Among the qualifications for a bishop listed in 1 Timothy 3, is the ability to teach (vs 2). Often, we leave this to the church leadership thinking that is their duty and not ours. But, is that true?
As servants of God, we are instructed to be able to teach (2 Tim 2:24). The Greek word for “teach” here, “DidaKtikos,” doesn’t necessarily mean we should hold positions as teachers, but we should be able to teach the basic beliefs of the church to those who are young in the Lord (Col. 3:16).
We who are older in the faith should be able to contend for the faith and be able to spot false teachers within the body (Jude 1:3-4), we need to examine ourselves to see if our beliefs line up with the Bible (2 Cor. 13:5), we are to be able to answer the questions of those who challenge our faith (1 Pet. 3:15), older (in the Lord) women are expected to teach the younger women (Titus 2:3). This takes more study and commitment than the average Christian is willing to take on.
Ours is a reasonable faith, a faith founded on fact, not a blind faith. We have reasons to believe what we do, and this blog is here to help you find ways to deepen your faith and to share your faith more effectively with others.
Ours should be a quest to lead people out of the darkness and share with the Light of the world, Jesus.
In the early church, there were creeds to memorize in order to make sure the catechumen (the candidate for baptism) understood fully the faith he or she was identifying with. Creeds like we see in 1 Cor. 15:3-7 and in Phil. 2:5-11. Later, of course, there were the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed, and others. These are a condensation of the beliefs of the church, but unfortunately, became more topics for discussions between early church leadership rather than something understood by the rank and file.
The truth was held and even abused during the middle ages by the elite few and seldom shared with the congregants. Once Luther, Calvin, Huss, and the like began to return the faith to the people aided by translators like Wycliff and a number of others including Luther himself as well as the printing press which spread the Word, nothing could keep the Truth from the people.
In the 18th Century the US and England, had a spiritual “Great Awakening” with leaders like Whitfield and John Wesley. A second “Great Awakening” was led in the US by Charles Finney in the 19th Century. While Whitfield and Wesley taught strait Scripture, Finney instead told moving stories encouraging people to make an emotional decision for Christ rather than a Scripturally based one. Tens of thousands of new Christians now saw little need to study Scripture and the average faith was extremely shallow. This is the consequence of a lack of teaching and a reliance on emotion.
Then in 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee, John Scopes was put on trial for teaching creationism. The trial was broadcast nationwide over the radio and was as well known as the OJ Simpson trial. Clarence Darrow put William Jennings Bryan on the stand, a devout Presbyerian and hero of the Christian position. Bryan was a result of the shallow Finney church and was thoroughly and publicly embarrassed along with the church for his lack of substantive answers. In fact, Bryan, a diabetic, died just five days after the trial ended.
Today’s church is not much better than it was 92 years ago. We are often afraid of being embarrassed publicly by our lack of knowledge of our faith. The best reason the atheists are doing so well in our schools and universities is that the Christians are as poorly informed as they.
Let’s take 1 Peter 3:15 to heart and have answers for a lost world. The resources to help us do this are plentiful and readily available. Some are right here on this site. If you can’t find others, drop me a note so I can help. Let’s build an army of Believers Armed and Dangerous to reach out to even the hard to reach. And, let us teach others in the body what we learn. We are the Church Triumphant!
1 Timothy 3:2 (NKJV)
2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach;
2 Timothy 2:24 (NKJV)
24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient,
Colossians 3:16-17 (NKJV)
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
2 Corinthians 13:5 (NKJV)
5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?–unless indeed you are disqualified.
1 Peter 3:15 (NKJV)
15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;
Titus 2:3 (NKJV)
3 the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things
1 Corinthians 15:3-7 (NKJV)
3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.
6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.
7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.
Philippians 2:5-11 (NKJV)
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Nicene Creed
We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
begotten from the Father before all ages,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made;
of the same essence as the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
and was made human.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered and was buried.
The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again with glory
to judge the living and the dead.
His kingdom will never end.
And we believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life.
He proceeds from the Father and the Son,
and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.
He spoke through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
and to life in the world to come. Amen.
Believers Armed and Dangerous 