Translating Biblical Truth Into the Language of the Pew
Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. (James 3:1 NIV)
. . . Invariably the newly learned, like the newly rich, overdo everything, and that is just what the evangelical-rationalists are doing. They forget that Moses, David, our blessed Lord Himself, John, Luther, Wesley, Bunyan, Schopenhauer, William James (to bring together a few very different but very effective teachers), could state their doctrines in language as simple as childhood talk and as clear as distilled water. These modern teachers aren't so easy to comprehend. They write in an academic jargon that only another of them can understand. At the rate they are going it will take at least one generation for their teaching to filter down to the man on the street and the worshiper in the pew. And maybe that is good after all.
Prayer
Father, remind me to pray for my pastor and teacher that they may be used of the Spirit to explain Your truth, not to obscure it.
Thought
A major task of the teacher and preacher of the Word is to translate theological terminology into the language of the pew. It is the Spirit who must enlighten us but may our teachers not confuse us!
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