Matthew 28:19–20
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
This was the final, but by no means the least, commandment of the Lord Jesus Christ to His apostles before His ascension. He commanded them to teach all nations, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and instruct them to observe everything He had commanded.
Winning souls is not the end of the assignment; it is the beginning. If someone wins a soul for God but cannot teach that soul the ordinances of God, how will that soul grow spiritually and conform to God’s standard of righteousness?
This is where the failure of many ministries becomes evident. People are brought into the church but are not adequately taught the truth that should govern their lives. Consequently, many rely on self-righteousness rather than submitting to God’s righteousness and receiving His salvation according to His Word.
Many Christians, having failed to encounter genuine teachers of the Word, have backslidden and degenerated to the point of returning to their former ways of life. Where are the teachers who should establish believers in the truth, correct their errors, and train them to walk in righteousness?
Teachers in the kingdom of God must be equipped with wisdom, understanding, and sound knowledge of the Word to discern the ways of God, overcome the devices of the devil, and refuse to be conformed to the rudiments of this world. Intelligence alone is not enough. Eloquence is not enough. The ability to command an audience is not proof of divine wisdom.
I once heard someone preaching on the Internet with considerable intelligence but without the wisdom that comes from the fear of God. His presentation was driven by selfish interests rather than reverence for the Lord Jesus Christ. His religious background did not uphold the Lord Jesus as the Son of God. This exposes a fundamental problem: a person may possess intellectual knowledge and still lack the spiritual foundation required to teach the truth of Christ faithfully.
It is God who gives wisdom to those who fear Him, and wisdom is more profitable than intelligence. Intelligence may enable a man to argue, analyse, and impress an audience, but godly wisdom teaches him to submit to God, discern His will, and walk in obedience to His Word.
Many Christians aspire to become teachers without possessing adequate knowledge of the Word of God or having passed through the divine quarry where God breaks, moulds, and fashions His servants to fulfil His purpose. They desire the platform without the preparation, the authority without the discipline, and the recognition without the crucifixion of self.
The consequences are devastating. Instead of transforming lives, such teachers mislead them. Instead of preparing souls for eternity, they direct them towards destruction. A teacher who misrepresents God’s Word does not merely make a personal mistake; he risks leading others into error, with eternal consequences.
Apostle Paul was an example of a faithful teacher. He did not build his message on human philosophy or the wisdom of men, but on the wisdom of the Cross.
If you have not brought yourself under the authority of the Cross, you are in no position to boast of your knowledge of His grace and mercy. The problem with many today is that the Word of God has filled their heads without transforming their hearts. They can explain doctrines, quote Scriptures, and deliver impressive sermons, yet their corrupt nature remains unchanged. They have acquired religious knowledge without experiencing the transformation from corruption to incorruption that the life of Christ demands.
Knowledge that remains in the head without reaching the heart cannot produce genuine spiritual transformation. A message that remains intellectual may impress another person’s intellect, but only the truth that reaches the heart and produces obedience can bring lasting change to a life.
If your message has not transformed you, what makes you think it will transform others?
No wonder people listen to powerful sermons from celebrated preachers, yet their hearts remain unchanged. They attend services, applaud eloquent presentations, and admire the preacher’s delivery, but their lives show little evidence of repentance, holiness, or obedience to God.
Why? Because many preachers communicate head knowledge rather than truth borne out of genuine spiritual experience and demonstrated in their own lives. They speak about transformation without submitting themselves to it. They teach holiness without pursuing it and preach righteousness without allowing the Word to govern their conduct.
This is how men of God end up teaching people how to acquire wealth while neglecting the deeper work of salvation, holiness, and conformity to the image of Christ. They magnify material prosperity and make it the centre of their messages because it appeals to the desires of unregenerate hearts.
But a soul that has passed through the way of the Cross will not make wealth its ultimate pursuit. Its greatest desire will be God Himself. Such a soul pants after God, longs to become like Him, and desires to remain forever in His presence, even if faithfulness to Him means dying poor.
Where, then, are the teachers who will direct souls towards eternity rather than make them slaves to earthly possessions?
Many teachers of this generation train people to understand the world and navigate its systems, but fail to teach them how to walk with God. They teach the way of Balaam, showing people how to pursue their interests through worldly wisdom and the methods of the very enemy they claim to be fighting.
They teach the philosophy of life rather than the wisdom of God, forgetting that a person cannot impart what he has not received. If you have acquired only worldly knowledge, worldly principles will dominate your teaching. If you have not learned the ways of God, you cannot faithfully direct others in those ways.
They may know how witches operate in the night, yet remain ignorant of the movement of God in the storms and the whirlwind.
They may know the works and acts of God without knowing His ways. There is a difference between witnessing what God does and understanding the ways by which He deals with His people. God reveals His ways to those who tarry in His presence and walk in fellowship with Him.
Because they do not know the ways of God, they lead people towards the ways of the devil. How can they teach others to fear God when they have not learned to fear Him themselves? How can they teach others to please Him when their own lives are not governed by His will?
The tragedy is compounded by Christians who refuse to study and submit to the Word of God for themselves. Instead, they gather around teachers who tell them what they want to hear. Their itching ears determine the messages they receive, while their unregenerate desires determine the teachers they follow. They are entertained on their way to destruction, laughing their way to hell because they prefer comforting deception to the truth that could save their souls.
A teacher who has never allowed the Word of God to correct and transform his own life is not qualified to lead others into transformation. You cannot effectively teach others what you consistently refuse to practise yourself.
This is why you may find the wives of Christian teachers adorning themselves with worldly costumes and jewellery associated with the altar of Babylon, while their husbands occupy pulpits and claim to represent the holiness of God.
If you call yourself a teacher of God’s Word, yet your own household openly contradicts the principles you claim to uphold, you must examine the authenticity of your calling. You cannot continually excuse what God has commanded you to correct and still claim to be faithfully discharging your responsibility. A calling that is governed by appetite, compromise, and the desire to please men rather than God has departed from its true purpose.
How can you show others the way when you do not know the way yourself? When the lifestyle you permit in your own household contradicts the holiness you preach, your ministry is placed under serious scrutiny. You cannot lead others towards spiritual maturity while refusing to confront the contradictions within your own life and home.
You and your wife are one. Your household is not entirely separate from your ministry; it is one of the places where the reality of your teaching should be evident. The conduct of your household can either reinforce the message you preach or expose the contradictions you have failed to address.
Before God uses a man as His oracle to carry His voice to the world, that man must first submit himself to God’s dealings and allow Him to work in his life. He must be continually moulded into conformity with the will of God, rather than merely acquiring the language and appearance of a minister.
People may not see every hidden aspect of your life, but the evidence of your convictions often appears in your conduct and the values you uphold in your household. You may present one image to the world, but the life you cultivate at home can reveal whether your message is truly governing you.
WHERE ARE THE TEACHERS?
Where are those who will teach the whole counsel of God without diluting the truth to satisfy the desires of their hearers? Where are those who will allow the Cross to deal with their own lives before standing before others to preach? Where are those who will teach not merely with words, but through lives transformed by the power of God’s Word?
The Church does not merely need more preachers, more platforms, or more eloquent speakers. It needs teachers who know the Word, fear God, walk in obedience, and are willing to confront sin without compromise.
For the greatest evidence of a true teacher is not how many people listen to him, how impressive his sermons sound, or how much recognition he receives. It is whether he faithfully teaches God’s truth and whether his own life bears witness to the message he proclaims.
Prayer: Father lord, guide me into the truth; don’t let me be drawn away from your side by strange teachings from hell, in Jesus name, amen.
