A GREATER ACCOUNTABILITY

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

James 3:1

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

I have been very blessed to have received the gift of teaching by the Lord and every day, I try to make sure I use that gift to His glory through my writing, my church, and my life. As I have always said to people, don’t be the third servant, referring to Jesus’ Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) where the mentioned servant failed to provide a return on his master’s investment and was cast out “into the darkness” where there was “weeping and gnashing of teeth”. Yikes!

Now, we need to remember that the Lord hasn’t given everyone the same gifts but I know I can say with absolute confidence that He doesn’t create anyone who doesn’t have a gift to use and share in accordance with His will. I also know that if we use one gift well, the Lord can also grant us additional gifts (refer back to the parable and the rewards gained by the servants who made the most of what the master had given). In addition to the gift of teaching, He has blessed me with the ability to write, sing, and preach as well as lead and manage ministries.

The bottom line is that when a Christian is all in to serve the Lord, they will always be full time employed with lots of overtime. This you can count on.

Going back to the matter of teaching in the name of the Lord, we see that this calling isn’t for the faint of heart. For the word of God assures us that there is a higher level of accountability on those who proclaim the scriptures and then convey their meaning and practical application to others. Look again at these words of James from the first verse of chapter 3:

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

I believe that Biblical teaching is one of the highest honors a Christian believer can be called to for the teacher, by way of complete interaction and partnering with the Holy Spirit, gets to be a spokesperson for the Lord Himself. And with much responsibility comes greater accountability, or at least this is what I have learned after many, many years of being a leader in the military and the church.

Everyone faces God’s judgment when they willingly choose sinful disobedience, violating His commands and their associated expectations of righteousness, but a Christian teacher who chooses to misrepresent their Lord should fully expect to “be judged more strictly” as they are literally misleading His people and disrespecting Him in the process. These are the sheep in wolves clothing that Jesus warned about during His ministry on earth (Matthew 7:15).

How can Christian teachers ensure they don’t fall into sin through that work and suffer the harsher penalties God promises through His Word?

First, they should never speak from a place of opinion.

God’s Word is complete and fully adequate. Nothing needs added nor is conjecture needed. There are things of the Lord that will ever remain a mystery and with that, we know that we’re not going to fully understand everything until that time when we are ushered into eternal glory to abide with Him. Until that time, we trust His Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit which should always drive the words of the Christian teacher.

And this leads to the second action all Christian teachers should adopt to remain in God’s good graces. For the teacher needs to make sure that they are allowing the face-value, totality of the scriptures and the counsel of the Holy Spirit to drive what they put down in preparation to teach and then say on the day of instruction. When a teacher refuses to deviate from this, they can always be assured they are teaching in right and righteous ways, ways that are pleasing in the Lord’s sight.

Finally, Christian teachers should always implore their students to always validate everything against the scriptures and the moving of the Holy Spirit within their own lives. The surest way to protect one’s self from a false teacher is to know the scriptures yourself and allow the Holy Spirit to impart understanding of those scriptures. In concert with one another, the Word and the Spirit will always expose inappropriate teaching.

Friends, I love this verse and fully endorse and embrace it. For I invite scrutiny when I am representing the Lord while teaching His Word, using this wonderful gift He has granted. I want to please Him in every way and I pray you are blessed by the end product as I share words He imparts on me daily all the while seeking to honor and glorify Him every day.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.