What Scriptural Authority Does A Christian Have For Teaching Others?

 

 

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 Jesus’s command to the Apostles. And they did go forth doing exactly what Jesus commanded them to do! They had a mission.

And that mission has extended down through the ages all the way to this day, right here in the middle of this time and place.

 

I and millions of others are obeying that very same command that Jesus originally gave to His Apostles over 2,000 years ago when we teach someone else about the scriptures. Once you have become a born again Christian, if you fail to obey this command, you are in effect telling Jesus that you don’t respect his commands.

 

In 2 Timothy 4:2, we are told to “Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebukes exhort, with all long suffering and doctrine.” The doctrine we are to use is the Word of God, the Holy Bible. To “be instant in season and out of season” means to be ready and knowledgeable enough to preach the Word anytime, whether it’s popular and whether people want to listen!

 

To “reprove and rebuke” means to convince people that God’s Word is the only way to live and to reprimand those who don’t live it! In John 17:17, we are told to “sanctify them through the truth; thy Word is truth.” Sanctify means to “save” and the truth is God’s Word.

 

Before we continue and as you will see for yourself, just because a man stands in the pulpit, wears a robe, calls himself Father, or holds a college degree as Doctor of Divinity, does not mean that he is preaching the truth!

 

For Matthew 15:9 says, “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines, the commandments of men.”

 

If you are going to accept, study, and obey God’s Word, then you MUST teach and preach His Word, because you are commanded to do so in Matthew 28:19-20, commonly known as ‘The Great Commission’.  You may not ever stand in the pulpit and deliver a well-prepared sermon, but you are a preacher of His Word, simply through guilt by association.  Tell somebody about Jesus today.