8 Tools to Test Teaching

Shocking. It’s the only word I can use to describe the day I heard a pastor describing his sex life from the pulpit. My young daughter sat near the front row. At the time, I was ignorant, naïve, valuing charisma and likeability more than discerning or able to truly test teaching.

Looking back, even my own understanding has changed significantly from what I taught ten or even a handful of years ago. As a result, I have uncovered nine indicators I use to test teaching; both my own and other peoples. This is what I have learned…

The true Gospel:

1. Is simple, but not shallow – Man complicates things, the true gospel is simple. “Believe on the Lord Jesus [as your personal Savior and entrust yourself to Him] and you will be saved…”(Acts 16:31) At the same time, the true gospel is not shallow, but calls us to be “[deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love.” (Eph. 3:17-18)
2. Places Jesus at the center, not man – Charisma, appearances, and platforms can be appealing; however Christ must remain central, His character evidently displayed. “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to give His life as a ransom for many [paying the price to set them free from the penalty of sin].” (Matt 20:28) Does you or others teachings glorify, talk about, and brag about self, or does it point to Jesus?
3. Includes suffering, never guaranteeing ease, wealth, or health. Scripture says, “The Son of Man must suffer and be rejected…” (Luke 9:22) And, “If anyone wishes to follow me [as my disciple], he must deny himself [put aside self-interests], and take up his cross daily [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living, and if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me]”. (Luke 9:23)
4. Will increase your appetite for Scripture – What I have found is when I am truly in His presence, hearing Godly anointed, Gospel-centered teaching… my hunger for scripture and to know Him more increases. After all, the Word is God himself, (John 1:1) and every good teacher points us to scripture, asking us to scour the Word for ourselves, like Bereans searching for truth.
5. Will lead us to repentance, humility and Christ-like character – In Acts, repentance foreshadowed true salvation and the receiving of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38) Humility is the foundational character to the mind-set of Christ and precedes serving one another. (Phil. 2:3-11) It would be wise to be weary of prideful teachers who inflate our egos, compliment shallowly or excessively, not walking in character or exhibiting the peace, love, joy, and kindness of Jesus. (Prov. 16:18)
6. Encourages us to be last, not first; a servant not a slave. Values love and grace, more than delighting in rules and punishment– Control, power, and manipulation have no place in scripture-centered teaching. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Cor 3:17) True teaching should never produce condemnation or extra-man-made rules enslaving us again to fear. At the same time, the true Gospel calls us to be like servants, walking in humility and love. (1 John 2:6) “Where sin increased, [God’s remarkable, gracious gift of] grace [His unmerited favor] has surpassed it and increased all the more.” (Romans 5:20)
7. Produces positive changes, fruit that is visibly evident to others – The true gospel should produce “good fruit”, or “visible evidence” of good things in our lives. (Matt 7:15-20, Luke 6:44) So many times I have had to step back and ask, “Does this teaching make me and others more like Christ? Does it produce and stir others on towards life, healing, hope, and obedience.” I have learned over time, the wisdom of checking for good fruit in a person’s life before embracing everything they say. No one is perfect, however, “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit and bad fruit cannot come from a good tree.” (Matt 7:18)
8. Will never contradict scripture or the overall message of the Bible – Scripture says the Word of God is right and true. (Psalms 33:4) The more we read our Bible’s, the more we know His truth, ensuring our teaching or the teaching of those around us is sound, keeping scripture in context, not taking one verse and making a whole doctrine around it. Teaching should reflect the over-all message of scripture, not re-define some person’s own interpretation of the Bible.

The day I heard such vulgarity from the pulpit, I left that church and never went back. Needless to say, I was humbled learning how easy it can be to get off course. Good intentions don’t equate to solid teaching.

Since then, I’ve had to carefully test my own heart for humility, check my own character in light of Jesus’. I have been motived to dig into the Word for even more clarity, being diligent about my own teaching, but also checking for fruit in other peoples.

I would love to hear what you have found are effective ways to test either your own or others teaching.

About Jen

​​Though born, raised, and still living only miles from where she grew up, Jen's heart lies in the nations. Jen loves the beautiful tapestry found in the wide diversity of people, different cultures, and all nations.  Jen and her husband have been married twenty years, and have parented fifteen kids and counting; twelve foster, one adopted, and two bios.  Her multi-racial family reflects her passion for unity, desire for faith without walls, and missional mindset to share both the gospel and the power of redemption to a world desperately needing the hope found in Jesus Christ. Jen and her husband have led in a variety of ministries; including prayer, small groups, children's, and women’s.  Jen advocates for the orphan as a board member for the non-profit, A New Song; and loves doing missions work internationally, along with her family.  You can find Jen writing about faith, while challenging her readers at her blog, Rich Faith Rising, as well as at tweeting faith-filled messages @Jen_Avellaneda .  Jen is also on facebook.

---