Page 110 - Homiletics I Student Textbook

1. Understand your calling.

You are called to teach. God has commanded you to be involved daily in
the process of guiding others to become holy and righteous people. If you
are a pastor, you are called by God to preach the Word (II Timothy 4:2), and
to teach your church to follow Christ’s commandments (Titus 2: 1-15). If
you are a parent, you are called to teach and train your children. Husbands
are called to teach their wives. You might be asked to teach a class at your
church. Whether you like it or not, as a believer, you have been
commanded to teach others.

Exodus 18:20 20 Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and
how they are to behave.

Titus 2:1 But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing
one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

I Timothy 4: 13 Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and
teaching.

Becoming a teacher is a noble calling. A teacher gleans truths from God’s Word and shares those truths
with others. What could be more important than that? A teacher takes a situation in someone’s life
and gives that person guidance based on the Word. A teacher brings light into the lives of people where
there may be darkness.

However, there is a catch. Because of the grave responsibility a teacher has in their influence in the lives
of others, God says they will be judged at a higher level than if they remained silent.

James 3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will
be judged with greater strictness.

A teacher will be held accountable for what they share, the guidance they give, and the direction they
lead. The reason is that a teacher must be able to carefully understand and know what the Scriptures
teach about a subject and carefully communicate TRUTH to others. If the teacher slants the truth or
perverts it in any way, then that teacher will be judged accordingly. That means a teacher MUST KNOW
the Word and accurately interpret God’s Word exactly as God has written it for us.

What this means is that a teacher must be a student in God’s Word. He must daily seek to study and
understand the Bible so that the information He learns can then be accurately passed on to others. The
more time he spends in the Word and in fellowship with Christ, the better teacher he will be. So, you
see, one of the KEYS to becoming a great teacher is to immerse yourself in God’s Word daily.

II Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to
be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. (NIV)

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