Title: True Teacher
Bible: Ezra 7:10
Title: True Teacher
Ezra 7:10 “Ezra was determined to study the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach Israel decrees and ordinances” - Amen.
Ezra is the 16th descendant of Aaron (Ezra 7:5), a scribe and priest (Ezra 7:11), and as a scribe, he was used to lead the people when Israel returned from the Babylonian captivity to the second time by order of King Artaxerxes. is. What Ezra did was a spiritual reform movement to restore the religiosity of the people who had forgotten God's law. One verse of the text reflects his life. He was a true teacher. I would like to share a speech under the title.
1. Those who know the truth are the true teachers
It cannot be denied that the values and ideologies differ and change according to the region and time, and what people have expressed their intentions is not absolute. That is why the Bible dismisses all people as false (Romans 3:4). In one lifetime, they do not even think about what life is like or how to live the right way, and they stick to their instincts and reality, but they get old and get sick and die. It is in vain to live a hard life,
Ecclesiastes 1:14 “I have seen all that is done under the sun; behold, all is vanity, a chasing after the wind.”
There are many teachers in the world, but the fact that there cannot be true teachers is that if you do not learn the truth as a teacher, you will eventually teach things you did not know. The Bible does not understand and discuss life,
Matthew 15:14 “… he who is blind and leads the blind; if a blind man leads the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
Jesus is the true Teacher because the Word became flesh and is the truth itself (John 1:1, 14, 14:6). John 13:13 “You are right when you say that I am a teacher or a lord..”
Those who believe in Jesus are called teachers to the world. Because you have learned the real truth. If we have the truth of Jesus, the true teacher, the saints become teachers to the world.
Hebrews 5:12 ‘…you ought to have been teachers…’
At the beginning of the text, Ezra 7:10 ‘Ezra studied the law of the Lord…’
The word to study (v/rd]li: Ridrosh) means to thoroughly investigate and find out, and it means to study God's Word, the truth, in depth. This word includes even a deep spiritual realization.
Church teachers who provide faith education based on the Bible should study the Word like that. So, leaders take theology classes for Bible study. And in the hopes of realizing a lot, you will receive special training. Although Peter was a fisherman, he learned the truth by leaving the house and following the Lord.
John 6:69 “We believed and knew that you are the Holy One of God.”
2. You must practice the truth to be a true teacher
The Bible does not tell us to preach the gospel, but to testify. To become a witness of the gospel, the word “witness” (mavrtu) is used with the word martyr. Therefore, it means that the content of the testimony is precious enough to risk your life. .
In the middle of this verse, Ezra 7:10 ‘Ezra studied the law of the Lord and did it…’
Ezra said that the law was not just an academic study, but was put into practice.
A witness must be sure enough to see, hear, experience, and risk his or her life. Therefore, to become a teacher who wants to testify to the truth, the truth must become one's life.
To become a teacher who teaches the truth without action is in the training of a teacher, not a true teacher.
John 4, the Samaritan woman evangelized when she received the assurance of salvation and rejoiced.
John 4:29 “Come and see a man who told me all that I have done, is this not the Christ?”
Matthew 5:19 “...whoever practices these things and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven”
3. Those who courageously proclaim the truth are true teachers
If you know, experience, and practice the truth, you must show and teach this good life of blessing. Those who have the truth and do not teach are those who hide the light in the dark. Those who know the truth and do not cry out are not courageous.
Isaiah 58:1 “Cry aloud, spare not your voice, lift up your voice like a trumpet, and tell my people their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins.” In today's church society, we do not hear the cry of repentance. Why? Because the church did not repent. Those who repent and know the taste of repentance become simpler in expression. Repent! This is how it will be.
The last part of this verse, Ezra 7:10 “He was determined to teach Israel decrees and ordinances in obedience to them.”
Teaching the truth according to the truth is not easy. Because the listener doesn't like it. So I go round and round with a different sound. Today's preachers cannot keep their place as servants of God to please people's hearts.
But if you are a true teacher of the times, you need the courage to proclaim the truth. I risked my life and told me to cry out. And that's how you should hear it.
True teachers are rare. The saints toward the world are the teachers of the world. If you hold the truth. Where the truth is hidden, a dark spirit is always at work. The reform problem of the Korean church is to recover the truth. And it takes courage to act and cry out the truth. Rather than becoming a believer who receives daily comfort or comfort, I pray that you will become a true teacher in the world who can reflect on yourself and cry out repentance.