JAMES 3:1
“WE WHO TEACH”
It is so sad.
It is so sad about Steve McNair - the former NFL quarterback who was found dead last week in
Nashville, shot with (and by?) the woman he was dating.
It is so sad that this man has died so young.
It is so sad that this man has died so young, who brought such pleasure to so many, as an excellent
professional quarterback.
It is so sad that this man has died so young, as a result of his unfaithfulness to his wife, and to the vows
he made to her.
But it is most sad, that this man has died so young, as a result of his unfaithfulness to his wife, and to
the vows he made to her - and with the title of “father” to his sons.
I do not remind you of Steve McNair to condemn Steve McNair, or to look down upon him from some
perch of self-righteousness. “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”
God knows the whole truth about Steve McNair, and the God of perfect justice and mercy will do what
is right regarding Steve McNair. I remind you of Steve McNair, because his most-sad story haunted me as I
pondered the words of James 3:1.
As we have journeyed through the book of James this year, we have pondered the theme of “Real Life
and Real Faith.” James is not writing to plastic Christians living perfect lives. He is writing to real people
struggling to live out real faith in real life.
In chapter 3, James begins an extended discussion that we could describe as “Real Wisdom for Real Faith
in Real Life.” He begins with the tongue - an image for the words we use - and he writes first to Christian
teachers.
Teachers were important then. They were well-known and well-respected, because they had a lot of
education in a day when few people had much education.
Teachers are important now. We are better educated, but we still “follow the leader,” as we follow those
who teach us.
As well, many of us teach. A teacher may be a pastor or an elder, but it can also be:
* A woman who disciples another woman.
* A grandfather who brings basic Bible truths to his grandchild.
* A young person who speaks, and other young people listen.
In a sense, we are all teachers and leaders, and we are all students and followers. So let’s approach
James’ words from both angles, with two questions.
First, WHAT DO TEACHERS DO?
A teacher is a leader, and a leader is an influencer. How does that leadership and influence come from the
teacher?
To start with, WE LEAD WITH WORDS.
We will talk more about the power of our words next week, but James’ words remind us that when we
are teachers, we have a powerful influence with our words.
Sometimes those words are spoken more formally.
A pastor preaches. A Sunday School teacher teaches. A parent sits the family down and either leads a
devotion, or makes a speech. A counselor listens, then responds.
You may not be able to write down the outline of the sermon ten minutes later. You may not be able to
recite all the main points of the lesson, devotion or speech. Some of the counselor’s exact words may be lost in
the emotion of the situation.
But the words that the teacher has spoken, remain with you. Somehow they seep into that sponge we
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call the brain. In a mysterious way, those words influence you.
Sometimes these words are spoken more informally.
A youth director encourages a disheartened young person. A parent tells a child something about the
world, as they drive along the road. A friend gives her friend a brief bit of advice. A teenager says, “This would
be great fun!”
It may not seem like teaching, but it is. You are expressing what you think, and you are influencing
someone else with your words. You teach - and someone listens.
Have you ever heard someone say, “He (or she) always used to say...”?
* He always used to say, “A minute wasted is a minute lost.”
* She always used to say, “The world does not revolve around you.”
* He always used to say, “Work smarter, not harder.”
* She always used to say, “The bigger number points at the smaller number. That’s how you know how
to express ‘greater’ or ‘lesser’ in that math problem.”
We lead with words. This means that if we are teachers or leaders or influencers of any kind, we must
choose our words carefully. Someone is listening.
Pastor, someone is listening. Sunday School teacher, someone is listening. Dad, someone is listening.
Young person, someone is listening. Supervisor over people, someone is listening. What are they hearing?
Pastor, are they hearing the truth of the Bible, or just your opinions?
Dad, are they hearing about all sorts of things, but also about Jesus Christ?
Young person, are they hearing words of foolishness, or words of wisdom?
Supervisor, are they hearing threats and lies, or words of kindness and integrity?
Yes, James is thinking first here of teachers in the church, but it is true in every part of life. Teachers are
leaders, and leaders influence with words.
We lead with words, and WE LEAD WITH DEEDS.
Later in James 3, the apostle writes, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by
his good life, by deeds done the humility that comes with wisdom.” We will explore these words in a few
weeks, but for now they remind us that we show wisdom and understanding with the deeds we do. Words are
important, but they are not everything. I will teach and lead and influence with the deeds I do.
