INTRODUCTION

1. In Hebrews 5:12, Scripture indicates that there comes a time when every Christian ought to be a teacher.

2. Presently, let us consider why we ought to be teachers according to the Scriptures.

    

YOU OUGHT TO BE TEACHERS BECAUSE...

1. Becoming a teacher is part of becoming mature.

   1. Because Hebrews 5:11-14 is our keynote passage, let us consider it first:

      ¹¹Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.  ¹²For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.  ¹³For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.  ¹⁴But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

   2. In the healthy progression of spiritual growth, a Christian should grow into the role of a teacher.

   3. The problem with the Hebrew Christians addressed in this passage was that they were stifled in their growth due to their own dullness of hearing and failure to practice the word of righteousness.  In other words, they were not listening to God's word, they were not doing God's word, and therefore they were not growing or teaching.

   4. Specifically, it is the "elementary principles of the oracles of God" that every Christian should be able to teach.  Every Christian should be able to tell others the basic gospel plan of salvation.

2. You have a commission from the Lord.

   1. The Great Commission was given by the Lord to the apostles, and they were to pass it on to us.  Consider Matthew 28:18-20:

      ¹⁸And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

   2. The mandate for teaching is given in verse 20.  The apostles were commanded to teach disciples in all the nations to observe Christ's commandments, including the commandment to teach others.  Thus, we are heirs to this commission from the Lord.

   3. A commission is a job, a responsibility, and a stewardship. We all will have to answer to the Lord for how well we have carried out His commission for teaching.

   4. This commission is fulfilled in many ways.

      1. Certain aspects of the commission are set in stone, such as making disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that Christ commanded.

      2. Other aspects of the commission are flexible, such as the location of the teaching (anywhere in the world) and the persons to be taught (anyone in the world).

      3. Therefore, you can fulfill this commission by teaching your children, family members, neighbors, coworkers, friends, or even complete strangers.  You can do this in your home, your neighborhood, or anywhere else in the world.

      4. However, you cannot fulfill this commission by doing nothing.  You must teach.

3. The gospel is meant to be shared.

   1. Consider Mark's account of the Great Commission in Mark 16:15-16:

      ¹⁵And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.  ¹⁶"He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned."

   2. The Lord intended for the gospel to be shared with "all creation."  The gospel was not given to be hoarded by a few, but rather it is to be shared by every person who receives it through the avenue of teaching.

   3. The gospel is a precious, rich treasure (2Tim. 1:14) that is to be passed on by teaching from person to person.  Notice 2Timothy 2:2:

      The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

   4. If you have been entrusted with the gospel, then you are expected to teach others also.

4. It is the church's responsibility to teach the truth.

   1. Every Christian is a member of the church (1Cor. 12:27; Eph. 1:22-23).  Therefore, every Christian shares a part in the work of the church.

   2. Upholding, teaching, and defending the truth of the gospel is the church's responsibility.  Consider 1Timothy 3:14-15:

      ¹⁴I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; ¹⁵but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.

   3. If you are a Christian, then you must participate in the church's support of the truth.  If the members of the church fail in this regard, then the church fails.

5. Too many people have not heard the gospel.

   1. After quoting Joel 2:32, "Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved," Paul described a process that leads individuals to call upon His name. Notice Romans 10:14-17:

      ¹⁴How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed?  How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard?  And how will they hear without a preacher?  ¹⁵How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!"  ¹⁶However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our report?"  ¹⁷So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

   2. In the context, Paul showed that Israel was responsible for their own lost condition, for every step of this process had been fulfilled for them, but they refused to believe in Jesus.

   3. Concerning our responsibility to teach, we see that this chain of events in the process to salvation will be broken if we do not teach the gospel.  The pertinent question for us, "How will they hear without a preacher?"

   4. As it is, too many people have not heard, and thus they cannot arrive at faith.  We have been sent to them via the Great Commission, so we must see to it that this chain is not broken by our failure.

6. False doctrines must be refuted.

   1. The truth that we must teach is constantly under attack by those who seek to rob, corrupt, and destroy it.  For this reason, we have this instruction in 2Timothy 1:14:

      Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.

   2. As teachers of the truth, we are not merely passive imparters of information, but rather we are aggressive promoters of the gospel and tenacious defenders of God's holy word.  Here is our charge in 2Timothy 4:1-5:

      ¹I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: ²preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.  ³For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, ⁴and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.  ⁵But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

   3. When we teach the truth, we also demolish the lies, myths, and deception that have assaulted the gospel.  Notice 2Corinthians 10:3-6:

      ³For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, ⁴for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.  ⁵We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,⁶and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.

   4. Indeed, we have stepped onto a spiritual battlefield, and we wield the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Eph. 6:10-17). God gave us the sword to use and not to leave in its scabbard.

       

CONCLUSION

1. The mandate to be a teacher is not an expectation for every Christian to become a doctor of theology. Instead, it is simply a call for the disciples of Christ to teach others how to become disciples.

2. Therefore, become a teacher of the gospel if you are not already.  Don't make it hard for yourself, but simply express your faith in Christ in the ordinary course of your life and conversations.  For the spiritually mature, this will come naturally as they become more and more like Jesus, the Master Teacher.