Let Not Many of You Become Teachers
In 2020 alone, roughly 83,000 young people between the ages of 21 and 30 felt that “God had called them” to become Bible teachers. They had a choice of 247 seminaries to attend, all accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada. I find this information very disconcerting in that some students considered themselves “called” to the ministry, while ignoring certain Scriptural commands. Did God ignore His own Word and make “exceptions” for these people?
One-third of the 83,000 were women (around 27,600). Though Scripture clearly commands that women are not to teach men, but for the “called ones,” apparently God makes the exception. The Lord’s other exception must be the young men who have not had the time to prove that they can live out His biblical criteria for leadership (Titus 1: 5-9, 1Tim. 3:1-7 & 1Pet. 5:1-4).
Each student will have to pay $60-110,000 to earn a ministerial master’s degree! One prominent California seminary advertises, “Invest in Your Calling. Seminary is a sacrifice that requires your time, energy, and resources. But if the Lord who feeds the sparrows and clothes the lilies has called you to this training, will he not also provide the means for you to do it? (Yes, through student loans and debt. Roughly over 2 billion dollars per year in loans to achieve God’s calling.) The investment you make in your preparation will pay ministerial dividends for a lifetime.” (And you’ll be paying off those loans for a lifetime, too!)
These seminaries and 83,000 prospective pastors and Bible teachers must have never read James 3:1, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”
A portion of the book of James is about holding steadfast under trial and counting it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds, because that testing of your faith produces steadfastness (James 1:2-3). The more spiritual tests a Christian endures, the more that Christian will manifest true saving faith. This faith is demonstrated by good works and by faithfully obeying God’s Word. “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22).
James was writing to Jewish believers who had come out of Judaism. They would have believed that being a rabbi, who were the Bible teachers of that period, was the highest calling of God. There was great pride in being called a rabbi.
At that time, men were probably appointing themselves above others to be teachers and spiritual leaders. Perhaps these men felt that God called them to those positions. Whatever the case, James gave the command, “Not many of you should become teachers.”
Today, the majority of men attending seminary have not had their faith tested enough to have earned the right to be in charge of their fellow believers. Their faith has not been seasoned enough. They are too young and inexperienced. Just like the rabbis of old these seminarians will have to rely on their new title “pastor” to prove they are qualified to be Bible teachers. Since these young men have not had enough time to prove a steadfast faith, they will have to rely on the education they paid for.
It is dangerous for anybody to take on a position of authority through presumption when they have not been tested for that position. This takes time over many years! James wrote several admonitions to Christians. Men considering the call of ministry should heed these as well:
- “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak.” (James 1:19)
- “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.” (James 1:26)
- “Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct, let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.” (James 3:13)
- “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22)
Leaders are to be men of faith and actions. Almost all the men who will graduate from seminary and become Bible teachers will end up teaching on Scripture that they have no personal experience with. Examples of these subjects are real humility, hospitality, experience in handling a household, raising children, not getting into debt, how to wait on God and especially the biblical qualifications required of pastor/teachers. Titus 1: 5-9 and 1Tim. 3:1-7 infers that the men who are biblically called to leadership are older experienced men, hence the title, elder.
Many men who put themselves over others as a teacher/pastor will also end up practicing hypocrisy. The only work they can show a church are their accomplishments in the controlled environment of seminary. Other than that, no real works can be seen (1Pet. 5:1-4). “Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct, let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above but is earthly, unspiritual…” (James 3:13-15).
When a person makes himself an authority, he will end up practicing partiality, as described in James 2. But he will be the one whom partiality will be shown to. Because of being a pastor, he will be told, “You sit here in a good place.” Like the rabbi’s in the New Testament era, today’s new pastors like the pastoral positions because of the prominence and position it gives them within the Christian community.
Since a future clergyman’s “call to ministry” is based on a subjective feeling, that belief should be tested. James writes that our testing comes in trials of various kinds. These trials test our faith that produces real and tangible works. Read what some well-known theologians over the centuries have said about the ministry:
- Be not many teachers. Let none of you rashly, and without proper qualifications, undertake the office of teachers of others; an office into which many are ready to intrude themselves, without being called of God to it. (Joseph Benson 1749–1821)
- My brethren, be not many teachers – “Be not many of you teachers.” The evil referred to is that where many desired to be teachers, though but few could be qualified for the office, and though, in fact, comparatively few were required. A small number, qualified, would better discharge the duties of the office, and do more good, than many would; and there would be great evil in having many crowding themselves unqualified into the office. (Albert Barnes 1798-1870)
- be not – literally, “become not”: taking the office too hastily, and of your own accord. Be not many teachers; let not every man make himself a master of other men’s faith and manners, a censor, or supercilious reprover of their failings and infirmities, Matthew 7:1. (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary)
- Teachers. The meaning is, be not too ready to assume the office of religious teachers. The meaning is, that a great responsibility is incurred by everyone who attempts to guide and instruct others. (Jacob Abbott 1803-1879)
- The teaching gift – It is obvious that true teachers must always be a minority. There is something seriously wrong when the majority in the community, or even a large number, are pressing forward to teach the rest. (Alfred Plummer 1841-1926)
Jesus spoke about what He will say on Judgment Day in Matt. 7:22-23; “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy (teach) in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
I’m afraid that God never intended for many church leaders who have been accepted into seminaries and churches to teach. On that day when their works are tested through the fire, all their so-called ministry works and sacrifice that required their time, energy, and resources will be burned away because ministry was not what God had called them to do. No matter how good their works looked here on earth, they only produced hay and stubble.
1 Corinthians 3:12-15 says, “Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”
The man who works a regular job and raises his family according to biblical standards, faithfully attends church, and sits in the pews can have a far greater gold offering for the Lord. He had no gut feelings or spiritual epiphanies. He simply started doing what the Lord gifted him in. He learned his gift over time. He put his energy into what he was called to do. Functioning in his gift did not require the resources of school debt.
Romans 7:3-8 teaches us: “For by the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”
The most valuable gift we can give back to the Lord is to function in the way He has gifted us.
By Rob Robbins, April 2020, churchfm316.com
Editing and Proofreading by Laura Robbins