• Home
  • About This Blog
  • Contact Me
  • Subscribe
  • Comment Policy

Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
Home Bible Reflection A warning to teachers

A warning to teachers

Posted on April 29, 2016 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment


A warning to teachers
Copyright: carmenbobo / 123RF Stock Photo

To keep the body healthy, there are times when we need to get bad news from the doctor. I would not trust any doctor who told me that I can eat whatever I want, as much as I want, and that I should not worry about any consequences. Any doctor who behaved in this way would be doing me a disservice, even though I truly wish it were possible to live on bacon cheeseburgers, carnitas burritos and pizza.

Such a doctor would be committing malpractice and should surrender his license to the authorities.

Any survey of the religious section or the self-help section of any bookstore will produce many examples of similar malpractice with regard to spiritual things. There is nothing that I can do or even want to do for which I could not find some “expert” somewhere that would tell me that it is the right thing to do, even if it is ultimately self-destructive. We might think this is a new problem, but that would be a wrong conclusion.

God said this to the Israelites through Jeremiah about two and a half millennia ago:

“An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?” (Jeremiah 5:30–31, ESV)

The prophets told the people what they wanted to hear and the priests lined their pockets by going along with it.

I don’t really want my pastor to say anything from the pulpit that makes me uncomfortable. I don’t want my pastor to challenge me in areas where I struggle to obey. I would prefer that he give me a nice 20 minute pep talk that tells me how good I am and to keep going on my current trajectory.

But that is not what I need. For my pastor to do this would require that he ignore the large chunks of Scripture that say otherwise.

Church leaders, and especially those who have a teaching ministry, have the responsibility to take Scripture as it is and let it say what it really says. To do this effectively requires that teachers first let it challenge their own hearts. One cannot effectively teach what he has not learned.

Teachers must have a healthy distrust of their own hearts and an openness before God to allow correction in their own lives. Teachers must allow the prophetic voice to speak to them before they can be that voice to others.

Please don’t tell me what I want to hear, tell me what I need to hear. If you tell me only what I want to hear, you will not be setting me up to be well when I finally meet my maker.

Jeremiah asks a very important question, “What will you do when the end comes?”

The end always comes.


Filed Under: Bible Reflection Tagged With: pastor, teacher, teachers, warning

About Mark McIntyre

A follower of Jesus Christ who shares observations about how Scripture should impact the church and the world. Mark is the original author and editor of Attempts at Honesty.

Follow Attempts at Honesty

Honesty in your Inbox

Anticipating an Important Letter

How fast would you run to the mailbox if you knew that a personal letter from the President was waiting for you? Regardless of your political loyalties, to have such a letter would be an important occasion and you would have great anticipation as to how the letter will affect you. While many of us […]

18 Words

J. I. Packer on our response to Scripture

This reminds me that the goal of reading Scripture is not the gathering of knowledge for its own sake. The goal of theology should not be understanding for its own sake.

Rumble Strips

Thankful for the rumble strips

Rumble strips on the road assist us in arriving at our destination and keep us out of the ditch. Scripture provides warnings that function as spiritual rumble strips. One is found in Galatians 5 and is the subject of this post.

Internet Troll

Never avenge yourselves – A warning to Christian trolls

In the internet age, civility seems to be the primary casualty. It is so easy to vent our judgment and hostility to those with whom we don’t agree. Unfortunately, those in the church sometimes share in this trollish behavior. There have been times when I have read social media posts and cringed at the lack of sensitivity to those who don’t share our beliefs.

Chreaster

How to keep Chreasters coming back

How should the church respond to Chreasters, those who attend on Christmas and Easter? Is there anything we can do to keep them coming? I think there is and it isn’t very complicated.

Post Series

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series

Categories

Archives

Blogger Grid
Follow me on Blogarama

Copyright © 2022 · Focus Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in