Let not many of you become teachers, my brothers, knowing that as such we WILL incur a stricter judgement.

Yes, God Really Does Warn Against Being a Teacher!

James 3:1-2

Please turn to James 3:1-2. We are going to primarily be studying the first two verses of James 3. As you are turning there, I want us to think back to the pre-cross earthly ministry of Jesus. When we transport our imaginations to that time and place in the desert regions of the Palestine area, we can think of Jerusalem, the city of David. We think of the followers of Christ. Jesus called them His students--His disciples. They called Jesus their rabbi. Rabbi means teacher. Jesus was, in fact, (is in fact) the great teacher. He went from town to town teaching and preaching in the synagogues. He taught the truth as He knows it, defines it, and is Master of it. Actually, He is the Way, He is the Life, and He is the truth. As the great truth teacher, Jesus confronted other teachers. He confronted the teachers of Israel. They were the Scribes, Pharisees, lawyers, and high priests. Jesus was a teacher of Israel's rabbis. At one point, we read in Matthew 15:1,

"1 Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem ..." Matthew 15:1

They presumed to question the Messiah concerning the fact that He did not abide by the mere teachings of men. Immediately, Jesus calls these teachers, hypocrites. He teaches those men that they had the unfortunate fame of being prophesied about, centuries earlier, by Isaiah. Their fame was unfortunate because these men were teaching evil things to dishonor their own parents. So, Jesus enrolled them into His class. His first lesson is to tell them what their sin is. His second lesson is to teach them who they are in Isaiah's prophecy. Jesus, the great teacher, quotes Isaiah,

"9 But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men." Matthew 15:9

Jesus taught the truth. Those Scribes and Pharisees taught human precepts as doctrines. They worshipped in vain--in futility. It was empty, dead, false religion. Consequently they taught vain worship. They taught burdensome religious fictions as truth. In Jerusalem, there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus. He was one of the teachers of Israel to whom the great teacher was teaching truth. Jesus said to Nicodemus,

"Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?" John 3:10

In retrospect, we realize that Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel, began to understand much of what Jesus, the great teacher taught. Nicodemus quit worshipping in vain. In fact, Nicodemus became a follower of Jesus as the true Messiah. But other Pharisees, who were also the teachers of Israel, not only did not understand these things that the great teacher taught, but they rejected His teachings. They rejected the Way. They rejected the Life, and they rejected the Truth. Because of the hardness of their hearts toward Jehovah, they taught, and they sought to lead the lost sheep of the house of Israel astray by trying to hinder Jacob's descendants from coming to their promised Messiah. Instead of imparting the true knowledge of God through proper teaching, those teachers had stolen away the very key of knowledge. Jesus said of them concerning entering His kingdom,

"52 Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering." Luke 11:52

How serious it is to be one who teaches in such a way as to malign Christ and try to hinder people from being saved. Those men were teachers of Jacob's descendants, but great woe was pronounced upon them like a kind of curse that they brought upon themselves. Jesus knows the seriousness of what it means to be a teacher. Jesus knows the serious consequences that can occur when religious things are taught and those religious things are not really the truth. Jesus knew the dire consequences facing those teachers of the house of Israel. He said to them,

"36 But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment." Matthew 12:36

We contemplate those words taught by our great teacher, and we think,

Good. Those teachers deserve what they get. They have taught, and much of what they taught was careless. They will give an account for it in the day of judgment, and so they should. Woe to them. Lets' see how much they care less when they are judged. Woe, woe to them.

Within 20 years after these events, James, a bond servant of Christ, teaches the truth as God's word. James teaches on the great principle that faith without works is dead. We examined that teaching last week. James also teaches concerning our speech. This is what we are going to examine this morning. James is going to go into what we say, why we say it, and how. This subject is what we find in chapter 3 of James. Coming directly into chapter 3, the first speech thing that James focuses on is teaching, or more specifically becoming a teacher. The immediate question that the early Israelite Christians would contemplate from this teaching of James is;

Is it a good idea for me to become a teacher?

It is a question that not many of God's children ask themselves. But it is one of the most important questions that you and I can put to our own selves. It is one of the questions we want to explore for ourselves as we cover this text. Let us read 3:1-2 now,

"1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brothers, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. 2 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." James 3:1-2

Let us all prepare our hearts for the preaching of God's word this morning in this sermon titled,

Yes, God Really Does Warn Against Being a Teacher!

