Jump Start # 3930
1 Timothy 1:6-7 “For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.”
For this Jump Start, we begin with a quiz. True or False:
1. Bulls get angry when they see red
2. S.O.S. stands for “Save our ship”
3. Camels can go longer without water than any other animal
4. Captain Kirk said, “Beam me up, Scotty”
5. God hates sin but loves the sinner is found in the Bible
6. Sherlock Holmes said, “Elementary, my dear Watson”
Amazingly, all of these are false. They sound true. We’ve thought that they were true. Some are very close to being true, but they are not.
In our verse today, the apostle is warning about those who want to teach but they do not understand what they are teaching. Others word this very bluntly:
· NIV: they do not know what they are talking about
· Peterson: they haven’t the remotest idea
A teacher who does not understand what he is teaching is nothing more than the blind leading the blind. They may be energetic, passionate and a gifted speaker, yet if they don’t grasp what they are talking about, the audience will be confused, in the dark and hopelessly lost.
Sometimes, it’s not in the role of teaching, that false hope and misinformation is given, but it’s found in the ways we try to encourage one another.
· “I just know you’ll get better,” we tell someone. Do you really know that?
· “Things will work out, I’m sure of that.” Are you? How do you know that ?
· “He’s better off now. At least he is not suffering anymore.” Could you say that about the rich man in Luke 16? Could you say that about the rich farmer in Luke 12?
The same apostle that gave us our verse also wrote, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15). Accurately. Not kinda close. Not almost. Not nearly. But accurate.
We expect accuracy when someone at the store owes us change for what we bought. Just close isn’t good enough. In ballgames, accuracy matters. In spelling, accuracy matters. And, we should have the same diligence within us when it comes to God’s word.
How does this work:
First, using Jesus as an example, in Luke four, He opened the book and found the place where it was written. Saying, “It’s in the Bible somewhere,” doesn’t count. Find it first, before you speak out in a class. If you can’t find it, then don’t say it. Be a people of the book. To do that, you have to spend time with the book.
Second, realize changing just one word can change the entire meaning of a passage. All the devil had to do was add the word “not,” and suddenly, little Eve was confused, doubting and unsure. That one word changed everything. One might say that the devil was close, but he was wrong. I tend to doubt that Eve had a printed copy of God’s instructions, but we do. And, when we hear something, read something, be it in a church building, a social media post, or the conversation with a friend, check it out to see if it is really true. A lot of trouble in churches could have been prevented had people opened the Bible and looked to see what God said.
Third, politely speaking, some should not teach. Some ought not to preach. And, the reason is found simply in our verse today. They do not understand what they are trying to teach. And, it doesn’t take long for a person to get all tangled up in “what I said,” and “what I meant.” People only know what you say. You may mean many different things, but it is through the words spoken that we understand your thoughts. You words identify what you know and what you understand.
For the person who really wants to teach but is not ready yet, get in some private Bible study with spiritual giants in the congregation. Be mentored by a seasoned teacher of God’s word. Be patient. Pray. Grow and grow and grow.
Misinformation—it can lead you down the wrong road, get you the wrong medicine, get you believing something that isn’t true and more than anything else, it can dent your faith and even destroy your soul.
Get into God’s word. Know it. Understand it. Follow it. Then, you’ll see. Don’t settle for close. Be accurate.
Roger