7.1 Key themes⤒🔗

• The seventh mark of a mature Christian is that he is a learner and sharer of God’s Word.
• A mature Christian makes learning from God’s Word her first priority.
• A mature Christian can tell the difference between true and false teachings.
• A mature Christian is able (and eager) to share God’s Word.
• Here are three simple ways of sharing God’s Word:
• Share as you learn.
• Let your mouth be filled with praise and thanksgiving.
• Live with hope and be ready to explain it.

7.2 – 1 Timothy 3:2←⤒🔗

^2. The overseer then must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, an able teacher.

© NET Bible

7.3 Hebrews 5:11-14←⤒🔗

^11. On this topic  we have much to say and it is difficult to explain, since you have become sluggish in hearing. 

^12. For though you should in fact  be teachers by this time, you need someone to teach you the beginning elements of God’s utterances . You have gone back to needing milk, not solid food. 

^13. For everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced in the message of righteousness, because he is an infant. 

^14. But solid food is for the mature , whose perceptions  are trained  by practice  to discern  both good and evil.

© NET Bible

7.4 The seventh mark of maturity: A learner and sharer of God’s Word←⤒🔗

So far we have discovered six marks of maturity from 1 Timothy 3:1-7. As we look at this passage, we should keep in mind that it speaks about the overseers (elders) of the church.

Overseers have the special task of leading God’s people, by preaching and teaching God’s Word to them. So, it should not surprise us when we read that an overseer must be “an able teacher” (1 Timothy 3:2). In other words, he must be good at teaching God’s Word.

Not every Christian is called to be a teacher in the church (James 3:1; 1 Timothy 2:12). Therefore, we cannot say that every Christian must be “an able teacher.” But the Bible makes it clear that every Christian is called to be a learner of God’s Word. Also, every Christian is called to teach and share God’s Word in some ways.

So, we will call the seventh mark of maturity: “A learner and sharer of God’s Word.” First, we will see that a mature Christian is a learner of God’s Word. Then, in Part 2 of this lesson we will see that a mature Christian is a sharer of God’s Word.

7.5 A learner of God’s Word←⤒🔗

The book of Hebrews is a letter (or a sermon). It was written to a group of Christians who were not mature. In our passage (Hebrews 5:11-14) the writer says that he wants to teach them wonderful things about Christ. But, he says, “it is difficult to explain, since you have become sluggish in hearing” (verse 11).

Many Christians are “sluggish in hearing.” In other words: They are lazy to learn from God’s Word. They might listen to short, easy messages. But they do not want to work hard to grow in their knowledge. Again and again, they must be reminded of the basic truths of the faith (the “beginning elements of God’s utterances”–verse 12).

The basic truths of the faith are important. They are like “milk” (verses 12-13). Just like every baby needs milk, so every Christian needs basic truths. “Jesus loved me and gave his life to save me from my sin.” That is an example of a basic truth that we all need to hear. We need to hear it again and again.

But why did Jesus need to die? Whom did he die for? What does the Old Testament have to say about him? How can we live in his love? When we study questions like these, we are busy growing up. We are not drinking only milk anymore. We are also beginning to eat “solid food” (verses 12 & 14).

A grown-up Christian is someone who loves the milk and the solid food of God’s Word. She is not satisfied to know a verse here and a verse there. She wants to know the whole Bible! Like Mary, she makes learning from God’s Word her first priority (Luke 10:38-42).

Also, a grown-up Christian does not believe everything he hears or reads. He is able to “discern both good and evil” (verse 14 of our passage). Because of his study of God’s Word and because of his experience, he can tell the difference between true and false teachings.

7.6 A sharer of God’s Word←⤒🔗

Even if we are not overseers, we are still called to teach God’s Word in some ways. For example:

Church members should teach each other by singing together! In Colossians 3:16, Paul writes,

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

Parents should teach their children (Deuteronomy 6:6-7; Proverbs 3:1).

Older (or more experienced) Christian women should teach younger (or less experienced) Christian women (Titus 2:3-5).

Clearly, a mature Christian is someone who can speak about the things of God! He is able (and eager) to share God’s Word with others.

How can you and I become more mature in this part of the Christian life? Here are three simple ways.

Share as you learn.←↰⤒🔗

The word “disciple” means “learner.” As believers, we never stop being disciples of Jesus. We never stop learning. As we learn, we can share what we are learning with others.

People do not want to learn from someone who thinks he knows everything. But everyone enjoys learning from a humble learner! Read the Bible with your family, ask questions about what you are reading, and try to find answers together. Tell your friend about what you have learned at church on Sunday. These are some ways in which you can share God’s Word while learning from it.

Let your mouth be filled with praise and thanksgiving.←↰⤒🔗

Two friends meet each other in the street. “How are you?” the one asks. The other responds, “I am well; praise God for his grace.”

A mother sits down to eat with her children. “Look at this wonderful food that the Lord has provided for us! Let us thank him now,” she says.

A young man has just been robbed. When his friends tell him how sorry they are, he responds, “I thank God that he has spared my life, and that only my things have been taken.”

These three examples may seem small. But they show us the kind of words that should fill our mouths at all times. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

When our mouths are filled with praise and thanksgiving, we are also busy teaching and encouraging others! As David says in Psalm 34:1-3,

I will praise the Lord at all times; my mouth will continually praise him. I will boast in the Lord; let the oppressed hear and rejoice. Magnify the Lord with me. Let us praise his name together. Psalm 34:1-3

Live with hope and be ready to explain it.←↰⤒🔗

Our hope in Christ makes us different from the world. It moves us to love and serve the people around us¾even if they are our enemies.

If we live in this way, people will ask questions. This will give us a chance of sharing our hope with them. As the apostle Peter wrote, “set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess. Yet do it with courtesy and respect” (1 Peter 3:15-16).

In these three humble ways, we can all have the joy of sharing God’s Word! As we do so, we will help ourselves and God’s church to “reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13, NIV).