Romans 12 - Living Life - Part 09

Romans 12: Living Life Study 09: Gift of Teaching

Romans 12:7b If you are a teacher, teach well.

How is your church doing at teaching the Gospel truths? How, if you are a teacher, going about it? Teaching is different from preaching. Are you aware of that? While preaching is expressing the mind of God to people, teaching is also training and taking a person or people on a journey from one point to another. That could be a teacher in Bible college, a Sunday School, a home group or other small group as well as one to one discipleship. Teaching is leading people into understanding God’s word.

Calvin describes a bible teacher somebody “who forms and builds the Church by the word of truth.” Does that signify your experience of teaching – by others you hear or even yourself?

Teaching is part of the Great Commission expressed by Jesus in Matthew 28:18-20. So everybody who is a Christian is at some point is to do some kind of teaching - as that is part of evangelism. Evangelism is for all Christians to do – of one kind or another.

Of course some preaching can also be teaching. Teaching is interpreting the Bible to make it understood to both the individual and a group of people. That is expository Bible teaching which is also preaching…

But just because somebody is a gifted teacher, or indeed also a preacher, we are to test the Bible for ourselves. Even if you think that Bible teacher is amazing, test what that person says. Analyse it for yourself and don’t be afraid to disagree with the teacher. Even the finest of Bible teachers would want you to be like that! If a teacher insists that they are right, and there is no discussion about it, then be very wary. In Romans 16:7, Paul writes this about teachers “I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.”

Conversely, how about next time going up to a teacher, talking to them and giving them some encouragement. But more about encouragement in our next study!

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