The Need to Teach

Wherever Jesus went He was teaching. When He began His ministry He preached the same message as John, “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt 4:17 NKJV; cf. Mt. 3:1-2). He called disciples, who were fisherman, to become fishers of men (Mt. 4:18-19). Christianity is a taught religion, “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me” (Jn. 6:45 NKJV). Jesus commanded His apostles to “…Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mk. 16:15 NKJV). There are multiple ways in which the going can be done but one thing is certain the gospel must be taught!

Paul instructed Timothy, “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:1-2 NKJV). We see here the need to have the faithful propagate the spread of the gospel. It is not enough to know it ourselves; we must also teach others. At the least, we must support those who can teach (cf. Php. 1:1-7, 4:15-18).

The brotherhood has many great ways to spread the gospel (e.g., Bibles, books, tracts, magazines, cards, etc.). In this digital world of hyper connectivity, we have the Internet at our disposal to spread the gospel. Social media can be used for good, as can websites, and online meeting platforms such as Zoom and Google Meet. One Internet-based tool that is available is the Online Academy of Biblical Studies (oabs.org). It serves as a resource to expand our Bible knowledge, train preachers, and to share biblical content with others. We will be blessed to have the director, Russ Earl, with us on June 30th to tell us more about this good work. Let us utilize every tool we can to get the precious life-saving message of the gospel out to as many as we can!

Trent Thrasher