Onward Christian Teachers!

The Christian Church has the responsibility to teach, demonstrate, and safeguard fundamental Biblical truths, committing them to others without compromise or corruption. Above all, true Biblical instruction emphasizes Godly righteousness, that is both knowing and doing the Word of God, rather than merely just knowing Bible facts.

The great doctrines of the Christian Church are redemptive truths, not merely academic ones.

Read II Timothy 1-7
1. Paul, an apostle of [a]Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,
2. To Timothy, a beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Timothy’s Faith and Heritage
3. I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day,
4. greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy,
5. when I call to remembrance the [b]genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.
6. Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
7. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

True Bible teaching shows students, congregations and communities the vital necessity to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. ” Jude 3. This is vitally important, as it gives the Bible students, congegations and communities…..as well as the Bible teachers, the means by which they can defend the Bible truths they hold, and their own personal walk with the Lord, against false theologies.

Additionally, true Bible instruction leads to continual growth in their Godly character:

Read Psalm 119:9-16
9. How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.
10. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
11. Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.
12. Blessed are You, O Lord! Teach me Your statutes.
13. With my lips I have declared All the judgments of Your mouth.
14. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches.
15. I will meditate on Your precepts,
And [a]contemplate Your ways.
16. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.

Churches are the unique places for being both students, disciples and teachers of God’s Word, so that the Love of God in Christ is visibly demonstrated and Christ’s image is shown well beyond our churches, into homes and communities.

Read Ephesians 4:11-16
11. And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12. for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the [a]edifying of the body of Christ,
13. till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
14. that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15. but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ
16. from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

True Bible teaching deepens an understanding of God’s Love, personal fellowship and a more intimate friendship with God’s Holy Spirit. by urging individuals to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:14 tells us “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”

This is vital, life-changing teaching of the witness of God’s Love. People “learn” the necessity of prayer. “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples,” one of Christ’s disciples asks in Luke 11:1. And they too eagerly will eagerly anticipate Christ’s promised return, with the historic intensity of the early New Testament Saints!

Read II Timothy 4:8 & 9
8. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
9. Be diligent to come to me quickly;

As folllowers of Jesus Christ, we all learn to serve as students, disciples and teachers
simultaneously.