I.        INTRODUCTION

A.      Proclaiming the word of God is perhaps the most important work of the church.  It is the church’s business to teach outsiders and unbelievers as well as edifying its own members in God’s word.

B.      Certainly, teachers are needed to carry out this vital work, but should every Christian become a teacher?  The Scriptures have the answer.

II.      INCURRING A STRICTER JUDGMENT

A.      A curious warning is found in James 3:1, which says, "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.”

                                                             1.      The curious aspect of this statement is that it appears to contradict our mission to teach the gospel to others.

a.       Christians have inherited the Great Commission of Christ given in Matthew 28:18-20 – "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

b.       If not many of us become teachers, then how will we make disciples of all nations or preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15-16)?

                                                             2.      In truth, it is not a contradiction at all, but rather it is a recognition of the seriousness of becoming a teacher of God’s word.

a.       Most people have some degree of responsibility in teaching (parents are to teach children – Eph. 6:1-4, older women are to teach younger women – Tit. 2:3-4, etc.), but not everyone should be a teacher of God’s people.

b.       Christ equips Christians each individual with specific gifts and abilities, and teaching is one of those abilities that not everyone has (1Cor. 12:4-6, 11, 28-29; Eph. 4:11).

c.        It is a mistake for a person to attempt to teach God’s word if he is incapable, immature, ignorant, or unprepared.  Consider these passages:

i.         Hebrews 5:12 – "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.”

ii.        John 3:10 – Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?”

d.       Anyone who aspires to teach must take the responsibility seriously, for he will be held to a "stricter judgment” (KJV "greater condemnation”).

B.      Why will a teacher incur a stricter judgment than anyone else?

                                                             1.      The answer can be found in the next verse after the warning we noticed before.  James 3:2 says, "For we all stumble in many ways.  If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.”

                                                             2.      When a person becomes a teacher, his stumbling often affects those whom he teaches.  His errors not only bring judgment to him, but they may bring judgment to others as well.

                                                             3.      A teacher may stumble in his words and mislead others.

a.       Errant teachers may cause others to believe a lie, such as those men described in 1Timothy 1:6-7 – "For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.”

b.       A man who teaches a lie and presents it as the word of God misrepresents the truth and may cause his listeners to sin.  Whether he intended to mislead them or not, he will share in their condemnation.

                                                             4.      A teacher may also stumble in his example.  This was part of the Lord’s accusation against the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23.

a.       Notice Christ’s words in verses 2-4 – "The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.  They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.”

b.       The scribes and Pharisees loved being teachers for the sake of honor and not for the sake of God, their students, or the truth.  They did not even have enough belief in the standards they taught to live by them.  Therefore, Jesus pronounced woes upon them and called them hypocrites (eight times in this chapter).

c.        Because of their hypocrisy and persecution against the true teachers of God’s word, Jesus pronounced their stricter judgment, saying, "…upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar” (v. 35).

III.   LET NOT MANY OF YOU BECOME…

A.      With a fear of a stricter judgment in mind, let not many of us become teachers.

                                                             1.      Teaching the word of God is a serious matter.  It is not to be done carelessly or without extensive preparation.  Every teacher must take to heart the instructions of 2Timothy 2:15 – "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”

                                                             2.      If not many are willing to commit themselves to studying the word of God thoroughly, teaching it accurately, and living by it strictly, then let not many become teachers.

B.      Likewise, let not many of us judge others.

                                                             1.      Jesus gave a similar warning regarding our judgment of others in Matthew 7:1-5:

"Do not judge so that you will not be judged.  For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.  Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.”

                                                             2.      The Lord taught us to make judgments with a fair, merciful, and introspective standard.  The lesson taught by the Lord in this passage is that we cannot judge others by a strict standard and then expect to be judged ourselves with lenience.

a.       This passage does not mean that we may set our own standards, for God has given His word and His Son as our standard of measure (John 12:48).  Rather, it means that we are all subject to the same standards of judgment that are set by God.

b.       When we have to make judgments about others, we must follow the standard Jesus gave in John 7:24 – "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

                                                             3.      Two similar instructions are given in the book of James.

a.       James 2:11-12 – So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.  For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

b.       James 4:11-12 – Do not speak against one another, brethren.  He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it.  There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?

                                                             4.      If not many are willing to judge others with fair, merciful, and righteous judgment, then let not many judge others.

IV.    CONCLUSION

A.      The world and the church need teachers of God’s word.  Every generation must pass the word of God to the next by teaching (2Tim. 2:2).

B.      Let every Christian understand that by the words he teaches, the way he lives, and the judgment he uses he invites a higher degree of scrutiny and judgment from both God and man.