“TEACHING AND PREACHING”

Eph 4:11-14

11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

Preaching is a vital cog in the ministry of perfecting, edifying, and uniting the saints in faith and knowledge. It develops and produces full-grown Christians rather than spiritual pygmies, or unmoving mannequins. The balance reached by rightly dividing the Word of Truth is made possible only by and through competent teachers and preachers.

Like a skilled surgeon delicately using a scapel with precision to do only what is necessary, so the teacher or preacher should carefully apply the Word of God. The God lead preacher will preacher and teach the Word with pin-point accuracy.

Jesus never erred in His teaching. His teaching was right, precise, accurate, decisive, explicit, and demanding, and the apostolic preacher today should also aspire
to teach with the same qualities.

I. THE NEED OF TEACHING:

In a world that is filled with violence, hatred, wars, rape, and mass starvation, it is apparent that our present system of instruction is very inadequate. A time when modern technology enables men to place people on the moon and to maneuver space ships in outer space but cannot seem to teach us to live peaceably with one another, there is a vital ingredient missing. The missing link in most teaching in the world is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

More than ever before, I believe, that teachers of truth need to emphasize the gospel of the Lord Jesus and teach it with clarity.

A Universal need:

The need for sound Bible teaching is not just a local issue; rather it is an international crisis. In a world of over five billion people, only one third of these accept Jesus as divine. Two thirds of the worlds population either have never

Pg. 2
“TEACHING AND PREACHING”

heard, do not believe in Him at all, or accept Him as only a man. This is a tragedy of immense proportion.

The best way for the vast multitudes of the world to be taught and led from their over-whelming darkness is for them to see the glory of God upon His church. For this to happen, Saints must eliminate from their lives all carnality, vanity, and arrogance so that others can see Jesus in us—not ugly, proud, and fleshly people.

In our day there are many issues of great concern. There is the rising cost of health care and the fact that many people can’t afford it. Joblessness is still a concern. The government is concerned about “gay rights” and “abortion rights”.

The rising national debt and mounting deficits in the balance of trade is among the top of the list of concerns.

There is one matter though that needs to be addressed by our government that they are trying to ignore. Prayer and Bible has been banded from our schools, and this decision has caused public education to suffer. Americans today place undue attention on athletics and sporting events but fail to see the value of teaching morals and ethics.

At the top of the list of needs for teaching in our day, as well as for all times, should be the teaching of the truth of the Word of God. It sheds light on the purpose of life. Because of the preciousness of truth and the debauchery of man, people of all times have needed the teaching of God’s Word.

Not to know the truth for any reason is sad. But some do not know the truth because they lack an instructor. This is regrettable, yet there is an even more unfortunate scenario. That is, some people have a knowledgeable teacher who loves the truth, yet they reject his teaching and will not obey the gospel.

Preaching moves people toward being saved and remaining saved. The anointed preaching of the gospel brings conviction of sins, enabling sinners to cry out to God in repentance.

Teaching and Preaching should have high priority in doing the work of God. They are the medium by which God opens the understanding of people to His Word.

Equal in value to the teaching and preaching of the gospel is the willingness of individuals to both listen and obey the Word. It’s tragic when a person don’t have the opportunity to hear the Word of God. Sadder, however,
Pg. 3
“TEACHING AND PREACHING”

are those who hear the Word of God and have no compulsion to obey. Our privilege to hear also increases our responsibility to act accordingly.

II. EXAMPLES OF TEACHING:

The greatist teacher of all time, Jesus, used different methods to teach the people of His day.

A. Jesus taught by parables:

A parable is an illustration that compares two things alongside each other to make truth more readily apparent. He taught from, atleast, thirty parables, all of them designed to bring truth to ever day living.

B. Jesus taught by discourse:

An example of this kind of teaching is the sermon on the mount in Matt. 5.

C. Jesus taught by example:

The life and the teachings of Jesus were on the same level. There were no inconsistencies or contradictions between what He spoke and what He was. He also denounce those who teach one thing and live another.

III. THE RESULTS OF TEACHING AND PREACHING:

Teaching is designed to change those who are taught. We are in church for one purpose and that is , we don’t want to be lost, we want to be saved.

We all have seen what anointed preaching of the Word of God can and will do.

Don’t be guilty of unestimating the power of God through the preached Word.