Breaking down this stark warning at the beginning of the flow of chapter 3, we think about the command,

"1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brothers, ..."

The first thing we must recognize about this very straightforward statement is that James is not talking about being a math teacher, or something like that. James is not talking about teaching geography. He's not talking about someone who teaches you how to sheer a sheep, or ride a camel, or the proper way to pay tribute to Caesar, or any of that kind of thing. James is talking about being teachers of God's word, of doctrine, of God's precepts, and anything considered Christian belief--anything of that particular arena. Or to use the term found all throughout Acts, (and one Paul was particularly fond of using in his epistles to Timothy), the concern is being a teacher of the faith. The faith is a term that generally applies to the doctrines and precepts of the realm of Christianity. James is essentially saying,

Don't many of you become teachers of the doctrines and precepts of the realm of Christianity, my brothers.

Something else that we notice about this is that there is no room for saying that James must mean something tamer and gentler than what this sounds like he is saying. This is a real and present warning about a real and present danger. James is clearly saying in easy to understand terms that have accurately been translated from the Greek text, that not many of you Christians should become teachers. We know he is talking to Christians because James is specifically addressing his brothers. And so, yes, God really does warn against being a teacher, and yes, that means you and me my dear Christians. From the serpent in the garden teaching Eve to ignore the teachings of God and of her husband; and then Eve, likewise teaching her husband a lie; to the vain worshippers who were teachers over Israel, God has shown over and over again that He is very serious about every single little word that people teach in respect to matters of the doctrines, and precepts of God. But I want us to notice something else about what James is teaching here in our passage under study. James is talking to Christians, and they are all the Christians who are out among the synagogues (the churches: see James 2:2, sunagoge or more accurately, sunagwgh, ie. assembly) throughout the land, but James also includes himself in this same warning. He says "we"; he says,

"... as such we will incur a stricter judgment."

So this warning applies to everyone--even the so-called pillars of the church, like James the Lord's half brother. In other words, nobody is immune to this warning in some special class distinction. James knows that his audience will incur stricter judgment if any of them become teachers. James knows that he will incur a stricter judgment as a teacher. We also need to know, in serious sober minded awe and reverence for God and His promise, that if any of us should become teachers by teaching concerning matters of the faith, we will incur a stricter judgment. This leads us to consider whether we really grasp the gravity of what James is saying. To illustrate, let me ask you what you would say to someone who would come to you and say,

You know, I think I want to start teaching a Bible study.

Immediately, most of us would say,

Hey that's great.

We might even ask what the person is going to teach. We may even ask when, and where such teaching will take place. But, here is the question that will reveal to us how seriously we take this warning to be; let's ask ourselves another question;

Based upon our text under study, what should our comment be to such a person?

Think about it. Should we pat them on the back with a hardy endorsement because our culture has taught us that every Christian who has a Bible, a Strong's Concordance, and does the dangerous practice of Google theology, seems to think that they can adequately teach the precepts of the faith? Are we so much a part of our culture that we immediately think that mere ambition to teach is the benchmark that makes it perfectly fine for that person to do it? This is why I ask; when we recognize that James says that those who become teachers will incur stricter judgment, if we really grasp the gravity of this warning. Let me put it another way,

When was the last time you have heard someone warned against becoming a teacher according to James 3:1-2?

In all of my years of being a Christian, which is about 40 years now, I can not recall ever hearing anyone warned to not become a teacher based upon what James says in 3:1-2. I have heard of people disagreeing with someone who is teaching. I've heard people arguing with teachers, and thus becoming teachers themselves by teaching the teacher. I have heard of people not preferring a teacher. I have heard of people endorsing a teacher, and I have heard of people being encouraged to teach simply because they want to, but I have never heard them warned about the consequence of incurring a stricter judgment from our almighty God whenever they teach. This phenomena is absolutely amazing when we consider the weight of the warning that James is pleading with us to consider in sober minded meditation. But it doesn't just stop there. Think about anytime a spiritual conversation is going on and you or someone you know starts to share their opinion on a Scripture in an apparent teaching mode. Or think about when they start to explain a doctrine they believe because they want you to see it too. Explaining it, is teaching it. In so doing, they have quickly become a teacher who is teaching what they think are the doctrines and precepts of the realm of Christianity. Maybe this describes you. Maybe you are someone who has, or who does, teach the doctrines and precepts of the realm of Christianity. Further, may I suggest that this may be one reason why James 3:1-2 is apparently ignored in our day--the reason being that so many Christians are teaching all the time in our contemporary culture that it is difficult to come to grips with the fact that James 3:1-2 applies to their lives. Yes folks, the stark reality of our situation as the church in our generation is that there has become a much too casual familiarity among God's people with sharing our views of what God's views are. And so, without exaggeration, we who are in tune with God's Spirit need to listen to what God is saying to us as lights among this corrupted generation, and we need to listen with a sense of emergency. We need to get laid bare once again in pure self probing honesty;

