Thoughts from The Bible

Thoughts from the Bible

Tuesday, 19 March 2024 08:57

Do I Need to Listen to Bible Teachers?
by Sarah Wootten Corinth Missionary Baptist Church

Do we actually need teachers in the church? You might think that’s a silly question, but seriously, do we need teachers? For those of you who attend a local church regularly, you can’t imagine a Sunday without someone preaching. But others may say, “I have a Bible and prayer. Why do I need to listen to what someone else has to say?”
Throughout the New Testament, it is clear that pastors, elders, teachers, etc. are necessary and part of God’s design for local congregations (see Ephesians 4:11:-12). John himself was an apostle of the church and taught God’s Word to believers.
But when you turn to 1 John 2:27, you read some interesting words. It says, “But the anointing that you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in Him,” (ESV). Was John simultaneously teaching people while telling them they don’t need to be taught?

Now you know the reason for the initial question.
When you read any portion of Scripture, it is important to remember the context. In 1 John, John has repeatedly reminded the believers to not be deceived (see 1 John 2:26). John isn’t telling them to do away with all teachers. Rather, he is telling them that they have already been taught the truth; therefore, they don’t need anyone else to teach them another version of the gospel, a false gospel. It’s an exhortation to abide in the true gospel, which they already knew and not be led astray.

Unfortunately, people throughout the past several centuries have taken verse 27 and concluded that they didn’t need to be taught by anyone. They claim that everything they need to know can come from inside of themselves because the Spirit resides in them. With this view, Christianity often gets mixed with mysticism – looking inside oneself for truth, direction, spiritual discernment, and peace. One of the major problems with this is that even as born-again believers, we aren’t always right. Christians are called to mature in the faith and grow in obedience. This implies that we start off immature and disobedient. Our feelings aren’t reliable. Even “having peace” about something isn’t always a good indicator of truth. Sometimes, following God’s commands is hard, and as you walk in obedience, the flesh screams for you to stop. There’s a war inside of you as the urge to disobey attacks the actions of obedience. There is no inner peace, even though God’s command is clear. It’s impossible to look inside of yourself and find the truth one hundred percent of the time. We need to look outside of ourselves to God and His Word.

Another pitfall of taking this verse out of context would be people claiming that God gave them a special message, and since it came from God, it can’t be wrong. The phrase “God told me,’’ becomes the trump card that can’t be overturned, even if it’s contrary to the Bible. Again, this is not what John is teaching. John’s message is still one of warning these young believers, whom he loves dearly. They were taught the true and complete gospel; therefore, they have no need to listen to these false teachers that have crept up among them.

John can say this to these believers because he knew that they were taught the truth. But honestly, I can’t tell you the same thing. I don’t know if you sit under the faithful teaching of God’s word. I don’t know if you understand the gospel message. I don’t know if you were taught the truth or a lie. So I’m going to leave you with these things to think about for yourself.
On a final note, I am truly blessed to have had many wonderful and faithful Bible teachers in my life, and I praise God for them. However, these two verses also point us to someone else – an even better Teacher than all my favorite Bible teachers combined. Lord willing, we will examine Him in His teaching role next week.