Jump Start # 2286

James 3:1 “Let not many of your become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.”

Well, it finally happened. I’m not shocked, but I am disappointed. After some twenty-two hundred Jump Starts, I made a technical blunder. On Friday, I wrote about marriage and love. It was a pretty good article if I say so myself. It was shared by several people. It was based upon Titus 2 where older wives were to teach younger wives to love their husbands. In that article, I compared that with how God loves us. Love is a choice, not a feeling. Love is a decision, not a reaction. Great principles. Good thoughts. Only one problem. The word love in Titus is not the same word as used in John 3:16. It’s not the Greek word Agape, which is a choice and a decision. The word used in Titus is the concept of friendship. Paul does use the word agape in marriage. It’s not Titus, but in Ephesians five. What happened was I just assumed that the word love in Titus was the same as in Ephesians. Seems logical. I didn’t look the words up. I didn’t do my homework. And, all of that leads to our thoughts today.

First, Mistakes happen. If you preach, teach and write enough, those things happen. What you quote doesn’t match up with the numbers on the screen or on the printed page. Your memory falters. That “ready recollection” that we are always praying about some days just doesn’t recollect very well.

This really bothers me. I may mess up names, forget dates, but I hate with a passion making a mistake when it comes to God’s word. I teach young preachers to be thorough. Do your homework. Look things up. Go over it and then go over it again. Get it right. And, when it’s not right, learn.

Second, we must be humble enough to recognize that we made a mistake. I’m thankful to a good reader who pointed this out to me. He knew. I didn’t. I do now. I won’t mess up that word ’love’ in Titus again. Don’t try to be a big shot and hide your mistake by something beyond you. Now, I could have said, “I did that just to see if any of our readers were sharp enough to catch that.” Nice try, but that’s not what happened. Or, I could have kept all of this to myself and most of you would have never known. However, that may make me look good, but it doesn’t change the fact that the assumption I made was not correct. If you made a mistake, be big enough to admit it and learn from it. There are greater lessons than just the mistake that was made. There is a lesson about how you handle mistakes. We want our children to be honest and admit when they made a mistake. Do we?

Third, assumptions, even innocently, can be the cause of much trouble. This is where our passage comes in. James was reminding the brethren that one is responsible for the what and even how he teaches. One can’t be so careless or so indifferent that he misleads, misrepresents, or mishandles the word of God. Especially in public settings, it is rare to have the exact same audience back. Now, where this often trips us is when reading the writings of others, including these Jump Starts. We read something in a commentary and it sounds really good. Check it out. Do your homework. There are many things that have been written that are not accurate, complete, nor representative of what God actually says. Just repeating what you read in a commentary, can be dangerous. You and I assume it’s right, but it may not be. We make that assumption even stronger when it is written by someone in our fellowship. Years ago, preachers use to say at the beginning of a lesson, “If I say anything untrue, you will be my friend by pointing these things out to me.” You don’t hear that much anymore. I don’t know if preachers today feel like they don’t make mistakes, or if it is because they don’t want to hear what others have to say.

The introduction of error most often is innocently. Peter talked about false teachers introducing heresies secretly. The Ephesian elders were warned about some who would speak perverse things. There is just a small step from what I think and how I feel, to making that what God says. Our opinions gel into becoming God’s statements. As Jesus said about the Pharisees, “teaching as doctrine the commandments of men”. Those that teach error can appear to be nice, kind and truthful. They do not have the word “False teacher” written across their foreheads. You can’t tell. Some look like sheep, but they are actually wolves. Words must be measured by and with the word of God.

The stricter judgment that our passage talks about is because of the teaching. Not only is one responsible for their own faith, but in teaching, you are responsible for what you have taught others. Carelessness, indifference, assumptions can lead to things that are not true Biblically. Teachers must be accurate with God’s word. This is why just “winging” it doesn’t work when dealing with God’s word. Our memories get fuzzy. We get things jumbled up and crisscrossed in our minds. We say things that just aren’t so. Do your homework. Check the facts. Be certain.

Finally, I’m reminded of the wonderful work of Priscilla and Aquila, when they first heard Apollos preach. Apollos was impressive, yet he didn’t know about the baptism in Christ. They did not write him letters. They did not run and tell Paul. They did not threaten to destroy him, cancel his meetings or brand him as a false teacher. None of those things happened. The passage states that they took him aside and taught him the word of God more accurately. They helped him. They showed him. Not only did he get that lesson, but he also saw a lesson in what to do when others are not completely accurate.

I’m thankful for our good reader who pointed these things out to me. So kind. So helpful. So much in the spirit of this Acts couple. So much the way I want to be when I encounter someone who made a mistake with Scriptures.

Mistakes will make us be more careful. Mistakes can be corrected. Mistakes, in the end, can lead us to being better people.

I’m sorry that made this mistake. I must be more careful. I’m thankful for great readers like Barry who cared enough to point this out. He wants to help, and he did.

Handling accurately the word of truth—that has a special meaning to me these days.

Roger

Jump Start # 1540

James 3:1 “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.”

  This week we are taking a look at the theme of God as a judge. We love the saving Jesus. We like the concept of the merciful and forgiving God. The thought that God judges scares us and it ought to. That thought makes us more responsible to Him and more respectful and obedient to His word.

