Skip to main content

Teaching, Learning: Two Sides of a Coin Whose Metal is Humility


 I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another. (Romans 15:14) 

            There are two sides to every coin. Today's passage makes it clear that imperfect members of an imperfect church can and should instruct one another. The first side of the coin is the instructors. People can be unthinkingly cruel. They can be arrogant and bigoted. Members of the Church should learn to deal with one another according to Biblical principles (including Matthew 18:15-18,) making sure that there is no plank in their own eyes as they deal with specks in their brothers'  but the point is that members in the Church are supposed to instruct on another. If we do not, we are disobeying God's design for the Church.
            The other side of the coin is the person receiving the instruction.  Too often today, the response to instruction is "Don't judge me  until you've lived my life," and "Let me live my life!" Such an unwillingness to learn is pride and pride is sin It's also foolishness.
         One key in instructing and being instructed is to lovingly keep the focus of the criticism on the problem, not on the people. I heard it said once that Jesus never met a prostitute. That means He never met an adulteress. However, He did meet women who were guilty of adultery and He told one that while He did not condemn her, that she should  "go and sin no more."  He is our example.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen!

  While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)            Do you like roller coasters? I don't. You spend forever climbing a hill. You get to the top and have half a second, then you race down to a low point. Sometimes the racing down involves tying your insides into knots. At the bottom, you either have to be dragged up another hill or you get off the ride. Peter's life was a roller coaster from the time he met Jesus. There would be miracles, and then Jesus would teach things that didn't always make sense, and then they'd go out and perform miracles, and return to be taught. Peter was praised for giving the right answer to "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus said that said answer came from God. Peter was at the top of the hill.            ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Prayer Lists

                 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (I Peter 2:2-3)   In connection with what I wrote yesterday about the possibility that I’m wrong, I’m feeling the need to go back to basics - craving spiritual milk because somehow, I missed something. It’s a little embarrassing, craving milk like a newborn, but the truth probably is that we are newborns many times in many ways in our lives. From God’s perspective, we may never be anything more than newborns, forever needing that milk. On the other hand, being a newborn can also be exciting because so much is new. My mind is playing pinball - ricocheting from one idea to the next and through six more before it happens to hit the third again. The main topic is prayer. I have at least seven organizing structures all somewhat influenced by the movie War Room , which I’v...
Post a Comment
Read more