"Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness." James 3:1 "Keep a close watch on your life and doctrine. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers." 1Timothy 4:16 "Be scared, be very, very scared!"
I wish more bible teachers and pastors would take the biblical warning in James 3:1 about bad teaching more seriously than they presently do. If only they would simply shut their mouths and go fishing, the church would be a whole lot better off. The amount of foolish and ridiculous teaching being taught over the airways and worthless Christian books being sold off the best sellers list is just staggering. If I see one more smiling Joel Osteen cover stare at me right as I walk into the Christian bookstore, or one more blood moon mystery, I am going to snap and go "Bruce Lee" on some shelves! "Hiiyyy - yahhhhh!" 1 Timothy 4:16 points to how teaching is directly tied to people's eternal well being. In Matthew 23:15, Jesus even declares that bad teaching can turn someone into a doubled-portioned devil of hell. So our teaching matters. The question is, how do we approach it? When do we stand strong and make bold declarative statements, and when do we admit our lack of comprehensive understanding? I offer three tools to approach teaching doctrine -- and they are never more important than when you are entering highly controversial waters like "End Times Events" and "Deciphering the Book of Revelation." CLEAR: Doctrine that is easily understood, widely discussed and generally accepted. This area of teaching is often called the "absolutes" of faith. They are the essentials. And to be a true follower of Jesus these are the teachings that must be appropriated, believed and acted upon. I have often heard it said about the absolutes, "These are the teachings you would take a bullet for." What are some teachings that comprise the absolutes? I will list a few: "Justification by Faith", "The Virgin Birth", "God as Trinity", "Eternality of Destiny". Most ancient creeds were written to declare the absolutes. The approach to teaching the absolutes is perfectly expressed in Jude 1:3, "Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints." Contend means to stand strong, be bold, and freely defend what you know to be true. I love what G.K Chesterton says about this kind of teaching, "BUT WHAT WE suffer from today is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction; where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed. Nowadays the part of a man that a man does assert is exactly the part he ought not to assert—himself. The part he doubts is exactly the part he ought not to doubt—the Divine Reason." When you know something is true, stand strong. CLOUDY: Doctrine that is complex and depends upon obscure verses and theological traditions and constructs to understand. This area of teaching is often called the "convictions" of faith. They are the areas of doctrine that take time to grasp and there will never be a point where they are fully understood. We see through a glass darkly on these issues. The irony is that true followers of Jesus can often fall into competing camps over these teachings. Does that mean they are not important? On the contrary: the reason they are so disputed is because wherever your convictions land, your actions will follow. I have often heard it said about convictions, "These are the teachings you probably would take a bullet for, but your brother may not." What are some teachings that comprise the convictions? I will list two. (1 - less complex) Mode of Baptism. Over the years of historical Christian witness, baptism has been a thorn that has caused much division in the universal unity of the church as a whole. Some groups believe in infant baptism, others stand strong on believers baptism. The battle still rages and divides. And where you stand matters. (2 -more complex) Eschatological approach to Revelation, especially in regards to the next appearance of Jesus' return. Did he already metaphorically return in 70 A.D. in the clouds of Titus' army, will he appear next in the sky as he calls the church up to himself in the rapture, or are we waiting for one swift action of him physically appearing at the second coming when he comes to set up his throne on earth? Christians of different stripes will relentlessly argue and try to persuade each other about these issues; and yet, if we were honest, all of us still see through a glass darkly. The approach to teaching the cloudy should be handled as the Bereans handled Paul's teaching in Acts 17:11. We need to examine scriptures to see if what is being taught is true. And as we disagree and view different passages with our different colored lenses, let's not destroy one another in the process. I can remember my dad telling his six children, "You may not agree with each other and at times, you may not even like each other, but you are family, and as long as you live under one roof you need to forgive and move past hurts. Or I will hurt you!" Keep learning, growing, and when you are wrong...be flexible and grow up! PETTY: Doctrine that is really not doctrine, but personal likes and dislikes. This area of teaching is often called the "preferences" of faith. They are the different ways we have learned to do church. And these are the things that need not matter if you are really a disciple of Jesus - - for we have bigger fish to fry than these issues. I have often heard it said about the preferences, "These are the teachings you should never take a bullet for." What are some teachings that comprise the preferences? I will list a few: color of carpet in the sanctuary, chairs or pews, ties and dresses, piano or organ, slides or hymnals, steeple or no steeple, movies, lipstick, drums, hair length, tattoos, head coverings, piercings, Wednesday night prayer service, hands raised, hugging, wine and yes, even beards and bow-ties. Face it, it just doesn't matter! How should we approach these issues? Take Romans 14:12 advice: On disputable matters, "each of us will give an account of ourselves to God." I hate to say it, but Elsa is right, "Let it Go!" If you can't let it go are you really living for the glory of Jesus or the comfort of self? One of my main motivations for teaching on Revelation is because over the last few years some people have blurred the lines of doctrinal importance when it comes to how to teach this book. I have been given some books that have taught some of the craziest and silliest speculations on Revelation that you could ever imagine. After I read the books, the people who gave them to me thought I should preach them from the pulpit - -but because I didn't, they believe me to be scared of the end-times or I was ignorant of the issue. Do you want to know what I really am scared of? Representing God in fool's clothes. I do not want Jesus taking me aside in heaven saying, "What was all that monkey business and tom foolery you were teaching? I allowed you the KCBC pulpit so you could present my gospel with clarity. You muddied the water with cheap tricks and silly speculations." That honestly is terrifying to me. Remember what 1 Timothy says again: "By your doctrine, you might save some." Now that's heavy!
2 Comments
Jill
2/20/2015 02:25:51 am
Pastor Chris, as someone who has been in the pews of KCBC and listened to you teach us, I can never remember a time when you used tge pulpit for tomfoolery! You have always made the "absolutes" your priority, and I think the reason that you do, is because of the very fear of being taken to task by God. Believe me when I say, that Gods arm will be around your shoulder as He turns you to see the oceans of people who have been affected by your humble heart! I love you, my friend! Thank you for standing stong!!!!!
Reply
Chris
2/20/2015 03:26:27 am
jill, seriously, that made my day! Thanks for your encouragement!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
August 2018
|