Does this passage that God is speaking to you and me effect us in any manner to consider that yes, God really is warning about being a teacher?;

or,

Do you simply think, and/or act like it is no big deal--that it is really a very small thing that you, in your teaching, will, as a matter of biblically ordained, and mandated warning, incur a stricter judgment?

Bigger question--

Do you even believe God on this?

Do you believe that not only does this stricter judgment apply to you, but it has already been applying to you?

Consider this point of logic for a moment: If what James is saying is true, then how untrue will it become simply because someone does not want to believe it is true? Is John 3:16 wrong simply because the lost think that it is? What James is saying is that you and I need to wake up quickly and pay attention to this passage because it is a very, very real warning that is a fact. If any Christian becomes a teacher who teaches the doctrines and precepts of Christianity, that person will, as a matter of God's revelatory promise, be judged more strictly--period. It is a guarantee from God.

This leads us to consider a controversy considering this passage. Namely, we want to know who it is that does the judging. We also want to know what kind of judgment it is, and we want to know how the judgment is stricter for those who become teachers. These are the questions that deal with the ominous sounding substance of the passage, where James gives us a warning that gives us great cause to pause and consider whether we should ever open our mouths to teach. He says,

"1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brothers, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. [or as the ESV puts it--we will be judged with greater strictness]

There are the two primary views on this: One is that James is talking about other Christians judging other Christians in a stricter manner because those who become teachers are those who share in the open what they believe. It is the view that you've got to be careful not to become a teacher because of what other people will think about you. Then there is the classic view. The classic view, which is the view I am preaching as the factual view, is that God is the One who judges those who teach doctrine, and He does it with greater strictness because what is being dealt with are the very truths that are claimed to be of God. Let's talk about the first view for a moment, because we need to retire it very quickly. The view suggests that James is warning people that there are other people who will judge them more strictly for teaching. Few people believe it, but nevertheless, it is a view, and after all, it does seem a bit safer and somehow more grace oriented to be judged by men rather than by God, so it is no wonder that some people suggest that this is what James means. In support of this view, it is pointed out that contextually, James mentions humans who have become judges in 2:4. But does the fact that James mentions human judges in 2:4 really support this view? We must consider that in 2:4, the judges themselves judge with evil motives and are rebuked for it. Actually, James is warning his audience here against judging, which is a big point. He is not warning his audience back in 2:4 against other people who are judges, but against being the actual judges. This is important because in our passage, in 3:1-2, James is talking about you being a teacher, and as such, being judged more strictly. Further, he is not talking about you judging, or being judged in an evil way by someone else. But there is more. We also see in chapter 4 that James speaks of being judged by people again, but the problem is the same as in the previous example in 2:4, where such judging is considered bad and is discouraged, and it has to do, once again, with James' audience being the ones doing the judging,

"11 Do not speak against one another, brothers 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." James 4:11

So when we look at this from a contextual consideration we see that James identifies people as judges, but we also recognize that each time James does this, he is warning against being the ones doing the judging. In our text under consideration in 3:1-2, James is talking about judgment coming from somewhere else, and further, James is not saying that the stricter judgment that happens to those who become teachers is a judgment action that is wrong. James is simply saying what is going to happen, and in light of this fact, we need to consider whether it's worth it to become teachers. Looking ahead again to the chapter 4 passage I just pointed out where James is telling his audience not to judge with unrighteous judgment, I want to also point out that the same passage describes judgment that is good, righteous, and proper. It is language from the context that supports that what James is saying is that we should not become teachers because of being judged more strictly by God. Looking at 4:12, we see that it is the judgment that comes from God, where God is the only judge. James says,

