Teaching the Bible

To many laymen there is given the responsibility and privilege of teaching the Bible, usually within the curriculum of the church school.

The responsibility involves the importance of such a task, the fact of men’s need for deeper understanding of God’s Word, and the nature of the Book itself.

The privilege consists in the marvel of this volume of “God-breathed literature” which is living and relevant to our times—a divinely given revelation of great truths to be found nowhere else and without which man gropes in darkness.

In a day when so much emphasis has been given to methods, those who teach the Bible should explore not only teaching techniques but the philosophy of teaching upon which methods are built.

There are those who strongly support the discussion method. This has been considered by many as the acme of effectiveness, while the lecture method has been relegated to the era of the one room school house.

Anyone acquainted with the philosophy of progressive education promulgated by John Dewey, along with his emphasis on individual “adjustment” and “methods” of teaching, knows the havoc these ideas have played with American education. The seed was not recognized until its evil fruit had already begun to ripen. A generation trained under this “progressive” method turned out to be uneducated and undisciplined in those things that education should produce.

Has the philosophy which so nearly wrecked American education filtered into the realm of the Church and become adopted by some of those responsible for Christian education?

One can only wonder why the replacement of emphasis on teaching the Bible with discussing it has been thought an improvement.

What lies hack of the change from responsible Bible teachers to “moderators” whose chief qualification is not so much a knowledge of the Bible as an ability to keep discussion going? I believe we should reject any “teaching” which raises questions without answering them—which engenders doubt rather than fosters faith.

We must of course make our Christian faith relevant, in action, to the needs of our times. However, such social emphasis must be balanced by a faithfulness to the content of the faith without which no one can become a Christian.

Basic to Christian education then is the teaching of the Bible. But teaching must be done by those who know the Bible and believe it. Discussion can be profitable only when the ultimate authority of the Scriptures is recognized. Without such reference to authority, decisions arrived at are merely on the level of human reasoning.

Any method which contributes to a knowledge of the Bible—its historical content, moral implications, and spiritual teachings is worthy of use.

That which falls short of leading to an understanding of and faith in the authority and trustworthiness of the Scriptures and the Christ of the Scriptures, should be discarded as unworthy of true Christian education.

It is unfortunate that there exists a cleavage of opinion on a matter of such grave significance. For those of us who believe there is an authority above and beyond the limitations of man’s reason, a revelation of divine truth to which we may turn for final word, the teaching of the Bible is of greatest importance.

There is abundant support for the time-honored method of teaching which has richly borne fruit in the past.

In the Old Testament we find that true revivals started because of the reading and hearing of the Law.

In the New Testament there is similar evidence. Our Lord and the apostles backed their teaching and preaching with the Scriptures. When Apollos went to Ephesus he was fervent and zealous to teach and preach, but his understanding of the Scriptures was limited. Aquila and Priscilla heard him and “expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.” Following this detailed instruction in the Bible we are told that “he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly, showing by the Scriptures that Jesus was Christ.”

Teaching the Bible is a thrilling experience when it is backed by adequate preparation and undergirded with prayer. It is thrilling because of the blessing which the teacher himself receives, and it is exciting because it brings a similar blessing to those willing to be taught.

Let it never be forgotten: we are not dealing with an ordinary book but with a marvelous collection of books written by men of different backgrounds and with varying degrees of education over a period of nearly two millenniums; and still we find a unity of message throughout all the writings which only the Holy Spirit could have produced.

How right is Dr. Crossley Morgan when he speaks with deep reverence of this “God-breathed literature”!

Reverence for the subject being taught makes for an authority on the part of the teacher which is not his own, an authority which students sense.

We note first of all that this authority derives from the very nature of the Holy Scriptures. It is a word of finality which speaks to the longing heart, to the one who has come to realize that the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal. There is no substitute for the finality of “Thus saith the Lord.”

In his short book called Authority, Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones emphasizes the importance of viewing the Bible as a whole. He says: “The Bible is a whole and its authority is complete. But having accepted it all, I still have residual difficulties, problems, and questions. It is surely nothing less than tragic that a man should start with a detail and because he is unhappy about that should say, ‘I cannot recognize the authority of the Scriptures at all.’ ”

In teaching the Bible one also has behind him the authority of Christ revealed in this Book. It is here that we learn of Him and find that he too took as authoritative and final the Old Testament Scriptures with which he was so familiar. At his feet we can learn that attitude of faith which accepts the Scriptures for what they really are—God speaking to men.

Thirdly, a teacher of the Bible speaks by the authority of the Holy Spirit. Only as He is present can the Scriptures be understood. Only as He teaches can we be taught, or can we in turn teach others. It is the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth, who resolves our difficulties, gives understanding to the simple, and enables even a child to apprehend spiritual truths which seem as foolishness to the worldly-wise.

A call to teach the Bible is a privilege to be prayerfully heeded. To the Christian it affords a channel of service, a glorious opportunity not to be found in the secular field. And the fruits of such labor last for all eternity.

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