My Requests For Bible Teachers

Having listened to thousands of sermons over the years, I have learned how to judge a Bible teacher as soon as they start. Perhaps that is bad. I have sometimes cut off a Bible teacher in my mind when perhaps they had a word from God for me but I was too stubborn to hear. Yet I do think that as a Bible teacher we should seek to honour God by seeking not just to be good speakers but by studying God's Word. This seems like such a foundational teaching but so many Bible teachers fail to know God's Word and yet claim to be teaching the Word.

So I thought I would share my own requests for Bible teachers. These request for others is the same for myself.

1. Study The Word - How vital it is that Bible teachers study the Word of God. You can quote Arminius, Calvin, or Spurgeon but if you don't know the Scriptures, your authority is gone. The Bible is the Christian's authority (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Peter said that the Scriptures are above personal experiences (2 Peter 1:16-21). The Word is given to us by God and it is our authority (Luke 10:19-20). We are to examine all things by the Scriptures (1 Thessalonians 5:21) and John says that we are to test the spirits (1 John 4:1-2). How do we do this apart from the Scriptures?

And yet so many teachers I have heard over the years know little of the Word. They fill their teachings with personal experiences, stories, illustrations, and quotes from books they have read but they know little of the Word. They spend more time reading the latest fad books rather than the Word. They fill their minds with quotes and stats from books but they can not quote the Scriptures. Bear in mind that Jesus responded to Satan with the Scriptures (Matthew 4:1-14). In fact, when Jesus was risen from the dead and He taught His disciples about His resurrection, He used Scripture (Luke 24:26-27, 44-45). The book of Acts reveals that the Apostles followed their Master and we find the Apostles standing upon the authority of the Scriptures.

2. Deal With Your Text (And Don't Just Read A Text To Prove A Point) - I have heard so many Bible teachers who, out of the traditions of men (Mark 7:1-13), will open with a passage of Scripture and then never deal with the Scripture. Exegesis of the Scriptures is so important. Like Ezra of old we need Bible teachers who "read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading" (Nehemiah 8:8).

I am sure that many of the Bible teachers I have heard (and in fact am listening to as I write this) have not read many books on exegesis nor have probably taken a class on proper Biblical interpretation. But why not? If we are going to do an important, godly task like teaching the Bible then is it not vital that we know how to study and interpret Scripture? Does not the words of James 3:1 ring clear in the Bible teachers brain that our task is vital for both our hearers and ourselves (1 Timothy 4:16 NIV).

I love Ezra 7:10 where we read, "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." I pray that would be my heart and the heart of every serious Bible teacher.

3. Be Spirit-Filled - Teach the Bible with your heart full of God and His Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). Boring, dry, unanointed Bible teaching puts me to sleep but I love a Bible teacher who is passionate about what they are teaching. I love to hear a teacher who has heard from God in His Word and they know that what they are giving to the people of God is truth and comes from the very Word of God. Spirit-filled Bible teaching is needed today. We have some Bible teachers who do in fact study the Word, they do exegete the passage, and they do parse the Greek but they are not full of the Spirit of God.

I love what Leonard Ravenhill wrote about the disciples in Acts 4:23-24 where the Apostles were released from prison and when they return to the other disciples of Jesus the Bible says they begin to pray and the Scripture says that they were filled with the Spirit and the whole house they were in was shaken (Acts 4:31). Ravenhill writes, "When we pay the building is taken but when they prayed the building was shaken. Our buildings are air-conditioned but their buildings were prayer-conditioned." Being full of the Spirit comes from prayer (Luke 11:13). As we pray and seek God, He opens His Word to our hearts and He fills us with His Spirit. You can spend hours reading your Bible and studying theology but if you are not in the presence of God and His Spirit is with you, your teaching will probably be dry and boring. We need the Holy Spirit to take the teaching and He can place it deep in people's hearts but how we need to seek Him!

4. Be Yourself - There is only one Arminius, one Spurgeon, one Swindoll, one Jeremiah, one Paul. Too many Bible teachers listen to Tony Evans and copy his style and his sermons. I urge you to get before God and be His disciple and allow Him to take the gifts He has given to you and use them for His glory (1 Corinthians 12:7). Be who God made you. Be what you are. Be faithful to the Lord (Revelation 2:10).

I enjoy listening to Mark Rutland but I am not Mark Rutland. He is much older, much wiser, and a better speaker than I am but I have learned to thank God for Dr. Rutland and simply accept who I am in Christ and use the gifts that He has given to me. I don't want to be like Rutland but like Christ (1 John 2:6).

Some have even taken being like their favorite Bible teacher to more extemes. I know that when Rick Warren was in his prime a couple of years ago with his Purpose Driven Life book, one Bible teacher I know of actually begin to dress like Warren with the Hawaiian shirts and all. Others will use the same (and I mean the same) Bible as their favorite Bible teacher. Others will order their teaching and memorise their teachings down to word for word. I enjoy some Bible teachers but not that much!

5. Hear From God - John 8:47 says, "Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God." God speaks to His children. We can debate whether He speaks outside of the Bible but I am convinced that He does speak to us in the Bible. I don't know if He speaks to people in visions or dreams but I do know that He speaks to us in His Word. I heard one Bible teacher (who does believe God speaks apart from Scripture) say, "Why do you want to hear God outside of His Word when you have not even started to obey what He has already revealed in His Word?" I agree.

People want to hear from God. Yes they do sometimes want to hear from God in unbiblical means and yes we have some people even in the Church who want to not be disciples of Jesus and study and learn from Him but instead they want to hear a "prophetic" word or have a vision. But I believe that God speaks primarily through His Word to His people. His Word is perfect (Psalm 12:6; 18:30; 19:7; Proverbs 30:5; Matthew 5:18). If we will be disciples and be disciplined in the Word, we will hear from God. I guarantee this.

When the Bible teacher stands up we should be speaking the Word of God. We should be speaking what we have heard from God in His Word. The people of God don't need to hear the latest fad sermons or the latest book you have read but they need to hear from God through His Word. You and I must have heard from God in order to give His word for the hour. We must have been in the secret place alone with Him hearing His heart (Matthew 6:6). Quotes are fine. Illustrations are fine. But hear from God first and foremost before filling your teachings with the words of men.

Conclusion - Bible teaching is so important. We need to have Bible teachers in the Church but we need Bible teachers who will be faithful before God to teach His Word. The key is faithfulness. Faithfulness is important and it is the hallmark of every true disciple of Jesus but it is also vital to Bible teaching. May God raise up true Bible teachers who will be faithful to hear His voice, obey Him, and faithfully teach His Word.