"12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy;"

These contextual issues of how James uses judgment are important, because the judgment of men in James is always looked down upon as something that is discouraged. And it is always a rebuke for the audience not to do. On the other hand, the judgment of God is portrayed as good, is to be expected, and is warned to be avoided. With this in mind, then, we can go to the next mention of God as the judge, and avoidance of His judgment. There, we can see that it too, closely parallels the language of our passage under study, where James says,

"8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. 9 Do not complain, brothers, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door." James 5:8-9

Here James is making an eschatological statement about the near coming of the Lord. James says that complaining against one another will bring judgment from the Lord, whose coming is near--so near in fact, that He, as the judge, is standing right at the door. But what is particularly important about this statement is that this strongly supports the same language that God is our judge in our text on becoming teachers in 3:1-2. But there is more that presses us to recognize that James is probably concerned with judgment by Christ rather than men. We find it when James goes on to say in 5:12,

"12 But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment."

This is the last time that James warns of judgment, and he is talking about falling under judgment of God--not men. The fact that James is against people judging anyone, and yet warns about the judgment of God throughout the rest of James, strongly indicates that James is concerned with God's judgment in our passage of 3:1-2 concerning teaching. In fact in each instance of the warnings about God's judgment, what one speaks is the issue, and teaching is consistent with this pattern. All of this is bolstered by the fact that the epistle does not show characteristics of being concerned with warning men about what other men think. Additionally, I think that the fact that James even says that He (James) will also be judged more strictly, demonstrates that the concern is with God's view of what we teach, rather than the concern being with what mere mortals think about what we teach.

So this warning is to us concerning being judged by God. It is real, and James goes on to give us something else to think about that is closely fused together with the fact that we incur a stricter judgment when we become teachers. It is a real wake up call to why we are in such danger, where James says,

"2 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."

I can think of dozens of so called seminary professors who should have read this as truly being God's word, then believed it, then applied it to themselves, and then shut their mouths in reverential awe of the strict judgment that will occur from the Holy God of the universe. Yes, our Holy God forgives us in eternal spiritual salvation through the precious blood of the Lamb. But this fact does not mean that those who become teachers are immune to stricter judgment that comes from the Father. They are susceptible to it. To teach otherwise is to have incurred a stricter judgment upon yourself that you absolutely will receive. Along with the multitudes of seminary teachers, I can think of many so called preachers of our day who should have also read this as truly being God's word, then believed it, then applied it to themselves before they set out to teach God's flock. The warning is so big, and the danger is so real, and so serious that we should look at it in humbleness, instead of the self assured pride that so many arm chair theologians exude in our day. Essentially here is the jaw dropping thought of 3:2--

We are so prone to easily make mistakes because we are not perfect that we can teach imperfection with ease, and though we may call it a mistake later on, we will be judged very strictly for it.

Think about this for a moment. Every single person who stands before God can say that the false doctrine that they believed and taught was all a mistake. They might say:

--Well that was the way I was raised to believe.

--The Scripture seemed like it stated those things, so I taught it.

--I didn't think it was really that big of a deal.

--I must have made a mistake.

The Pharisees and Scribes all made a big mistake when they taught what they taught. They really believed that what they were teaching was true, but we rightly say;

Woe to them. They get what they deserve, which is what Jesus says they deserve in His judgment, which is woe.

At this point, I want us to consider that the only remedies are this:

1) Be correct in what you teach,

or

2) Don't teach at all.

You say,

But how do I know whether I am correct? Doctrine is so difficult. Everyone makes mistakes. I make mistakes. Besides, nobody is perfect. Doesn't God understand that we all stumble in many ways? Doesn't God know that if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well? Nobody is perfect, therefor nobody can bridle the body all the time, much less bridle the tongue all the time in a consistent manner. Doesn't God know this?

