'Best Practices' for Bible Teachers (Part IX)
By Buddy Hanson The Covenant News
Remind Your Learners of Who They Are!
In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it is not an unusual
reaction to view our attendance at a Bible study or a worship service
as a welcomed break from our daily, fast-paced lifestyle. It's a great
time to relax and enjoy the fellowship of people whose view of the
world is similar to ours. Yet, what happens in the lives of your
learners between Bible studies, and/or worship services? Do they get
caught up in the ebb and flow of life so that they are reacting as
best they can? Or, do they approach each day with the mindset of
proactively presenting a distinctive testimony for Christ's Kingdom
with the enthusiasm they had as a new Christian? As creatures of
habit, we are all susceptible to allowing seemingly small and
insignificant behaviors to accumulate into an overall behavior pattern
that we had not intended. This is why it's a good idea to occasionally
build-in to a portion of your message a reminder of exactly who each
of us is, the many blessings we have been given as a member of God's
family and Christ's Kingdom, and the marvelous and most worthwhile
purpose to which we have been called. For example, take a few moments
to remind your learners of:
The Bible's power, and promises that God will never ask us to do something that He won't give us the grace to perform. 1 Corinthians 10.13
Jesus' work on the earth and His victory over Satan, and how that liberates us from Satan's tyrannical control over our life. 1 John 4.4
How the Holy Spirit changes our heart, sanctifies and purifies our behavior, and guides us into all truth. John 16.13
How "abiding in Christ" produces the positive consequences of our "prayers being answered," our "bearing much fruit," and a "joyfulness of living." John 15.7-8,11
The advantage and privilege of having God's Word remove all doubt about how to live, work, govern ourselves, raise our children, and relate to one another. 1 Corinthians 10.11
The Holy Spirit enables us to correctly understand God's Word.[1] Unless and until God's Law is written upon our hearts[2] we are unable to come to a saving knowledge of God because all we have is human reason, or as Paul puts it, the "spirit (or reason) of the world." Once the Holy Spirit does its work on our heart, however, we are then motivated to obey and follow God's will instead of our will.[3] As Christians, we have the advantage of knowing that we live in a cause-and-effect universe that is governed by God's absolute truths. Therefore, we can learn lessons from earlier civilizations, and hopefully avoid repeating their mistakes. As Asaph proclaims:
I will remember the works of the LORD; surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will also meditate on all Your work, and talk of Your deeds. Psalm 77.11-12
Remind your learners that our best weapon in dealing with current
circumstances is to remember how God has brought us through previous
difficult situations. Reflecting upon them serves to buoy our faith
and strengthen our resolve in squarely facing current issues. We
remember that our "Friend," and "Counselor" is our "Creator" and we
could have no greater resource than His wisdom to carry us through any
situation.
What more admirable goal can we, as Bible teachers, accomplish than
in assisting our learners in how to practice the biblical ethics in
our messages! Once again, we turn to Asaph's counsel:
That they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments. Psalm 78.7
The Christian life cannot be lived without conforming our daily
decisions to God's ethics, depending upon His counsel, and being
confident of Him accomplishing His promises through our obedience and
the obedience of fellow Christians! The great works of God, in
creating the earth and all people and animals, and His faithful record
of answering the prayers of those who love Him throughout history,
along with His intervening blessings toward them combine to "make us
glad," and be confident that His cause will "triumph" on the earth.
King David declares:
For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands. Psalm 92.4
Speaking through the prophet Isaiah, Jehovah instructs us to "make
ourselves clean from our evil behaviors" by:
Learning to do good
Seeking justice
Rebuking our oppressors
Defending the fatherless, and
Pleading for the widow.
Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. "Come now, and let us reason together,: says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Isaiah 1.16-18
Point out to your learners that the manner by which we learn to
incorporate each of these biblical ethics into our lifestyle is by
re-thinking God's revealed thoughts, as we "reason together" with the
LORD. Obviously, it is not the LORD who is in need of our imperfect
and sinful reasoning, but we who are in need of His perfect and holy
reasoning! Emphasize that this is why we all need to be held to some
sort of accountable criteria for our behaviors, otherwise we will
behave exclusively in a self-centered fashion. This is also why Isaiah
states that it is through God's strict judgments upon our
disobedience, that "the inhabitants of the world will learn
righteousness."[4]
Next week's topic is: "Your Learners Expectations: Do They Result
in Motivations, or Limitations?"
Buddy Hanson is President of the Christian Policy Network and Director of the Christian Worldview Resources Center and has written several books on the necessity of applying one's faith to everyday situations, circumstances and decision-making.