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...the Bible tells me so:
“Teachers Needed”
Which Scripture describes you?
“We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully” (Romans 12:6-8 NIV).
“Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly” (James 3:1).
Or, “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:11-14).
Which one applies to you? 1) Are you using your gift of teaching to serve the body of Christ? 2) Are you using the stricter judgment as an excuse to stay away from teaching? Or, 3) is your faith too juvenile to teach?
A public service ad campaign not too long ago emphasized the importance of our school teachers. It had as its basic message, if you can read, thank a teacher. The same is true of our Bible teachers. If we can understand the Scriptures, thank a teacher.
Paul emphasized the purpose of teaching, when he wrote, “We proclaim [Jesus], admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ” (Colossians 1:28). To present everyone “perfect” or “mature” (NRSV) in Christ is the goal of every teacher.
That purpose continues on in the church of Christ, just as Paul said, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you [Christians] richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God” (3:16).
There was a time
when the Old Testament people of God spoke a language different from that of
their Bible. In coming out of the Babylonian Captivity (circa 530 B.C.) they
spoke Aramaic, a language similar to biblical Hebrew. It was different enough
that they struggled to understand the words and meanings that God had placed in
His revealed will. (In many respects, people struggle in the same way over the
language of the King James Version.) So they turned to “Ezra the scribe to
bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for
In New Testament times,
a government official from
I think that most of us can relate to that official’s struggle. How little do we understand the prophets of the Old Testament? We get a glimpse into what their message was for Christian times. Luke continued telling the story, by saying, “Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus” (verse 35). Here the Bible lesson was on the good news of Jesus, beginning with Isaiah 53:7-8.
In our day, the Holy Spirit’s instructions are simple: “Find out what pleases the Lord” (Ephesians 5:10), and “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is” (verse 17). It can and must be understood (see 3:3-4; 2 Corinthians 1:13). The all wise and all knowledgeable God revealed His will in human language. Our obligation is to learn what God means when He spoke. God uses teachers to help us and to guide our understanding.
Finally, please allow me to relate a couple of personal stories on the importance of teachers.
My favorite
teacher at
About that same time, a lowly Sunday School teacher showed me more things in the Bible than I could ever imagine. As a high school junior, I learned the basics of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, more Bible than I learned in my previous sixteen years. Yet, Tom James’ love for teaching God’s word inspired me to learn more. Look at where I am today. Oh, how God has blessed me! I will always be a Bible student.
Too often our attitude toward children is, “They may be seen but not heard.” Too often that attitude is demonstrated in the disgust expressed by the noise a child makes in our worship services and afterwards. That attitude silently expresses itself in our lack of support for the Bible school.
However, our children need teachers who will instruct them in the way of the Lord. They need teachers who will inspire them to love to learn the law of God. Please, do not turn them away.
I remember a time
when those who should have known better did not. Luke told this story about
Jesus. He wrote, “People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have Him
touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called
the children to Him and said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not
hinder them, for the
Personal note from Rocky: Please be sure to vote in the Sealy ISD bond election on November 6. Vote for our teachers, our students and our future.
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