Bad Teacher

“desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions” (1Tim 1:7)

My wife loves movies about great teachers. I don’t mean she likes them a lot. LOVES them. There’s something about these stories that suck her in. Every. Single. Time. If “Mr. Holland’s Opus” is on, she’s in. Same with “Dead Poets Society.” Sidney Portier in “To Sir with Love”? Are you kidding me?!? These are stories of dedicated educators pouring themselves into the lives of young people in the hopes of making a difference. 

That is NOT the story we read about in Paul’s letter to Timothy in Ephesus. Oh, there are teachers there in the church. Teachers exercising their influence. There’s just one hitch. These are bad teachers. Now I don’t mean the kind you see Jack Black play in “School of Rock.” No, these aren’t misguided people who suddenly have a change of heart and use their abilities for good and not for evil. These are spiritual snake oil salesmen who’ve weaseled their way into the church who are doing everything they can to sidetrack people away from Jesus and His spectacular grace. These are bad teachers with bad intentions.

Paul writes to his protege about certain people in the Ephesian church who are “desiring to be teachers of the law” (v7). The phrase “teachers of the law” is actually one compound Greek word: nomodidaskalos. It means someone skilled in the teaching and interpretation of Old Testament. It literally means “law (nomo-) teachers (-didaskolos).” This is someone who knows more than just the words on the page. They understand the bigger context. They know how different passages relate to one another. They know that Scripture interprets Scripture. They can give perspective to the bigger story of the Bible and how it relates to God’s great story of rescue and redemption.

That’s awesome! We desperately need more people willing to teach and explain God’s Word. In his second note to Tim, the apostle encourages the young pastor to continually hone his skills as a teacher and preacher. “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2Tim 2:15). Teachers need to know how to handling and teach all of the different books of the Bible. But just because you think you can teach, doesn’t mean you should teach. Jesus’ kid brother James warns folks who are thinking about becoming Bible teachers to think twice before doing so. “We who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (James 3:1). If you’re going to instruct people about Scripture, your principal and superintendent won’t be the one ultimately doing your review. God holds teachers and preachers accountable for how they perform their job.

The writers of the New Testament don’t exactly put these dudes on a pedestal. Dr. Luke tells how the “Pharisees and teachers of the law (Gr. nomodidaskalos)” would arrogantly watch Jesus like a hawk and just wait for Him to slip up (Lk 5:17). As you might imagine, He never once bobbled or stumbled in His instruction. As a matter of fact, our Savior regularly put the smack down on bad teachers. He accuses them of going out of their way to make it impossible to know God (Mt 23:15). They were more worried about tithing out of their spice rack and not showing compassion (Mt 23:23). They only care about their image and not their integrity (Mt 23:25-26). Bad teachers with bad intentions.

Paul’s own mentor Gamaliel is an interesting example. On one hand, he was both a one of those infamous Pharisees as well as holding a seat among the religious bullies known as the Sanhedrin. Yeah, the same Sanhedrin that murdered Jesus. In Acts, Luke describes Gamaliel as “a teacher of the law (Gr. nomodidaskalos) held in honor by all the people” (Acts 5:34). Yet he’s wise enough to tell the council to pump its brakes when it comes to Jesus’ followers. If God is behind this movement, nothing’s gonna stop them (Acts 5:40). That’s someone who understands the scope and story of the Old Testament. Gamaliel had a strong grasp of God’s promises of a coming Hero. That’s what a teacher of the law is supposed to do.

The bad teachers in Ephesus don’t come anywhere close to Gamaliel. As a matter of fact, they don’t anywhere near the Gospel. They speak to believers “without understanding what they are saying” (v7). These troublemakers don’t have a clue what they are talking about. Yeah, that’s a bit of a problem. Later in this same letter, Paul says anyone trying to push a counterfeit message “is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing” (1Tim 6:2-4). There’s a pretty good chance hucksters had peddled similar garbage just down the road in Colossae. The apostle tells Colossian believers not to let any religious thugs intimidate them into any belief other than the Gospel because these bullies are “puffed up without reason” (Col 2:18). Arrogant people are full of hot air and just like to hear themselves talk. Bad teachers are moving their lips but nothing’s coming out. Good teachers build up others. Bad teachers puff themselves up. Good teachers make Jesus famous. Bad teachers make themselves the star.

That doesn’t stop these incompetent instructors from talking about “things about which they make confident assertions” (v7). Once again, it takes an entire phrase in English to translate one compound Greek verb. Diabebaioomai means to strongly insist or state with extreme confidence. It’s not bad to give certain things special emphasis…when it’s the truth! Paul instructs Titus, “I insist (Gr. diabebaioomai) on these things, that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works” (Titus 3:8). But the bad teachers in the Ephesian church stomp their feet and insist on crap that’s simply not legit. 

There are issues in God’s Word on which we need to stand strong. Who Jesus is. What He has done. His life. His death. His burial. His resurrection. Our sin. Our need to be rescued. Salvation by grace through faith. Inerrancy of Scripture. That’s all worth fighting for. There’s a lot of other stuff that the Bible talks about but doesn’t give us 100% clarity. Things like how to baptize believers, how often to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, worship style, preaching style, and church government. The list goes on and on and on and on. And there are people who will step into the octagon over every one of them too. Be careful when you stomp your feet and demand that certain things are true.

So if this is what a bad teacher looks like, how about a good one? If you’re looking for the ultimate Teacher, look no further than Jesus. He made it clear He’s not using anyone else’s teaching materials or curriculum. His teaching comes straight from His Heavenly Dad (Jn 7:16). Some of His biggest enemies even said, “No one ever spoke like this Man!” (Jn 7:46). Christ taught creatively by using parables and examples of contemporary culture. But Jesus didn’t just teach the Law of Moses, He fulfilled it (Mt 5:17). In other words, our Savior obeyed every single rule and command in the Old Testament on our behalf. He lived the perfect life that I failed to live. He died the death on the cross in my place that I should have died. He rose to new life that I don’t deserve. Jesus goes so far as to say He’s the Hero of the entire Bible (Lk 24:27; Jn 5:39, 46). 

Christ is so much more than a great Teacher. He’s the whole point of the lesson! And that’s the message quality instructors should always be teaching. Don’t get me wrong. Flicks about selfless educators are awesome. They’re stories of men and women who make tremendous sacrifices for underprivileged kids the rest of society has turned its back on. But then again, that’s the story of the ultimate Teacher. He left the comforts of the heavenly palace to move into the slums of our sinful world. He’s the greatest Teacher with the greatest message and the greatest intentions.