Devoted to the Apostles’ Teaching

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Acts 2:42)

To be the church, we must devote ourselves to the apostles’ teaching.

The teaching is inescapably central to the church. It is at the heart of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:20) and the church leader’s calling (2 Timothy 2:2). It is the pipeline for the word of God, the words of Life, the gospel and God’s practical instruction for living (Acts 5:20; 15:35; 18:11; 13:5; 1 Timothy 4:11; Hebrews 6:2). The greatest danger the church faces is not persecution but false teaching (2 Timothy 4:3, 2 Peter 2:1).

If we remove the teaching from the church, the church deflates, losing its value, cargo, purpose, mission and edge in the world. If we do everything else well, but do poorly in regard to the teaching, it is all worthless. Seamless worship services, effective poverty alleviation efforts, and top-notch programming have no eternal value without the teaching.

So, we will devote ourselves to the apostles’ teaching; but before we do, we need to address three questions:

1. What is the apostles’ teaching?
2. What is devotion to the apostles’ teaching?
3. How will we do it?

What is the Apostles’ Teaching?

Jesus taught a lot and the people who heard it were often “astonished.” Why were they astonished? Not because Jesus’ taught so well, but because he taught with divine authority.

Take Mark 1:21-22 for example. “They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.” There were many teachers about, but Jesus was uniquely authoritative.

In John 7:14-17 we read this,

So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.  If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.

Jesus wanted his pupils to know that this was divinely authorized teaching. This was the teaching.

In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus commissions his disciples, in essence transitioning them into apostles, which literally means “sent ones.”

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The Great Commission was based squarely on Jesus’ authority and “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” was central to the commission.

By the way, how in the world were they supposed to remember all that teaching? Do you remember everything your pastor has taught you over the last three years? I doubt it. John 14:26 sheds some light here. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” So, Jesus passed the authoritative teaching on to the disciples and then gave them the Holy Spirit to supernaturally enable them to remember it and pass it on to the church through their teaching and writing, contained in the New Testament.

The early church was not devoted to the apostles’ teaching because the apostles’ were so dynamic and persuasive, but because the they were the only ones who had the authoritative teaching of God.

So we too will devote ourselves to the authoritative teaching. We do not have the apostles with us today, but we do have their teaching recorded in the New Testament. This is why we are so Bible-focused. We do not worship the Bible, but we do recognize that it is the only source for God’s authoritative teaching.

Beware of False Teachers

This means that you need to scour my preaching and teaching to make certain that it is Biblical. You need to ruthlessly weigh every word to make sure it is not merely Matt Broadway’s ideas, but rightly interpreted and applied scripture. Don’t shout “Wrong!” during my sermons, but approach me later so we can discuss it and if I have taught anything out of synch with the Bible I will repent and correct the false teaching the next time I’m in the pulpit. It’s bound to happen, even though I pray and prepare carefully. I need you to catch it when it does. I do not want to be a false teacher and I do not want you to be led astray by a false teacher.

I doubt most false teachers know they are false teachers. Most have probably think they are good teachers. This is why I all teachers need accountability.

How do you know that I am not a false teacher? You cannot know unless you are growing in your understanding of the Bible.

One day I will cease to be your pastor. When that day comes, make sure my replacement remains faithful to the Bible. Nit-pick the teaching that comes from the pulpit, Sunday school classroom and House to House groups.

Taking all of this one step further: scour the preaching and teaching of those you listen to on the TV and radio. Both good and false teachers use TV and radio as a platform and you need to learn how to distinguish between the two.

To help you, I want to point out one specific example: Joel Osteen. Since several of our people sit under his teaching, I think it is appropriate to mention him by name. I used to be concerned about him and now I am convinced that he is indeed a false teacher.

Now, before you get upset with me, if you are an Osteen fan, I will admit that I could be wrong because I have not followed his teaching as closely as perhaps you have. But you will need to convince me before I change my opinion. Here are some false teachings that I believe he (and others like him) proclaim:

• That the atonement promises physical, financial and relational wellbeing.
• That if you “sow a seed” by giving money to a church God will multiply the amount and give it back to you.
• That you have everything you need within you and only need to tap your potential to face life’s obstacles.
• That the ultimate sin is not falling short of God’s holiness but falling short of God’s best for your life (meaning temporal blessedness). For example, he writes in his book, Become a Better You, “When we believe in God’s Son, Jesus Christ, and believe in ourselves, that’s when our faith comes alive. When we believe we have what it takes, we focus on our possibilities.”
• That God is a means to an end (the goal being to achieve greater success and wellness in this life).

