A Response to Ryan Denton's "Expository Preaching: The New Golden Calf"

This article is a response to Rev. Ryan Denton: “Expository Preaching, The New Golden Calf” posted on Reformation 21’s website on May 12, 2025.[1] This cannot be an exhaustive treatment of the topic but will simply engage with Rev. Denton’s article.

In the title of the article, Rev. Denton introduces the image of idolatry at Sinai, recorded by Moses in Exodus 32:4-8. From the exposition of this text, we understand that the Israelites were attempting to worship God by syncretistic means, mingling worshipping the Egyptian bull-god Apis, with that of Jehovah. He asserts that expository preaching is a new golden calf, or species of idolatry. For the eye-catching title of Rev. Denton’s article to obtain, he must demonstrate that his outlined method of preaching is the only acceptable, divinely commanded method.  

Our first difficulty is that our brother seeks to instruct ministers and members of the Church on preaching without turning to the Scriptures. As Presbyterians, upholding the Westminster Confession of Faith, we confess this truth: “But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the holy scripture.”[2] Preaching, an element of worship, is to be informed by Scripture. More is required than well-meaning assertions to press a law on the conscience of ministers. Our brother never holds up his preferences next to Scripture, the only rule of faith and obedience. Rev. Denton seems to prefer a Romantic strand of preaching,[3] emphasizing emotional appeals such as pleading or wooing as the sine qua non of lawful preaching (vs. golden calf preaching) apart from Scripture direction.

The second difficulty is the false dilemma asserted by our brother. He writes, “We have taught our men to expound the Word but not necessarily to preach it… not to apply it with urgency.” And again, “We need teaching, but teaching is not preaching. Preaching is heralding. Preaching is confronting. Preaching is pleading. Preaching is not the delivery of data, but a divine summons… It is preaching that aims not merely at the intellect, but at the heart.”

He assumes that exposition and preaching are distinct activities without providing proof. The Greek verb for expound, is ἐκτίθημι ektithēmi. Acts 28:23 correlates this word with other verbs:

And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.

In Paul’s ministry, exposition is not distinguished from testifying and persuading. Testifying is used of Peter’s preaching (Acts 2:40), alongside preaching by Philip (Acts 8:25), as a synonym in Peter’s sermon to Cornelius (Acts 10:42). Exposition is pastoral work. It is a virtual synonym in Scripture to persuasion, testifying, reasoning, opening, and alleging. When our brother writes, “Preaching is more than the delivery of biblical data,” he reveals a view of Scripture alien to our Reformed understanding. Speaking of mere “biblical data” and its delivery diminishes Scripture. Inspired history, prophetic pleading, correction, conviction and comfort, lofty doctrine, teaching, prayer, praise, and other forms of “biblical data” are inspired, filled with unction, and if expounded truly, able to make one wise unto salvation.

The third objection, another false dilemma, pits the intellect against the heart. Scripture reveals that the heart thinks, reasons, debates, recalls. The intellectual function of the heart is seen in Luke where it is turned by preaching (1:17), thinks (1:51, 9:47), lays up (1:66, 2:51), ponders (2:19), muses (3:15), is wounded and healed (4:18), reasons (2:35; 5:22), treasures (6:45), retains the word (8:12), a synonym of soul and mind (10:27), chooses (12:34), and dialogues internally (12:45). Scripturally, man is, in his heart, what he thinks.

Further, we disagree with the idea that it is anything other than the Word of God, administered by the Spirit of God, that “wounds, and heals.” The thought that the preacher effects this should be abhorrent to all. We decry emotional appeals lacking Scripture. The Lord condemns this lifeless communication, no matter how animated or urgent. “Fables” can be experientially communicated, but lifeless. Jesus declared that His words are spirit, and are life,[4] so deadness cannot be found where Scripture is truly exposited. We are not opposed to holy affections. However, they cannot lead—which brings mischief. They must follow the light given in the Word.

The fourth objection has to do with the case our brother makes for homiletics generally, advocating for what he calls experiential preaching over other forms that he calls “lecturing,” “teaching,” “exegesis.” He writes:

“The focus [of modern reformed preaching] is to convey information, parse Greek verbs, outline historical context, and deliver doctrinal precision. Again, none of these are bad. We need doctrinal clarity. We need rigorous exegesis… Paul did not charge Timothy to ‘exegete the Word,’ but rather to preach it. And there is a world of difference between the two.”

