Teaching So Everyone Can Understand
Teaching So Everyone Can Understand
As many of you know, I am just a country boy from the back woods of Northern Indiana whom God called to shepherd His people. I have never wanted people to walk away talking about my vocabulary or my education. I want them to walk away talking about Jesus Christ. If a seven-year-old child and a seventy-year-old can both understand what I am saying, then I believe I have accomplished something worthwhile. One of my favorite sayings I believe is from Mark Twain: "Why use a five-dollar word when a fifty-cent word will do." This is a good principle when it comes to preaching, teaching, or writing articles and encouraging letters.
The Apostle Paul had the very same desire. He wrote, "For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power" 1 Corinthians 1:17. Paul's confidence was never in polished speech or impressive language. His confidence rested in the power of the gospel. The message is what saves people, not the messenger's ability to sound eloquent. That should be the desire of every shepherd and every believer sharing the gospel. We are not called to impress people. We are called to feed people. If our message leaves people overwhelmed, confused, or feeling like they need a dictionary just to understand what they heard, then we have probably missed the point. Our calling is to take the deep truths of God's Word and explain them in such a way that ordinary people can understand them and apply them to their lives.
Now, saying that does not mean we should avoid theology or doctrine. Quite the opposite. The deepest truths in Scripture belong to every believer, not just pastors, professors, or seminary students. Our responsibility is not to water down biblical truth. Our responsibility is to make biblical truth understandable. Never assume everyone already knows what those big words mean. Those important biblical truths, the big words help us understand the riches of God's grace. So instead of skipping them, we should explain them carefully, patiently, and repeatedly until God's people become familiar with them. Think about it, how can someone fully appreciate Paul's letter to the Romans if they do not understand justification? How can they grasp Hebrews without understanding Christ's atoning work? How can they read Ephesians without learning about election and adoption? These are not just theological words reserved for scholars. They are family words for the children of God.
Paul reminded Timothy of this responsibility when he wrote, "Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching" 2 Timothy 4:2. Notice that Paul joins patience with teaching. Good teaching takes time. It requires a shepherd who is willing to explain difficult things over and over again because he loves the flock God has entrusted to him. Sometimes we underestimate our church family. We assume people cannot learn difficult doctrines, so we avoid teaching them. This is a mistake. God's people need to grow and understand His Word. If we teach clearly, patiently, and lovingly, they will learn. Over time their understanding will deepen, their faith will become stronger, and they will become more confident readers of Scripture. The church has always understood the importance of sound doctrine. Augustine defended the biblical teaching on sin and grace. The Reformers stood firmly upon justification by faith alone. They did not invent these doctrines. They simply defended what the Scriptures had always taught. Their labor reminds us that doctrine matters because truth matters.
We also have the responsibility to prepare God's people to recognize error. False teachers rarely announce themselves by saying, "I am here to deceive you." They usually come speaking the language of the Bible while twisting the meaning of the Bible. Paul warned the Ephesian elders about this very danger. "Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock... I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock" Acts 20:28-29. Some of those wolves would even arise from within the church itself. That is why sound teaching is so important. Sheep that know God's Word are far less likely to be deceived. Sheep that understand sound doctrine can recognize counterfeit teaching. They learn to distinguish truth from error, faithful shepherds from false teachers, and healthy food from spiritual poison.
Paul gave another solemn warning to the churches in Galatia when he wrote, "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed" Galatians 1:8, ESV. That warning is just as necessary today as it was when Paul first wrote it. There are many voices competing for the attention of God's people, but only one gospel has the power to save. We must therefore commit ourselves to careful exposition of Scripture. We must teach every passage in its context. We must help people see that from Genesis to Revelation there is one divine Author and one unfolding story of redemption centered upon Jesus Christ. We must show how every doctrine fits together and points us to the glory of God in Christ.
That kind of preaching and teaching requires hard work. It requires study, prayer, humility, and dependence upon the Holy Spirit. But it also requires us to remember who we are. We are not entertainers. We are not motivational speakers. We are believers and followers of the Great Shepherd. Our task is to feed Christ's sheep with the truth of His Word.
So I will continue to teach and preach the way I always have. I will use simple words whenever I can. I will explain the difficult words whenever I must. I will never apologize for teaching sound doctrine, but I will do my very best to make those doctrines understandable. My prayer is that whether you are seven years old or seventy years old, you will stay Bold in the Gospel and Strong in His Word.
