and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also(2 Timothy 2:2 – ESV)
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers…(James 3:1). Just because you have the ability to teach (impart and communicate information in an understandable way) does not mean you automatically have correct doctrine. You may know how to teach, but WHAT are you teaching? Just because you can teach in some certain areas doesn’t qualify you to teach the Bible. It certainly helps to be able to teach, but WHAT is taught is the primary necessity. A great communicator of heresy is still deadly, and even more so than someone who teaches falsity but isn’t captivating, memorable, or engaging.
This is why one of the primary skills a good biblical teacher needs is the ability to discern. If that is a problem, then you have a problem. Perhaps you ought to teach, once you have gone back and learned the curriculum. You shouldn’t be looking to teach new things, and some of the old things you know so well and have taught so long are not truth. You may know how to guide studies but you might lead down the wrong path.
It is not simply that you can teach, and how well you teach, it is about what you teach. For the most part, you only teach what you know. You impart knowledge and help discipline to develop skill and wisdom, but if you are going in the wrong direction you do more harm than good. If you want to teach, you had better learn.
7 comments:
Some teachers today seem as though they are lacking a healthy fear of God. I know that when I speak publicly or post on my blog I fear that I may be speaking/writing in error or misunderstanding of the Word. That is why it is so important to have someone that is "above" you hold you accountable to following the Word. It is easy for one to be deceived but harder for two to fall in the same deceit. Not that it cannot happen but it is less likely.
God Bless You J.D.
one of the primary skills a good biblical teacher needs is the ability to discern.
you only teach what you know
Unfortunately many teachers think they know the bible when they don't and are discerning when they're not.
Nice new avatar, honey...right on Dan, in a multitude of counselors there is safety, but of course if we never hear the other sides, read intelligent and biblical counterpoints, or pay attention to what the possible objections are then we are ripe for deception as well as not being able to answer in a way that shows we understand the other viewpoints...
1 Thessalonians 5:21 tells me that if something cannot stand scrutiny it cannot stand...
2 Peter 3:16 - ...the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.
Thank you baby. :)
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers…(James 3:1)...or sisters...
Or former school teachers, necessarily...it could help for sure, but it doesn't mean you must...
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