We believe that sound preaching is bringing out the text of Scripture in an understandable and applicatory way. Good preaching sounds like the Bible—the whole Bible, in its own proportion. To question “experiential preaching” is viewed as an act of impiety, since it touches the appeal to the affections primarily. But the heart is the intellect, and preaching is parallel in the New Testament to teaching. Some texts are evangelical. Some texts are theoretical, speaking of God’s attributes. Some texts are practical, working out our salvation. Some texts urge. Some texts inform. Some texts rebuke. Preaching MUST be shaped by the text, and in proportion to the whole. Paul told the Ephesian Elders that he was free from the blood of all men because he had not shunned to declare unto them “all the counsel of God,” citing Ezekiel 3:18-21, and 33:2-9.[5] We do well to follow his lead. By preaching this whole counsel of God, repentance, instruction in righteousness, theology proper, offers of Christ, the majesty of God, in other words, the whole catalog of Christian divinity will be taught to the saints, to their edification and salvation. Rev. Denton presses a model of preaching that aims disproportionately at the conversion of the lost, rather than the whole counsel of God, calling it “Puritan.” But Puritan sermons also soar in doctrinal precision, exacting direction for worship, instruction in obedience for all, teaching that good testimony before the world. The Puritans presented the whole counsel of God. We have learned precise doctrine, history, language by reading these sermons, as well as having been moved by the “affectional” content.

Preaching that regularly and primarily aims at conversion of the lost can perpetuate spiritual immaturity. What Christians need is to “quit themselves like men.”[6] Only then will we be armed with the biblical tools to stand against the society we face, and give answer for the hope that lies within us. It is the full-grown that have the spiritual discernment to say no the world. Some in the flock need milk, but many also need the “strong meat,” leaving the first principles, and going on to maturity.[7]

When our brother writes, “It’s indisputable that all good preaching is text-driven. But not all text-driven preaching is done in the same way. As important as the intellect is, it is not everything—it is not even the main thing when it comes to preaching the Word of God,” he betrays an improper anthropology. To say that the intellect isn’t “even the main thing” in preaching is not biblical, and a grievous  overstatement of his case. The Scriptures present the case differently, to sample only a few texts:

Colossians 3:9-10: Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.

 

2 Peter 1:3: According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.

No good divinity disparages the intellect in favor of the affection. Yes! Bring the affection, but not in the leading position—let her follow the understanding of truth. It is a sad and persistent case when error is “warmly held.”

Our fifth objection notices a veiled accusation against ministers characterized as mere expositors. We live in a critical age, even within the Church! This article brings up a painful part of our past as Presbyterians in America. He writes:

“Perhaps this is why experiential preaching is often neglected in modern pulpits. It is difficult. It requires more than mere study. It requires a deep and living relationship between God and the preacher, and likewise between preacher and his congregation. It is something that can’t be manufactured in the study.”

His implication is clear: Preachers who fail of our brother’s prescription have little relationship with God, and their congregations. Such language, and worse, was commonplace, in our history when men who labored in pulpits were called graceless and dead. Fondly remembered scenes of the open fields and town squares filled with hearers, excitable, “spiritually” agitated, swooning, moaning, and other physical manifestations make this a sensitive topic. Forgotten are Pastors who labored diligently among their flocks being dishonored as graceless for not sharing the style of the itinerant students, led by a sermon titled, “The Danger of an Unconverted Ministry” (1740). The author of that sermon soon regretted his excesses.[8] The carnage of the period is mentioned little. Division, rancor, accusation, shattering of confidence in the Lord’s appointed means of a settled clergy and its relation to its charge rocked the Presbyterian Church, leading to schism. Such memories, perhaps unintended, are raised by our brother’s comments. We ought not to traffic in doubt concerning our fellow ministers. The minister faithfully bringing the Word to his people in his expository style is doing the Lord’s work. Let us not cast doubt because his style is different. In our age of celebrity, let us not erode the confidence of another man’s flock in his work.[9] What men meant for good, the devil used to weaken the means of grace, the doctrines of the Reformed Confessions, the solid family and civil piety, and the ecclesiastical order that holds civilizations together.

Let us not take up such arms against our Lord’s Church and order, assisting the enemy of our souls who, as a roaring lion seeks to devour. If our brethren need help in their labors, let us come alongside them with counsel, and Scriptural remedy. There is too much church hopping, criticism, and division in the faithful Presbyterian Church. Let us quit our accusations of idolatry leveled against this model taught by the Head of the Church, and ask Him to send His Word, and heal us.[10]

Rev. Dr. Todd Ruddell (M.Div, Th.M, Th.D, Whitefield Theological Seminary) is founding pastor of Christ Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church (RPCGA) in Wylie, TX, and serves as Moderator of New Geneva Presbytery (RPCGA). Married since 1979 to his dear wife Joanna, the Lord has blessed them with 8 children and 33 grandchildren. When not tending to Church and family duties, the Ruddell’s enjoy gardening and raising chickens.

Rev. Adam Brink has been a minister of the gospel at Shenandoah Valley Reformed Presbyterian Church (RPCGA) since 2019, holds a Master of Divinity and is a doctoral student at the Whitefield Theological Seminary, and has worked on projects such as the translation of Johannes Piscator,Theodore Beza, and other Reformed divines from Latin, as well as participating in the paleographic production of Heinrich Bullinger’s Tract on Excommunication. He is a happily married father ofnine living on 15 acres in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.