More Than Teaching
It is very difficult to overemphasize the value of teaching the truth to an
individual. The very heart of the religion that Jesus presents to the world
rests upon teaching. One is drawn to Christ through instruction. “No one can
come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him
up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught
of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father,
cometh unto me.” (John 6:44-45). As the passage clearly states, the drawing is
not one of a miraculous process, but through a person being taught and learning
of God. Where teaching has not been administered, drawing power has not been
administered. In the great commission according to Matthew, Jesus pointed to
teaching as a prerequisite of being saved and continued teaching of the saved
regarding all things that Jesus had for them to observe. “Go ye therefore, and
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
A-men.” (Matthew 28:19-20).
We need teaching and we need a great deal of it. It might be truthfully said
that no one outgrows the need for teaching. On occasions, we say of some one
that by the actions of that person it is evident that the individual needs
teaching. I would suppose that all of us at one time or another have made such a
statement. It could possibly be that the thing responsible for the person
failing God was not in the lack of teaching, but a failure to manifest in their
lives what is to accompany or follow teaching. There are those who have been
taught. They can relate God’s instructions or His will toward them. They need
something more than teaching.
THEY POSSIBLY NEED:
To apply the teaching to themselves. So many hear
the word, but they never seem to apply it to their own lives. Teaching that is
of profit must be applied. When the Bereans were taught the word, “..they
received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily
whether those things were so.” (Acts 7:11). Jesus condemned the Scribes and
Pharisees for failing to make proper application to themselves. (Matthew
23:29-33). We need to examine our hearts with what is being taught. (II
Corinthians 13:5).
Obedience to the truth that is taught. To be
obedient to Christ, one must be taught what Christ expects in obedience.
However, one may be taught and never obey the truth. There are those who
stubbornly defy what the truth directs them to believe and do. Jesus said of
some: “For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of
hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with
their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart,
and should be converted, and I should heal them. (Matthew 13:15). Effort had
been made to instruct these people that they might obey the truth. They needed
to open their hearts to the truth taught and conform their lives to the precious
word of God. Teaching had been exerted upon them. They weren’t lacking in being
taught. They lacked, as so many lack today, obedience to what had been taught
them. James calls upon us to be more than hearers. We are to be doers of the
word. “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own
selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a
man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth
his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh
into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a
forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his
deed.” (James 1:22-25). There is certainly no profit in hearing only! Those who
were baptized on Pentecost day in Acts 2 were those “that gladly received His
word.” (Acts 2:41). We need an obedient reception of the truth that has been
taught us.
Conviction for the truth taught. Conviction
requires courage and effort. It is not by following the course of least
resistance. The failure of some is not due to a lack of teaching. It stems back
to a lack of conviction for the truth that they have been taught. One may be
able to quote the Bible from Genesis through Revelation, but what good is it to
his soul salvation if he doesn’t make an application of it to himself in obeying
the truth and having enough conviction to stand for it in love? Paul said with
conviction: “…I am set for the defense of the gospel.” (Philippians 1:17). He
wasn’t sitting on the fence. He was set for a DEFENSE OF THE GOSPEL. It is
highly possible that individuals excuse themselves and others for their lack of
convictions by saying that they need teaching. If one means that they need
teaching to develop convictions, we find no particular argument with that
conclusion. However, there are some who have been taught the truth from their
youth that have no convictions for it. May we never minimize teaching! We need
more and more teaching, but may we also appreciate the fact that there are other
factors and principles that must accompany and follow teaching.
Susquehanna Sentinel, Feb 5, 2006, Marietta, PA
By Bobby K. Thompson
From Expository Files 13.3; March 2006
