Privileged to Teach

During my time in Nepal, I used to teach in a Bible school regularly. I basically taught on Spiritual Growth and the New Testament Church. However, one day the director of the institution asked me to do the survey of the Bible (the Old Testament) with the students. While preparing notes for the subject I was exposed to the historical and cultural background and other relevant facts about the various books of the Bible. This was my first time teaching on the survey of the Bible and I taught on seven different books of the Old Testament, which was quite fair for the starting, I thought. Going through the detailed introductions and accounts of each one of those seven books and making an overall assessment was quite a laborious and mentally tiring task. However, the payoff was fabulous. In my 20 years of studying the Bible, there were things I was discovering for the first time. Thus, I could safely say that I was teaching myself more than the students.

David Pawson in his extensive work entitled, “Unlocking the Bible – A unique overview of the whole Bible”, speaks about the three different approaches to reading the Bible. The first one is the verse-centered approach (self) in which we look for a word for ourselves. In this approach “we read through until a verse fits our situation”. He humorously calls it ‘the horoscope method of Bible reading’. The second approach is the passage-centered approach (others) where we “read the Bible mainly for the sake of other people”. Of course, this is popular today with preachers and teachers. The last one is the “best approach” in which we read the whole book rather than just parts of it. The author reinforces that, “only by doing this can we really understand what God is saying to us through it” (page 612 – 614). May the Lord increase our spiritual appetite to read the Bible and the things therein in its totality. 

Nowadays, an average English Bible contains an introduction and outlines and other information at the beginning of each book of the Bible. Sadly, most of us avoid reading them. I believe a lot of effort has been put into it to make it available for us. Though at times it might appear dull and unnecessary to read it, it actually helps us to know what we are reading with a clearer understanding and perspective. For example, there could be those who are totally oblivious to the fact that some of what we call the “minor” prophets actually lived and ministered before some of the “major” prophets. Similar is the case in the New Testament. In other words, several books in the Bible are not in their chronological order. And as long as we are unaware of this fact it’ll give us the obvious wrong impression that the events in the Bible occurred historically and chronologically according to the present arrangement of the books in the Bible. Of course, such issues aren’t going to shake our faith but as both a Bible student and a teacher it would help a lot to gather some knowledge about the historical background and other related facts about the books in the Bible. Therefore, adding some Bible commentaries, dictionaries or Bible encyclopedias to our library would certainly enhance our Bible study and research. In fact, with a computer and an internet connection, one can have a whole Bible library without paying a dime. I was shocked one day when I saw the price of some of the Bible commentaries and encyclopedias, which came in volumes in a Bible store. In India, the price of such volumes of books would actually add up to a monthly salary for some. I was so excited at that time knowing that I had those Bible resources and many others more in my computer which came along with some Bible software I was using. Of course, we may all be aware of e-sword. Another one that I enjoy using is The Word. Then of course there are many others, not to mention the availability of countless online Bible study tools. Of course, the natural roaming of your fingers across the pages of those books, highlighting some phrases and sentences here and there with colorful pencils and scribbling a little note in the corner of the pages of the hard copy has its own different feel altogether. Whatever the case, it’ll help a lot to have a mini Bible library of your own whether hard copies or soft. Mybible is another excellent app for both android and ios devices. 

Today we spend countless hours of time on our mobile phones and other devices when in fact we could have spent at least even half of it in studying our Bibles and discover truths that would bolster our faith and others’ too. At times, after logging out of some of those sites I look at the clock and relent how much time I had just wasted and wish if I had only spent the same amount of time in reading the Word of God or talking to Him in prayer or yet reading other Christian books for my spiritual edification. 

The world is infiltrating the church today in a much deeper and insidious manner than we could have ever thought. Most Christians today have only religion and less or sadly even nothing of Christ and His truth. And though many factors account for such a pathetic state of the church, much of it is also because of the lack of proper teaching in the church. Pastors today look upon themselves more as preachers and evangelists than teachers and thus miss out much on the ministry of teaching. In listing out the qualification of an elder or a pastor in 1st Tim 3, Paul clearly mentions the ability to teach as one of the prerequisites. Teaching requires a lot of effort in studying, researching, meditation and of course prayer. I wonder if laziness could therefore be the reason why some pastors shirk away from the ministry of teaching. I was in a city pastors’ meeting in a certain town and discussion was making the round as to who would do the teaching sessions during the morning and afternoon sessions at the upcoming annual conference. Most of the pastors decline from taking responsibility with the excuse that they were preachers and not teachers. I wonder if they had forgotten that a pastor should be “able to teach.” Such conferences also tend to portray the evening meetings as the main highlight of the day where they have a preacher to stimulate the emotion and tickle the ears of the people. “More crowd, more noise and more coverage and therefore the allurement to prefer to rather be a preacher than a teacher”, is what one of my pastor-friend critiqued. And I think that he was right. 

Over and over again, the apostle Paul in his epistles, especially that of Timothy and Titus urges the leaders to be diligent to teach the church the whole counsel and the sound doctrine of the Word of God. Would the apostle have something different to say to us today? We need to get back to the school of discipleship, the school of meditating in the Word of God at the feet of Christ. We need to revive the ministry of teaching in our churches today. The Great Commission is all about making disciples (Mt 28:19,20) and this task involves a thorough, systematic teaching of the Word of God. Without the ministry of teaching it’s impossible to make disciples of people. And as pastors if we fail here then we have failed in our pastoral ministry. Therefore, it’s time we jump to our feet and get back to our Bibles, to those Bible resources and literature, and with all the getting we need to get the Holy Spirit’s anointing and revelation to study and to teach. 

Ezra 7:10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel. 

Let us be like Ezra! Amen! 

Blessings, 

Reuben Pradhan 

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