I remember attending a worship conference in St. Louis a few years ago. We met in a church for dinner
one night, and as we talked after the meal, a man came around, picking up our plates and napkins and utensils,
and taking them back to the kitchen.
The church was Kirk of the Hills in St. Louis - one of our denomination’s most prominent and respected
churches - and the middle-aged man was Pastor Wilson Benton - the Senior Pastor of Kirk of the Hills.
Wilson Benton was a “big man” in our denomination. He was a moderator for our General Assembly,
and he was one of those “E.F. Hutton” guys: when he spoke, you listened. But while I may not remember
everything I ever heard him say, I remembered seeing him humbly and quietly serve, on a snowy night in St.
Louis.
We lead, we teach, we influence...with deeds. We do this with...
* The way we treat our followers. We say we care about you, but do we care for you? Care is about
giving attention to people. Care is about respecting what people have to say. Care is about encouraging the
hurting. Care is about serving instead of expecting to be served.
Pastor, do you care? Grandfather, do you care? Bible Study leader, do you care? Senior High student,
do you care? We also lead, teach and influence with...
* The way we live our own lives. We may say what we want you to be, but what are we? What about
our handling of trials? What about our lives of mercy? What about our control of anger and lust and all the
issues of self-control?
Youth leader, how do you live? Mother, how do you live? Life Group leader, how do you live? Big
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brother, how do you live?
What do teachers do? We lead with words, and we lead with deeds.
This is why James writes that teachers will be “judged more strictly.”
Earlier in James, we talked about the difference between God’s “condemning” judgment and God’s
“evaluating” judgment.
In union with Jesus, we are free of God’s condemning judgment. He will not condemn us to an eternity
of hell, apart from him, because Jesus has taken our punishment for our sins and given us his righteousness.
Yet in union with Jesus, we will face God’s evaluating judgment. He will judge how we have lived out
the blessings of our salvation.
James says teachers will face a greater judgment than others. Why? Because of influence. Whether it is
my words or my deeds, my role as a teacher means I have a great influence on the people in my life. I influence
people toward what pleases God, or I do not.
That is why, to me, the most-sad part of the Steve McNair story, is the influence of his actions on his
children. He betrayed their trust in him, by what he did. It is so sad.
I am tempted to see leadership as a power trip. James was probably concerned about this. With the
prominence and authority of teachers in the early church, you know men would flock to those positions, just so
they could control people.
So James says, “You want to teach? You want to lead? You want to influence? You better know that
your great influence will be evaluated before God’s throne.”
But again - this is not just me. This is not even just the elders. This principle applies to everyone who
influences other people - and that is most of us.
The babysitter. The youth Life Group leader. The nursing home Bible Study leader. The kid with the
biggest influence in the Youth Group. The father.
We lead with words and deeds. God knows it. God sees it. God evaluates it. What humbling words!
Yet let’s spend a few minutes with the other angle. Some are teachers and leaders, but all are students
and followers. So we must not just ask what teachers do. We must ask, WHAT DO WE DO WITH
TEACHERS?
First, WE CHOOSE THEM CAREFULLY.
I want to offer three examples of this.
* Let’s start with the church, because James is writing to the church. As a gathered body here, and in
our denomination, we must choose our leaders carefully.
I have never forgotten the words of my pastor in St. Louis, Rodney Stortz. One day we were driving
somewhere, and we were talking about our denomination’s seminary - Covenant Seminary. He said something
like, “It takes only one generation. In just one generation, you can lose your church’s faithfulness to the Word
of God.”
I did not quite get that then, but I get it now. To the extent that we are faithful and strong as a
congregation and a denomination, it will be through God’s mercy to us, in helping us to have faithful leadership.
We are quite tough on our new ministers, and sometimes we are quite tough on our old ministers. We
desire a strong education, and we offer rigorous examinations.
In this congregation, we spend a long time training our officers. The process takes the better part of a
year, and we discuss many personal and theological issues.
Even in areas like Sunday School, we are careful about our teachers. “Upright” and “breathing” are not
sufficient qualifications to teach our kids!
It is good for it to be this way. In this church and in the larger church, we must choose our teachers...our
leaders...our influencers...carefully.
* My second example is one that is growing closer and closer to my heart, as I see my daughter grow.
As I look to her future as a young woman, I know I must call her and all of our young women to choose a
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husband carefully.