The answer my brothers and sisters is yes. Yes God knows this. He is the one that told us this first in James 3:2 isn't He? So the question is; Do we care to be quick to listen to what He is saying about it, while being slow to speak in the meantime? Think about this: God loves Himself. For God to love Himself is a good thing. God loves Himself, and God loves all of his children. He loves us because He loves Himself. This love is why God has revealed this warning to us in His word. So it is love to be urged to either be correct in what you teach, or don't become a teacher my brothers and sisters, knowing that as such you will be judged with greater strictness. In the previous chapter, coming into our passage, James says,

"26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless." James 2:26

The danger is so real that even if we think we are religious, we can be deceived, and in our deception, not bridle our tongue. In light of this, do you think that we just might have too many people out there doing what only a very few should be doing? I'm talking about accurately handling the tenets, precepts, and doctrines of the sacred faith once for all delivered to the saints rather than the spurious teachings of men and women. But I want us to think about something else. It is not simply that there is a danger that we need to consider, and so we think we will just be careful, cautious and contemplative, and then after we have paused and meditated for a while, we think we are right, and so we just go on ahead with our own opinions and teach what is supposed to be the explanation of the tenets, precepts, and doctrines of the faith anyway. In other words, it is more than thinking;

Okay we all make mistakes and nobody is perfect, so now that I know that, I will try a little harder to be correct; I will try a lot harder to tame my tongue and lead it by a bridle in the correct direction.

Folks, this warning is much deeper than that. It is deeper, because James says in the next chapter,

"8 But no one can tame the tongue;" 3:8

Meaning that even if we were to put a bridle on our tongue, we are so imperfect, so prone to stumble in many ways, that our tongue, (though we think we are controlling it with our cautious, restraining bridle), is still wild. It will still say things that are wrong, cutting, blasphemous, foolish, errant, and sinful. The point is that while you are attempting to bridle your tongue to make it teach perfectly, who is bridling you in your own imperfection, the very imperfect one who is trying to bridle your own imperfect untamed tongue? You may say that the Holy Spirit is bridling you, but then you need to face the fact that most everyone who teaches false doctrine, teaches thinking that the Holy Spirit has led them to believe what they are teaching. This folks is why all of us (including me) need to think very, very carefully and guardedly about being teachers who teach others. The strict judgment does not disappear for us, but neither does the fact that we all stumble in what we say because our tongue is never tamed. Yes, this is a serious exhortation indeed. Yes, God really does warn against being a teacher! And yes there are some very strong reasons why He warns us about it.

This leads me to think about all the religious movements that are pressed nowadays as the new ways to do things. It's called strategy for being relevant. It's called all kinds of other things too. If we want to start a group, and we have everyone over to have a big pow wow kind of church structure where everyone is a teacher, and everyone's opinion is considered to be equal, what are we doing in light of this warning from James? If James is telling us that not many of us should become teachers, then why are there whole emerging church movements taking place that are teaching the exact opposite to be true. Yes, the exact opposite--which is one of the most profound ironies of our generation. Then you have the big-business church movements. It's all based upon the goal of getting bigger than the church down the street. The big tactic is cell groups, focus groups, and affinity groups. One guru of this movement likes to teach that when someone comes to him and shares an idea for ministry that they think would be good for the organization to consider doing, he immediately says,

"You're it. You are the one to do it?"

In other words,

Become a teacher my brother or sister. You came up with an idea, so you must be qualified to teach. So, that's what you need to do. Go through the bases, and make a home run, and then become a teacher. Don't worry about it; every person is a minister. It all works itself out in the long run. God will be pleased with your teaching. And after all, our church will grow, grow, grow, and it seems to me that God's judgment must be that we are all doing exactly what He wants because, after all, we are growing, growing, growing, and you, my friend, ... well, you're part of making it happen!"

But there is a question that hovers there above all the busy-ness and activity of our age;

How come we never find the warning of James 3:1-2 in any church growth method literature?

