Teleios and other authors have shown Christian
belief can improve personal wellbeing! Therefore, we are examining the
Christian life in more detail to see how biblical truth may improve wellbeing.
We are discussing currently the practice of
Christianity based in Acts 2:42-47. These wonderful verses describe the practice
of the Christian walk within the early church. They are repeated throughout the
Epistles and so are vital to us today. I
call them the ‘5 tools to maturity’: prayer, praise, fellowship, outreach and
Bible study.
Last week we discussed Bible study. Today’s tool
is outreach.
Problem – Unfortunately, teaching others or sharing the gospel appears to rank
right below ‘going to the dentist’ among desired activities. Teleios’ research
has shown that people who fear sharing the gospel specifically report being
afraid of: social rejection, offending the other person, not knowing what to
say, or how to answer others’ questions.
What
teaching is not - Teleios has examined people's habits in
mentioning the gospel (a part of what we teach others). In a well-taught Evangelical
Church, attendees indicated they conveyed the gospel to others most commonly by:
· Sharing their lives - 78%
· Praying for others - 71%
· Encouraging others - 70%
· Loving others - 68%
· Explicitly mentioning how to accept Jesus Christ as Savior - 30%
Although sharing our lives is important, it does
not replace actually telling someone the gospel or directly teaching the Bible.
People cannot guess what we are thinking. Scripture recognizes that we do not
have visual support to our faith until Christ comes again (Hebrews 2:8) so
others need to hear what to believe and someone must explicitly tell them (Romans10:14-17).
It is a command - We are told to teach others (2 Timothy 2:2, 15, 24-26, 1 Timothy 4:6,
16, Hebrews 5:12) which involves instructing others in the Word of God. However,
teaching also may include admonishing others to correct action or thinking (Colossians3:17, Ephesians 5:19).
Benefits of teaching
·
Better wellbeing - Teleios has found that people who teach and share the Gospel
actually enjoy better wellbeing than those who do not. What initially seems
fearful -is actually enriching after a person has shared the Gospel or taught
God’s Word.
·
Good judgment – The ability to teach appears associated with accurate and efficient
judgment and avoiding nasty pitfalls in life (Hebrews 5:14).
·
Maturity - Being able to teach is associated with maturity, especially the attributes
of an elder (1 Timothy 3:1-7, Hebrews 5:12).
·
Uplifting the church - Further, the benefit of teaching others Scripture or the Gospel is
not just for the individual but to the church itself. Teaching the Bible and
the Gospel is the primary way that we can grow the church and influence our
culture generally (Colossians 1:5-10). Without Christians passing down the
precious words of our Father to the next generation, the church certainly can
suffer from lack of support as opposed to influencing and benefiting our
society.
So, let us get to work! What we possess in the
Bible is true and good for our family and acquaintances as well as for our
society!
That's all for today. Thank you for joining me.
Come back next week when we continue to talk about the benefit of our Bible
WC Stewart
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is encouraging, propels the further search of Scripture and raises interesting
and thought provoking Biblically related questions. You may feel free to
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