Welcome again to my blog. I am glad you can visit.
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 the practice of Christianity based on 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, fellowship/community, outreach, Bible study and praise. Last week we discussed fellowship. 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 (Romans 10:14-17).
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 (Colossians 3:17, 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 talk about Bible study!
For questions or to view more of our research…
Website http://teleiosresearch.com/
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