Here are some pertinent scriptures to help you think through these teachings:

• Matthew 6:19-21 (Don’t store up treasures on earth.)
• Matthew 13:44-46 (The kingdom of heaven is our great treasure, not earthly treasures.)
• Matthew 16:24-28 (Following Jesus is about self-denying, not self-aggrandizement.)
• John 13:35 (Jesus is our blessing, not our ticket to temporal physical blessings.)
• John 15:18-20 (Jesus promises persecution.)
• 2 Corinthians 1:3-10 (An example of God sanctifying through suffering.)
• 2 Corinthians 8:1-7 (Christians give because they have already received the greatest treasure in Christ, not to receive more financial treasure.)
• 1 Peter 4:12-19 (Expect suffering.)

Later in Become a Better You, Osteen writes, “I’m not called to explain every minute facet of scripture or to expound on deep theological doctrines or disputes that don’t touch where real people live. My gifting is to encourage, to challenge and to inspire.” While it is true that not everyone is called to expound such things, preachers and pastors certainly are. Some are given the gift of encouragement and a necessary part of the body of Christ, helping people keep going in this difficult life. What makes Osteen so dangerous is that he truly is good at encouraging people, but poisonous false teaching coated in encouragement can be damning, causing people to miss Jesus altogether.

Beware of false teachers because the teaching is centrally important to being the church.

What is Devotion to the Apostles’ Teaching?

What does it mean to be devoted to a teaching? Remember the definition of the Greek word translated devoted to.

• To be earnest toward
• To persevere
• To be constantly diligent
• To attend assiduously to
• To give oneself continuously to
• To continue in
• To wait on continually

This is life language, not classroom language. It is about earnestly persevering in learning and living God’s word. Such devotion will help us avoid some common mistakes Christians make as they approach their Bibles.

1. Contented ignorance: Not knowing what God’s word says and not caring to. This is being content in a state of ignorance regarding God’s word.
2. Over-mystification: Thinking that the Bible is magical and that if we expose ourselves to its pages some sort of spiritual pixy dust rubs off on us, enabling us to live a great life. This Bible is more tangible and concrete than this. It contains real content that requires real response.
3. Mere academic study: Approaching the Bible like one approaches a textbook. The Bible is true, but not in the same way our World History textbook is true. The Bible is about more than information, it is about transformation.

Learning and living are the two wheels on the bike. If your learning is not working, maybe you need to start living it out more specifically. If your living is not working, maybe you need to start learning more.

What Will We Do?

Learn and live your Bible by reading, studying and meditating on it personally.

I recommend that you select one book of the Bible and work on it until you’ve mastered it. Take your time. Write down your questions and do the research to find the answers. And all the while commit to living in light of what you’re learning.

I like Rick Warren’s Bible study method if you need some help figuring out how to approach a paragraph of scripture. Ask the following questions:

1. What? (What does it say?)
2. So what?  (Why is it important, what are the implications?)
3. Now what? (How must your living change in light of it? Is it a promise to believe, command to obey, truth to remember?)

Learn and live your pastor’s teaching and counsel.

I know how egotistical that sounds; but I believe it is Biblical. It is clear in the pastoral epistles (1&2 Timothy and Titus) that preaching, teaching and counseling form the bulk of my job description. This is what I am here for. Contact me any time (within reason…). And please do keep in mind my invitation to scour my teaching for anything false.

Learn and live from good teachers.

God spiritually gifts people within the church to teach (Ephesians 4:11-16). This is what Sunday school is about. You can also read good books, listen to good podcasts and find good broadcasts on TV and radio. Just remember to weigh their words by scripture.

Learn and live from each other.

Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom…” The teaching is transferred richly through horizontal Christian relationships. This is what House to House is all about. You need good, deep Christian friendships.

Conclusion

We will devote ourselves to the apostles’ teaching. What is your next step?

Discussion Starters

1. What is your disposition toward the teaching aspect of church life? Do you typically enjoy learning and applying God’s word to your life? Why or why not?
2. What is the difference between devoting ourselves to “the apostles’ teaching” and devoting ourselves to contemporary ministers’ teaching? If a contemporary minister is faithful to the Bible, is it okay to devote ourselves to their teaching?
3. How can we guard against false teaching as individuals and as a church?
4. What is the difference between devoting ourselves to the apostles’ teaching and merely attending Sunday school or listening to regular sermons or having regular “quiet times”? Explain.
5. Why is it important to pursue both learning and living (applying and responding to what we’re learning)? What dangers lie in an unbalanced approach?
6. Discuss what methods of learning and living God’s word that have worked well for you and methods that have not worked well.
7. Pray for each other and the church.

(Picture credit: TheRevSteve)