Do you remember the old Jif peanut butter commercials? “Choosy mothers choose Jif.” Wise young
women are choosy about young men.
The husband is the spiritual leader of the home. He may not admit it, and he may not act like it, but he
is. As he goes, so the home goes.
I speak to my daughter, and to all of the unmarried women here - young and not as young: the man you
marry will have an incredible, indescribable influence on you and your life. You will invite a man into every part
of your life, and every part of your heart, and every part of your soul. Choose carefully.
* Do not compromise your relationship with God, for your relationship with him.
* Seek wisdom from others who have chosen well, and listen to that wisdom.
* Even if you are at the altar on your wedding day, and your spirit is crying out against what you are
about to do, do not do it.
I see how young men destroy young women, and I want to weep. My daughter and my daughters in the
Lord, choose your husband carefully.
* A third example is the teachers we choose for our children. I well remember the first question the
pulpit committee here asked me when I was a candidate to become pastor: “What is your position on schooling
children?”
My answer now is the same as my answer then: I believe we have freedom. Some are called to home
school. Some are called to Christian schools. Some are called to public schools. We must respect the fact that
different people will choose differently.
But I will add this, as a father who has chosen both Christian and public education: as a parent, I am
responsible to protect my children through their education.
I remember a painful conversation with a parent in the past few months, about a child who was schooled
outside the home. I said, “You must be an advocate for your child.” You must stand for your child. You do
not need to be a nag or a pest. But you must be willing to wage a holy fight for the good of your child, before
the influence of teachers.
This principle extends to the question of college for our children. Again, we have freedom here. But we
do not send just send our children to the cheapest or closest college. We must choose carefully where they will
go, because they will be heavily influenced by the men and women who teach them in college.
What do we do with teachers? We choose them carefully. As well, WE SUPPORT THEM
FAITHFULLY. When we are convinced of the faithfulness of a teacher, we are called to support them
faithfully.
It is now time for the self-serving part of our program! I am the primary “teaching elder” of this church,
so I am asking you to support me faithfully.
I don’t like to do this, but I must be humble enough to admit that I need this. Bob needs this. The
elders need this. The deacons need this.
How do you support the leaders of the church?
* You pray for us. Do you pray for us? My pride tells me I do not need your prayers, but my heart
knows the truth. I need your prayers, and I am not alone. I am a teacher who will be judged for my teaching, so
I need your prayers, that I might be faithful in what I say and what I do. Will I teach pure doctrine? Will I offer
a good example?
* You listen to us. As I mentioned when I preached on the office of elder earlier this year, I am not
interested in formality. I don’t care if you call me “pastor,” and I have no need for the pomp and pomposity
that some people bring to this relationship.
I want you to listen to me. I want you to listen to my preaching, teaching, informal counsel, and words
of encouragement and rebuke. Then after you listen, I want you to strive in God’s strength to put on the life of
Jesus in all places, for the glory of Jesus. I want this to be your response to me, Bob, the elders, and all the
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teachers in the church.
Is this because we are perfect? Of course not! But unless you are convinced we are being unfaithful to
God, you are called to support me (and us) faithfully, as you listen to the truth we offer, and work to live it out
in your life.
This summer in our e-newsletter, we are walking through eight questions on humility from Pastor Mark
Driscoll. The first is, “Are you teachable?”
Are you? What kind of follower are you? If teachers will be evaluated for what they teach, might
followers be evaluated for how they receive the teaching? Would God say you support your teachers faithfully
- in the church, and in other places in your life?
Esther was one of the daughter of Jonathan Edwards. In one season of their lives, her father was
preaching at the risk of his safety.
She wanted him to leave. He insisted on staying until his work was done. On the final day of his
ministry there, they talked.
She later wrote that he helped her with some of her struggles. As well, “He gave me some excellent
directions to be observed in secret that tend to keep the soul near to God, as well as others to be observed in a
more public way.”
She then wrote, “What a mercy that I have such a Father! Such a guide!”
Have you been called to guide others? Pastor? Parent? Teacher? Friend? Older peer to younger
people? Are you guiding people nearer to God?
Do you receive the godly guidance of others? From a pastor? From a parent? From a teacher? From a
young person? Are you letting them guide you nearer to God?
What a humbling mercy, to know the mercy of Jesus, and to be able to guide others into that mercy.
What a glorious mercy, to have a wise guide, who will guide you into more of the mercy of Jesus.
May we teach and be taught well.
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