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Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11, NLT).
Making Doctrine Simple
There is a distinct spiritual gift of teaching. In the original Greek text of the New Testament, this function is called didaskalia — referring to both the act of instruction and the solid structural content of what is taught. The goal of this gift is straightforward: a teacher takes complicated theological matters and makes them understandable.
I have the gift of teaching, and several times, I’ve been told, “Wow, you make doctrine seem childish.”
HHHHMMMHHM … I’m not sure that was a compliment.
But if it means breaking the bread of life into simple, digestible pieces — as Charles Spurgeon used to say — then I will gladly take it. Those who have this gift can make the great truths of the Bible comprehensible and practical.
Of course, teachers can err by going to extremes. We can get stuck in our research and become too academic, or we can swing the other way and become overly simplistic. As I’ve listened to or read books by great teachers, the darkness of what I didn’t know was given the light of truth.
With this knowledge came an enthusiasm to live differently. I’ve thought many times, “I never heard that before; it makes perfect sense, and now I know what to do!”
The Heavy Weight of Ideas
The gift of teaching can help or cause great damage. Why?
The teacher convicts with ideas while challenging a change in attitude and action, and these ideas form deep roots. Whether the teaching is truth or heresy, it gets embedded intellectually in the mind and emotionally in the heart.
I’ve found myself debating believers who hold tightly to false ideas. On closer inspection, they haven’t thought deeply about the teaching itself; they accepted it emotionally first, then rationalized it intellectually. Unfortunately, false teachers use their supposed “great ideas” to manipulate and control. They pull people away from historic truth. Whenever I hear someone say, “I’ve never heard teaching like this,” I shudder.
The Warning for Teachers
The Book of James tells us:
Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly (James 3:1).
Also, the Apostle Paul warns all of us living today that, ultimately, we are responsible for what we choose to believe:
For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3).
As a teacher, I realize I have time to study and present ideas persuasively. I know many reading this blog don’t have the time, or perhaps the skill set, for theological debate, an understanding of the original Greek, or the ability to mix it all together with a joke or two. But I’m often reminded of what the Apostle Peter wrote:
If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God (1 Peter 4:11a).
I approach my writing, teaching, and speaking with serious intent, as I want to serve God and you faithfully with correct doctrine.
Our Ultimate Standard
How do I know the difference between truth and false teaching? How do we know what is truth and what is false? How do I, as a teacher, keep myself from teaching falsely?
My standard — the standard of all teachers — must be Jesus.
And Jesus says when discussing false teachers, “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15-20). Examine the lives, words, marriages, children, business practices, close associates, and example of all teachers, and remember Jesus’ words…
A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit (Matthew 7:18).