Bible Teachers, You Will Make Mistakes

This article was first published in French at TPSG.

If you’ve ever felt intimidated by the prospects of teaching the Bible, you’re not alone. “What if I make a mistake?” you may ask. “What if I teach something I later learn is in error?” That fear can be paralyzing. Especially if you take seriously the warning of James 3:1,

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, because you know that we will be judged more strictly.

The last thing I want is to incur stricter judgment! I recently discovered, however, that, in context, this verse is not intended to scare away any potential Bible teacher for fear of slipping up theologically. Instead, James endeavours to warn against unbridled speech, and the example we are to be if we want to exercise a ministry of the Word. Wow! That’s both liberating and deeply convicting. It’s liberating because it means I don’t have to hold a PhD in theology to teach a Bible study. But it’s convicting because it means I have to make sure I watch over how I speak. My point is that we ought to live what we teach, but need to recognize that we will all make mistakes. Or, to state it differently, God cares more about our character than about our knowledge.

In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is King

My team at SOLA: Femmes Scriptura recently hosted an online six-week cohort in the Psalms. In one of our sessions, I encouraged the thirty-five women in attendance with the truth that they don’t have to be an expert to teach the Bible. None of us is. I suggested, rather, that they just need to know more than those they teach. And even that is something they can acquire along the way. After all, in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Knowledge can be acquired easily enough. A teacher with godly character, on the other hand, is of inestimable worth. 

The Humility of Henri Blocher

I once heard a mind-blowing interview between my friend Guillaume Bourin and Henri Blocher, one of the most renowned theologians of the French-speaking world. The famed scholar humbly admitted that he had changed his position on a particular theological question and retracted an earlier statement he had made. In essence, he had taught something in error that he no longer believed! If Blocher can do it, we can, too! 

Apollos Taught Accurately Yet with Error

We can find so many lessons to draw from Acts 18:24-26. In this passage, Priscilla and Aquila meet Apollos for the first time as he is teaching in the synagogue in Ephesus:

24 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, arrived in Ephesus. He was an eloquent speaker, well-versed in the scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and with great enthusiasm he spoke and taught accurately the facts about Jesus, although he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak out fearlessly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God to him more accurately.

What I notice straight away is that the text describes Apollos in entirely positive terms. Several words jump off the page to me. He was:

• An eloquent speaker

• Well-versed in the Scriptures

• Had been instructed in the way of the Lord

• He spoke with great enthusiasm

• And, he taught accurately.

Accurately vs. More Accurately

Luke paints this glowing portrait of Apollos despite the fact that he’d missed a pretty important point of doctrine: believer’s baptism. He knew only the baptism of John, which was preparatory for the coming of Christ. The baptism that Jesus inaugurated by his death and resurrection was entirely new. 

And he’d missed it! Yet rather than call him out publicly for his error, Priscilla and Aquila took him aside and explained the way of God to him. As an aside, notice that Priscilla’s name comes first and does so half the times this couple is mentioned in the NT. This is not insignificant. She was a ministry partner to Paul, along with her husband, and was instrumental in the planting of the churches of Antioch, Ephesus, and Corinth. But that’s a subject for another article!

Priscilla and Aquila explained the way of God more accurately. Why does the text say “more accurately”?  Because Apollos’ teaching has already been described as accurate, even if there were gaps or errors in it! This, friends, should comfort any Bible teacher.

Disclaimer

Here’s what I’m not saying: Don’t study. Don’t pursue every training opportunity you can. Au contraire! Sign up for the excellent online courses offered by #Transmettre. If you’re able to relocate, attend a Bible school or seminary where you can earn a degree. I was able to do just that and have dedicated my life to equipping women to teach God’s precious Word. I’ve never been accused of being against acquiring Bible knowledge. 

Final Encouragement

For those of us the Lord has gifted to teach the Scriptures, we don’t need to be paralyzed by fear, or hold back from teaching God’s Word because we think that you don’t know enough, that we are not experts. Making disciples can be as simple as finding someone who knows less than us and teaching them what we know about living in communion with Jesus Christ. It’s not rocket science. We can’t expect only pastors to do all the work of teaching. They need us to collaborate in this effort. And if you’ve read this far, perhaps it’s because you are eager to do just that.