity, and reality as an evident token that God’s Spirit is in that word.” (p. 239)

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