Responsible Teachers

"Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. ² But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God."

2 Corinthians 4:1-2

The ministry of the Word is a sobering, challenging, and rewarding task for those called to it.  Bible teaching and preaching is a responsibility before God and men, for indeed we are handling the words of life.  Nehemiah 8:8 is a good example of what pastors and teachers are to do:  "So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading."  They read from the book of the Law, explained what it meant, and helped the people to see how it applied personally to their lives.

The purpose of studying the Bible is more than gathering information, but is a revelation of the Almighty God who has established all wisdom and truth.  What are some hallmarks of teachers who handle God's Word responsibly?  This is not a complete list, but responsible teachers:

• pray.  They seek the LORD during study, wait on Him for guidance, trust Him to supply wisdom and application, pray for help to deliver the message, and for people to respond.
• are led by the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit will always magnify Jesus Christ and reveal what He has said (John 16:13-15).  
• use scripture to interpret scripture in context.  People are well aware how stats can be distorted to say anything, and the same is true when the Bible is mishandled.
• apply the scripture personally.  Learning new things should never be an end in itself.  People can be "ever learning" but never grasp the truth.
• stick to the good old paths.  New "truth" often makes way for old deceptions.  God has much to reveal to those who walk in the good old way (Jeremiah 6:16) now fulfilled through Jesus who is the Way.
• do not place major emphasis on personal opinions, doubtful doctrine, or speculations.  What people do not or cannot know is hardly as important as acknowledging and practising what they do know.
• would rather be clear than clever.  God made truth simple enough for children to grasp.  Never muddle what God makes plain.
• keep the main point the main point.  The message is infinitely more important than the messenger.
• are focused on edifying the Body of Christ, not entertaining.
• draw conclusions from the text rather than using scattered passages to validate a hypothesis.
• do not take aim at people.  Responsible teacher repent themselves when convicted and trust the Holy Spirit will also transform others in His time and way.
• do not avoid controversial teaching the Bible clearly speaks on because people could potentially be offended.  Preachers do not need to be controversial to be relevant, and without controversy is the revelation of Jesus Christ throughout the Word.
• remind mature believers of what they already know.  Being reminded of things we have neglected can be just as critical to our growth and maturity as a new revelation from God.
• value God's Word as absolutely true and superior to man's ideas in every way - including their own.
• use illustrations wisely.  Spurgeon said even as a tailor puts a knot in his thread, so there should be illustrations and examples in the thread of our discourses so they will stick.  Windows bring light into a house and illustrations illuminate an important point, but never let the window be bigger than the structure.
• do not substitute emotional manipulation for the move of the Holy Spirit.  Emotions are fleeting, but God's Word will endure forever.
• live a life that agrees with their words.  Hypocrisy sours the source.

Paul wrote to a young pastor in 2 Timothy 4:1-4 an exhortation we ought to take to heart:  "I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: ² preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. ³ For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; ⁴ and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables."  People like a good story, but those who handle the word of God have much more than stories to tell.  We hold in our hands words breathed by the Spirit of the Living God, and let us ensure we study to rightly divide them and are committed to proclaiming the whole counsel of God.  May those under the sound of our voices hear sound doctrine.  This will not be enough for some, yet if the foundations of truth are forsaken who can know God and be saved?