RETURN TO THE SOURCE II

TEACHING

God honors tradition.  He is very clear that He wants those who love and follow Him to walk in a tradition of faith that goes back to the very beginning of time.  Teaching and revealing Truth are two of the ways that God encourages His children to carry on that tradition of faith in their lives and in their walk with Him.

God freed His people from the slavery of the world’s system when Moses led them out of Egypt.  God spoke to them and told them that they were to love Him with all of their heart, soul, and strength and they were to keep His words in their hearts always.  Then He told them to pass on their experiences with Him to their children.  “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deut. 6:5-7).

God once again freed His people from the slavery of the world’s system when Jesus came and taught them about the Kingdom of God, died on the cross, and then rose from the dead.  Jesus told his disciples to, “Go and make disciples, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you” (Matt.28:19).

After Jesus returned to His Father, he sent the Holy Spirit.  “The work of the Spirit is to guide you into all the Truth.  He will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak…He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:13,14).  What he will share is from the Alpha and Omega, not something new and improved from human thought.

God reveals Himself, His eternal power and divine nature in all of creation that surrounds us daily, ever since the beginning of time.  “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge” (Psalm 19:1, 2).

God speaks to His children through the Scriptures.  The words, stories, and teachings in the Bible are “Inspired by God and profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).

It is simple and clear what the substance of our teaching is to be if we claim to love and walk with God.  It is to be the commands, the works, and the words of God; it is to be a declaration of a faithful and consistent God who has done great things for us; it is to glorify God and glorify Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit.  There is no need for the new and improved thoughts of humans or ways of the world.  They may entertain, encourage, and even enrich us; but only the Way and Truth of God and His Kingdom can give us Life.  The Way, the Truth, and the Life of God never change or need updating.  They are faithful, consistent, and worthy in all time and seasons, from the Alpha to the Omega, the beginning and the end.

QUERY

What am I talking about when I sit in my house or walk by the way;

When I lie down and when I rise?

What are we teaching our children, the next generation,

And the one after that?

What message is being proclaimed and heard in our Meetings and Churches?