Why don't we find this warning being shared with the other subcultures at the other end of the church spectrum?; I'm talking about all the casual care free kind of church movements. It's the same thing there, but it just has a different shape. Everybody should be teaching, after all, the more the merrier. Then there is the whole package of the television personality teachers. The circus of money grab sermons that are preached with regularity is bad enough, but the showmanship and lack of reverential care in handling the word of God should make all of us cringe in light of James 3:1-2. When I think of those guys, I think of a movie made by Christians that I saw not too long ago. The name of the movie is "Time changers." The premise of the movie is that a seminary professor from the 1800's goes forward in time in a time machine that one of his Christian colleagues had secretly developed. The seminary professor stands on this mechanism, and is transported to our generation. In one of the scenes, he is invited by a contemporary church group to go out and see a movie. He gets to the movie and evidently he is watching it, and in the next scene we are in the lobby. Immediately we see the man come running into the lobby with a look of panicked concern on his face. He is yelling for the workers there to shut down the show. Why? Because they are blaspheming God. He keeps yelling at everyone that they are blaspheming the name of the Lord, and they must stop it! Really, it is a very intense scene, where a child of God, who has not been apparently desensitized to sin by the spirit of our age, actually sees the horror in what is actually going on around us and is reacting in a more than appropriate manner. The rest of the Christians just sat there munching their pop corn while being entertained by blasphemy. But, I think of that movie, and I think of that eye opening scene, and I wonder why we are not doing the same thing with so many of these modern media preachers crusading for cash and charisma in a culture of kooky Christianity that has enveloped the American church over the last couple of decades. Or why we aren't doing this with the typical offering of books that are being served to the public on showcased displays at the typical Christian book store now-a-days. We are a generation of popcorn munchers. But think about this: There are books by every so-called Christian teacher, representing every so-called Christian view that one can imagine, as if it is okay to recognize someone as a Christian teacher simply because they write a book. Even non-Christian authors are making their way into the so-called Christian book stores of our land. This reminds me of an incident a couple of years ago, when I had a few bones to pick with Eerdmans publishing company. Eerdmans typically used to publish books on Christian theology. In the spirit of the age, Eerdmans decided to merchandise off of Mormonism, which is a cult. I confronted Eerdmans with their grievous sin, and ended up getting quite a bit of internet press at the time. What was interesting was that nobody representing Eerdmans showed any remorse, any awe, and reverence toward God, concerning the seriousness of their crime against the church, nor did they show that they remotely understood that because they had published the book, they were co-teaching, as teachers with the author, Robert Millet, who is a cult leader who teaches at Bringham Young Cult University. Instead, Eerdmans defended their unholy practice. About that same time, a man I know decided to go to a Christian book store to purchase some books for study. While he was there, he saw the Mormon cult book on display. Shocked by the fact that the book was put out for all to see in such a manner as to suggest that it was a solid Christian book that contended for the faith once delivered to the saints, the man went up to the front to complain. He said to the worker there,

Did you know that this is a book written by a Mormon?

The worker said,

No.

Such an answer, by the way, is a telling answer. Incensed, the man continued to explain to the employee that the book was an apologetic for the Mormon cult which denies the real Christ and blasphemes the real God. He explained to the employee where he found the book. He found it in the Theology Section. How many of us here know why people go to the ever shrinking theology sections of Christian book stores? Right--to buy books that explain Christian theology. The man, then asked the person,

Does your manager know that you are stocking books by cult members?

The answer,

I don't know.

The man persisted,

Don't you think that stocking books written by Cult leaders, endorsing a cult, is wrong?

The worker gave what seemed to be the best answer that could be concocted to attempt to smooth over the moment,

We are supposed to know about other people's religions.

The man answered back,

But there's no warning on this book.

--meaning that there was no way for anyone to discern whether this was merely a propaganda piece written to make the anti-Christ religion of Mormonism more palatable to Christians, or whether it was supposed to be a legitimate Christian book of theology. When the man explained that there was no warning on the book, the final response reminds me of the way the employees in the movie theater in Time Changers reacted to the man who was screaming blasphemy, blasphemy, in holy concern. The store clerk merely said,

Oh.

The clerk then quickly turned away to do something else.

Folks, I don't know if you are getting the comprehensiveness of what James is saying, but Christian book publishers, Christian book stores, and people who have websites, and people who post their thoughts on blogs, and media networks, are all just as guilty of the same teaching as the teachers that they promote and peddle, because, in doing so, they are teaching.

This leads us to consider that the teachers themselves are not only in jeopardy, but all the multitudes who are being taught and fed by them are being led down a road where they are being sustained by a junk food diet. This is the primary backbone to why God is so concerned with teachers and teaching. Yes, it has to do with His own glory, and so it has to do with what He in His glory is concerned with. It has to do with the hearers and the learners on the other end being influenced by false doctrines. You see the trend all the time. For example, someone calls into a Christian radio program. The teacher provides the theological answer to the caller. He is teaching. What is amazing is that whatever answer he gives, most of the time, the caller will say,

Oh, thanks. I never understood that before. Thanks for making it so clear.

