Teachers and the Bible, Inescapable Reality

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Here is a video I did about a year ago on the reality of “teachers” in the body of Christ; and how it is that it is inescapable to not follow teachers in relation to our understanding and engagement of the Scriptures. Tell me what you think . . .

5 thoughts on “Teachers and the Bible, Inescapable Reality”

  1. Hey Bobby,
    I appreciate this. Truth is, I can not read the passage where Paul says “One says ‘I am of Paul’ another ‘I am of Apollos’…” without being convicted. I suppose that is a common conviction. “Therefore be ye followers of Christ”. So we SAY we follow only the scripture, and strive to do so, and deny that we have this template given us by our teachers, that guides us in interpretation. Truth is I have always been “of Paul” and “of John, the disciple whom Jesus loved” because these spoke to me words that were more easily entreated than those of Peter and James, or even Matthew, Mark and Luke.

  2. I agree with the point you made in the video about following scripture only. I think that’s why the word is in the plural, “teachers” as opposed to the singular, “teacher.” A good practice is to be a widely read person so as not to follow any one strain of teaching too closely and limit your own teachability. Of course, Jesus had his own personality cult with his own groupies. They followed him because he did magic tricks and pulled food out of a hat for them to eat. So even the “I am of Christ” sentiment isn’t enough. You can pick and choose from among what he taught and not really get away from it in the end.

  3. Good reminder, Bobby.

    I don’t really know enough about any single teacher (Calvin, Luther, MacArthur, Piper) to be able to claim that I “follow” him. But I know I’ve been influenced by all of them at some point.

    Paul’s instruction to “examine everything carefully…and hold fast to that which is good” is something I try to remember when encountering various teachings. Learning how to sift through information for what is true has helped keep me from slavishly attaching myself to any individual and allows for agreement in some areas while acknowledging that even very godly teachers are still human and can make mistakes.

  4. I follow ya Bobby! πŸ™‚

    Seriously though, I am probably guilty of what you are talking about. I suppose I could re-state my position by saying I try not to follow any man, but to follow Christ and Scripture. Not that I don’t listen to what people say, or that I am not affected by what they say, but I try to be like those who searched the scriptures to see if what Paul said was true. Paul said, follow me as I follow Christ. That is my desire. Not to make it hard on teachers, and I am also a teacher from time to time. I just know that we teachers get it wrong sometimes too.

    Thanks for your thoughts though. I understand what you are saying, and mostly agree.

    Craig

  5. Duane,

    Indeed. And to be clear, my point is that we all have an informing grid that we bring to Scripture as interpreters . . . we aren’t tabula rasa as our friend John Locke would have it. Nevertheless, I do believe that Scripture has one intended meaning shaped by the authorial intent; as interpreters it is our job to get at that; of course, the human challenge is to make sure that we are actually taking out of instead of reading into the scriptures and importing something into it that isn’t there. I think the only way we can really denude ourselves of our preunderstandings is by humbly listening to others, outside our interpretive camp, and allow the different perspectives on each text have their say. In this way we become much more astute and sensitive to our own bias’ and our “teachers” biases.

    I’m not denying the clarity or perscipuity of the scriptures, just the opposite; instead I want to draw attention to the fact that we have been “muddied” as interpreters. Thus interpreting scripture requires work, and a life long commitment.

    Steve,

    I agree with you, see my comment to Duane. Count me as a Jesus “groupie.” πŸ™‚

    Heather,

    I think we should all do as Paul commended the Bereans for. Even so, the Bereans had teachers who they followed to (maybe the school of Berea). In other words, they must have had good teachers; who encouraged them to check and cross-check the scriptures and each other by the scriptures.

    Craig,

    See my comment to Heather. I’m glad that you “mostly” agree πŸ˜‰ .

    To All,

    I’m not denying that we are to look to scripture as the norming-norm of how we think and even interpret the scriptures (inductively); really, as I noted with Daune, I want to highlight or alert us to the fact that the interpreter is in a compromised state (vs. the state of the text which is pure and inspired by God) — thus to say, as Ergun Caner did, that he “just follows Scripture,” and then turn around and use that as the substantiation of his disagreement with the Calvinists — this game is a circular one. Caner is being disingenuous, and even deceptive; to say that “I” just follow scripture so follow me, seems to suggest that I have attained a point of “objectivity” that is magesterial in orientation or infallible — in fact we are all fallible interpreters who need to hold each other accountable and to challenge each other. Understanding scripture is never this static event, it is a dynamic enterprise that involves the “community of faith” (as the “Bereans vs. Paul”) to properly engage and provisionally understand what in fact the scriptures are disclosing about God in Christ. This is my point . . . is it “clear?” πŸ˜‰

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