"Pastor, Please Teach Me!"

Was he over-reacting to unctionless, dispassionate, academic and unimagi-native preaching? Possibly. All I know—and I remember the context quite well in which the statement was made—is what he did say. I thought to myself at the time: If the church needs more of anything, it needs more pastors who can effectively teach the Word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit. I thought: If I were a layperson, among essential criteria, I would want my pastor to be able to teach the people the Word of God. And I believe this is the cry of many of our dear hungry-hearted people sitting in our pews. Many of them are saying, "Pastor, please teach me!"

But is there a difference between preaching and teaching? Biblically speaking — yes. Note in the following references to the ministry of Jesus Christ how the two are juxtaposed.

"Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people" (Matthew 4:23).

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sick-ness" (Matthew 9:35).

After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee" (Matthew 11:1).

Jesus taught as well as preached. What's the difference? Teaching (didache) includes three critical components, each one necessary to the teaching exercise: examination, explanation, application. When Jesus taught the disciples, He was explaining and applying biblical truths, which he intuitively knew. When He preached (kerygma) the Word, He was proclaiming the good news of salvation. One is a proclamation, the other explanation and/or application.

Examination

Before Scripture can to be explained and applied, the man of God must first of all carefully examine the text. This means poring over resources at his disposal: original languages, word studies, cross-references, commentaries, etc. The goal is to discover what the text says. No, this doesn't rule out prayer and meditation. The earnest preacher prayerfully does his research, his homework, his examination. If we don't begin our study with examining the text, we are not good stewards of the Word of God, and we might even end up embarrassing ourselves because of carelessness.

It has happened to me. A good many years ago when I was a young preacher, I once extemporaneously explained a word during a sermon which I later discovered I had given the wrong meaning to. It was the word "purloining", Titus 2:10, KJV. In my ignorance, I said, "We all know what that means; it means procrastination." I still laugh when I think about it. Following the service, a wise sister in the Lord took me aside and gently corrected me. "Pastor Tilley," she said, "about that word purloining, are you sure it doesn't mean stealing?" She was right, of course, and I've never forgotten the lesson: "Pastor, do your home-work." Before we can teach the Word, we must examine the Word.

Explanation

What we have "mined" in our study with open books and bowed knees must then be carried to the people to explain the text to them—to teach them what the God-inspired writer actually meant. What a responsibility! What a privilege! How awesome the task!

Explanation should be done carefully, methodically, and interestingly—not , however, tediously. It's not good enough to merely state the facts anymore than it would be to eat the ingredients of a cake separately. One needs to be humble since the truth is for the preacher as well as the listeners; passionate—we have to feel what we teach; and reverent—inasmuch as we know we are handling the God-breathed Word and teaching eternity-bound people. Remember, teaching without explanation is not teaching. Telling the truth and teaching the truth are not to be confused.

Application

A sermon without illustrations is like a house without windows. It keeps the house dark without shedding light on its subjects. Jesus taught in parables, He used as object lessons familiar sights: a little child, a fig tree, a lost sheep, a stern judge. No thirsty soul ever left His presence but what he got the message, understood the lesson. He spoke truth appealingly, with integrity, patiently and clearly. Teaching minus application is not teaching.

Believers are continually in need of teaching. They need to be taught Scriptural truth systematically, in the power of the Spirit, so that they in turn will be able to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. An ignorant Christian will get to heaven, but an informed Christian—who acts on what he knows—will be a mature Christian and a blessed and fruitful Christian. It is clear from Scriptures that the minister is to be a teacher as well as a preacher. His calling involves not only heralding forth the gospel, but teaching the gospel to his hearers.

The apostle Paul admonished the Ephesian pastor-teacher Timothy:

". . .the overseer must be . . . able to teach. . . ."

". . .teach these things."

"And the Lord's servant must . . . be . . . able to teach. . . ." (1 Tim. 3:2; 4:11; 2 Tim. 2:24).

And let's not forget the final words of our Lord to His disciples immediately prior to His ascension: "go and make disciples . . . teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Mt. 28:20). Sinners are to be evangelized—preached to, announced the gospel to—Christians are to be taught.

William Barclay, writing on this subject in his volume entitled Fishers of Men observed:

"The biggest single fault with the pulpit in these modern times is that it has so largely neglected the teaching ministry. And yet how much easier for the preacher as well as how much more beneficial for the congregation the teaching ministry is. If a man is systematically expounding the Christian faith he will never lack for material, and he will never be desperately casting about on a Saturday evening for something to preach about on Sunday."

Can we hear the plaintive cry from the earnest sheep? "Pastor, please teach me!"

– Soli Deo Gloria –