Our verse today must be included in the discussion about judgment. Here, in the verse, James reminds his readers to not rush to become teachers without giving serious thought to what comes with that. There is a “stricter judgment” that comes with teaching. James is not talking about school teachers but Biblical teachers, those that teach God’s word.

There are a few thoughts from this passage.

First, if no one ever became a teacher, we would be in a mess. Teachers remind us of God’s word. Teachers open our eyes to truths and applications that we have not seen. Teachers strengthen our faith and answer our questions. In Ephesians four, where it says that God gave apostles and prophets and evangelists and pastors and teachers—those were all different kinds of teachers. The apostles taught. Evangelists teach. Pastors teach. The backbone of God’s kingdom is knowledge in the word of God. That knowledge is spread from one generation to the next by teachers of God’s word.

In James’ setting, he may had in mind those who teach publically, such as preachers and elders. He may have also had in mind those who taught in smaller, private settings. Today, there is a lot of teaching done through blogs, emails and other forms of communication. These words of James still fit. One must be careful what he is saying. One must do his homework and be accurate. One must realize that what is said, written and shared can lead hearts to Christ or it can cause confusion and even doubt. There can be a lot of complaining, especially in blogs, that leads to discouraging hearts.

We need brethren who are willing to teach. We need brethren who are serious about their teaching. We need brethren who grasp what this passage is about. James isn’t shutting the door to teaching. He didn’t say, “No one should ever teach.” He wants the teachers of God’s word to understand the gravity of what they are doing. They are leading hearts through their teaching. Stuffing our opinions, and mingling error innocently with doctrine is all it takes to poison hearts.

Second, this passage shows us that judgment recognizes our responsibilities and opportunities. Jesus said, “To whom much is given, much is required.” The teacher will be judged for his teaching. The parent will be judged for his parenting. The shepherd will be judged for his shepherding. The different hats we wear come with responsibilities and accountabilities to God. There is not a separation between my faith and the roles I play. If I am in the role of a manager, how I manage others is important to God. This tells us that I can’t park my convictions, my faith and my religion in the office parking lot and become a task master that is mean, rude, oppressive and not think that God will judge me for that. The way we treat others affects our relationship with God. The way we judge others is the means that God will judge us. If we do not forgive others, then God will not forgive us. Our faith belongs as much in the work place as it does at home or the church house. Stop flipping switches. Stop being a nice lovable guy on Sunday and a cruel monster on Monday. God will judge us for our responsibilities and the roles we play. Those fathers who are out of touch, not involved and uncaring will be judged for that. Those who are too wrapped up in their world to pay attention to those little ones that need guidance will be judged for that. Neglectful and absentee parents do not get a pass because they are trying to “find themselves.” The roles you take on, you will be judged for. Now, a person can just sit at home and do nothing, or they can understand this, be careful with what they are doing and do the best that they can.

All of us are leaving impressions for others to see. Our children grow up and they first learn parenting from the way they were parented. This is often why dysfunction is passed on from one generation to another. It’s all they have ever seen. It’s all they know. It’s what they think is right.  But successful homes and spiritual homes often lead to another generation of successful homes and spiritual homes. We leave impressions. Younger preachers learn from older preachers. Up coming shepherds learn from current shepherds. We pass the baton on to the next generation. We leave models for them to follow. Sometimes those models may need updating. Sometimes those models are no longer working. Without the wisdom and the insight to see what God wants in His word, some simply keep repeating generation after generation what was done before. We leave impressions and footprints for others to follow. Do you remember the first preacher in your life? I do. His name was Loren Raines. He seemed old. He always wore a dark suit. I don’t remember any of his sermons. I wish I could. He had us kids on the front rows on Sunday nights and he would quiz us on Bible facts. That’s what I remember. The next preacher was a young scholarly man named Ferrell Jenkins. He was a writer that  published his own material. He didn’t stay long, but he left an impression upon me. Years later, he was one of my college professors. The next two that followed became good friends. It was those next two that pointed me to preaching. Impressions. We have them. You leave them. You leave impressions where you work. You leave impressions as a student. We leave spiritual impressions.

The wise teacher is always looking two directions. First, he is looking to the people that he is teaching. He is leaving impressions. The impressions he wants to leave is of Jesus, not himself. But there will be impressions about how he taught. Was he angry? Was he kind? Was he thorough? The wise teacher is also looking upward. He is looking to God. He realizes that God is noticing what he is doing. The wise teacher will do his best to please the Lord and to be faithful to God’s word.

Looking upward to God and looking to his students or audience –that’s what the teacher must do. The person who is trying to make a name for himself, will mess up. The one who is building a legacy and an ego will crash. The one who is trying to build faith in the Lord and hides himself behind the Lord, so that only the Lord will be seen, will be one that touches hearts and influences generations.

Be careful. Be mindful. That’s what James wants us to know. Some can’t handle this, so they shouldn’t teach. Some are so into themselves that they shouldn’t teach. Some don’t know what they are teaching, so they shouldn’t teach. But the one that is careful and mindful will do fine.

My life has been blessed by many godly teachers that took the time to share and instruct me. I expect your life has as well.

Roger