The caller hangs up the phone. The only problem is that many times the teacher will teach something that is completely wrong. But, the caller doesn't know that. The caller who is usually a new Christian, calls in with a question to be taught the truth by a teacher. Once taught, then the teaching is assumed to be the truth. But it doesn't stop there, which is my point I am making with this illustration--what I mean is that millions of listeners are listening to this little dialogue over the airwaves. So, a great number of those listeners may have the Biblical acumen, and discernment to weed through the apparent, but specious answer. Yet, there is a large segment that has been infected by one wrong answer given to one caller. Let not many of you become teachers, my brothers, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment because you are influencing the minds of other children of God. Typing on a blog, or putting up teachings on your website has the same effect. You aren't trying to advertise how dumb you are. You are advertising teachings that you want others to believe are truths that God agrees with, and you are doing it like you know what you are talking about. Folks, don't do it unless you have contemplated very seriously that you will incur a stricter judgment, and don't do it unless you have made sure you were called to that end. Again: 1) Be correct in what you teach, or 2) Don't teach at all.

So, at this point, this leads to some more questions: One is; What about passages such as Proverbs 1:8?

"Hear, my son, your father's instruction. And do not forsake your mother's teaching;" Proverbs 1:8

What this means is that parents are teachers of their own children, whether they want to be, or not. So, though we will incur a strict judgment in respect to instructing and teaching our children, God has called, and ordained us to do it. He expects you to do it, and so it is your job to do it. So, this means that you better be making sure that you are prepared to teach the doctrines and precepts of the faith to your children--doesn't it? You say,

But, I don't understand all of that theology stuff. Theology weirds me out! In fact, this sermon is freaking me out!

That may be true, but you can teach your children the basics, and God expects you to. You can, and are expected to teach your children about the sacrifice of Christ; about salvation by grace through faith. Further, it does not take a degree in theology to teach your children the law of love, which is the royal law, which is the perfect law of liberty, which is to love God, and love your neighbor as Christ loves His church.

This leads to another question:

What about what I, Kerry, am doing right now? Right now I am preaching and teaching. Won't I incur a stricter judgment?

The answer is,

Yes I will.

I've been called  to preach and teach, but I am not a perfect man. Like James who says "we," I do what I do knowing that I will incur a stricter judgment. I am not cavalier about this fact. I am not unfamiliar with the woe of being a teacher who teaches untruth. But, like Paul, I am intimately familiar with another woe that pushes me like a tidal current to do what I must do. I would not be a teacher if I did not believe the words of Paul as applying intimately to my own soul,

"16 For if I preach the good news, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the good news. 17 For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me." 1 Corinthians 9:16-17

Woe is Kerry if I do not preach the good news as my stewardship from God in my calling. I would not be a teacher if I did not believe that I have sovereignly been placed in this position,

"18 ... God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. ... 28 And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers ... 29 All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? ..." 1 Corinthians 12:18-29

If you do not believe that God has placed you in the body as a teacher, and if you do not believe that woe is to you if you do not preach the good news of the doctrines and precepts of the good news of the faith, then I strongly urge you not to become a teacher my brothers knowing that as such you will incur a stricter judgment.

I want to end this morning by encouraging all of us to recognize, once again, that God gives this warning because He loves us. Really, we can't lose sight of the fact that warnings are not because of a lack of love, or a lack of grace, but are because of love and grace. We also need to know that James, in no way, is saying that we are in danger of losing our salvation when we become teachers. The Scriptures are clear--all of them--we can not lose our eternal spiritual salvation once we are regenerated as a miracle of Christ. God loves you so much, and we need to consider this; in His wonderful grace, God has told us that He has raised up some people in the body to be teachers. Knowing this, then we need to trust Him that His judgment, whatever it is, will be the right thing, in the right sense, for the right reason. He says in Ephesians that He has given all of us Pastors who are teachers to help equip us. We shouldn't fret over this, but rather we should give thanks for this. Secondly, those who are called to teach and preach, really must rely upon God, and that means to embrace the calling with their whole heart, and further, they must look forward to the strict judgment as part of the whole sovereign hand of God in the matter. The whole process of God's kingdom operation with His church, and His reign, is a great and glorious process filled with love, grace, holiness, righteous judgment, and great reward. Whatever happens, we must be about the task of living according to the word of God to the best of our ability in the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in the joy of the Spirit. Trust God. He knows what He is doing. In the meantime, He wants to make sure we know what we are doing.