A Teachable Spirit
James 1:5 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
Only one book is absolutely essential to save us, to equip us to obey God’s will, and to glorify Him in whatever we do. Only one book gives us undiluted truth — the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Only one book serves as our ultimate and final authority in all that it affirms. That book, of course, is the Bible, God’s Holy Word. No wonder John Wesley once exclaimed, “Let me be homo unius libri” — a man of one book!
And yet the irony is that if we use only this book, we may in fact be in disobedience to it. We should count good teaching about the Bible — whether through commentaries, books, sermons, study Bibles, and so on — to be a gift from God for the good of His church (see Eph. 4:11; James 1:17). So what may look pious on the outside (“Just me and my Bible!”) can actually mask pride on the inside.
Acts 8 describes a story that might help us think through this. An Ethiopian eunuch — a God-fearing Gentile who served as treasurer to the Ethiopian queen — had made a five-month journey by chariot to Jerusalem in order to worship God. During his return trip he was puzzling out loud over the Isaiah scroll that he held in his hands. And the Holy Spirit appointed Philip to help him understand the meaning of the Bible.
Philip first asked this man if he understood the passage that he was reading (chap. 53). The Ethiopian responded, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” (v. 31). After inviting Philip to sit in his chariot, he asked him about whom this passage spoke. “Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus” (v. 35). Soon after, the eunuch insisted they stop the chariot in order to be baptized by Philip in obedience to his new savior and king, Jesus Christ.
To be sure, this is a historical narrative recounting an event. The purpose is not necessarily to guide believers today in how to read their Bibles or how to think about the teaching of God’s Word. But the elements within it nonetheless correspond to some wise principles we can adopt as our own. So let’s work through the passage again, letting the various points serve as triggers for our own reflection on understanding the Word of God and those who teach it.
First, the Ethiopian wrestles with and labors to understand the meaning of God’s Word. He doesn’t wait for help; he first tries on his own to figure out what the text is saying. He is not content merely to skim the Scriptures, putting a check mark next to his reading in the scroll for that day. And so it is with us — we must spend time in the Bible, working hard and trusting God for insight into its meaning. Paul expressed this as a command followed by a promise: “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything” (2 Tim. 2:7).
Second, the eunuch humbly acknowledges his own insufficiency and lack of understanding. He desires to understand what the Word says, he admits that he needs help, and then he asks for it. We should approach God first remembering that He wants to be asked and that He promises to assist us: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5). And what should we pray? Psalms 119 provides many examples of how to pray for understanding and application. For example, verses 33–36:
Teach me, O Lord, the way of
your statutes; and I will keep
it to the end.
Give me understanding, that I may
keep your law and observe it with
my whole heart.
Lead me in the path of your commandments, f
or I delight in it.
Incline my heart to your testimonies,
and not to selfish gain!
Third, the eunuch asks a good, clear, relevant question based upon his own wrestling with the meaning of the text. Asking good questions is evidence of good thinking. If you don’t ask good questions about the text, you won’t engage your mind and you won’t be able to evaluate the answers.
Fourth, he listens carefully to the Christ-centered, gospel-focused teaching before him. Jesus warned that we must take care how we listen (Luke 8:18), and the Ethiopian eunuch does just that. For many of us, our inclination is to talk first and listen second, but Christ-followers must be “quick to hear” and “slow to speak” (James 1:19).
Finally, he puts into practice what he has just learned from the Word and from his commentator. Philip had told him “the good news about Jesus” (Acts 8:35), which probably included the teaching that members of God’s covenant community will publicly identify with Christ in the act of baptism. So the Ethiopian official models for us James’ command to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22).
So let us be the sort of people who prayerfully and carefully immerse ourselves day and night in God’s Word (Josh. 1:8; Ps. 1:2). Let us also be the sort of Berean-like people who receive good teaching about God’s Word “with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11).
You might be an unteachable person if . . .
1. You see everything as a Martin Luther moment – Here I stand I can do no other.
2. You see an article on Facebook about Quarrelsome people, and don’t stop to let it teach you before you pass it on to others. The same goes for many other posts—posted in the ‘hope’ that a particular person will ‘see and take note’.
3. You hear a challenging sermon and immediately think of someone else who needed to hear it—as opposed to applying it to your own soul.
4. You have sat in church for years, merely being informed but not transformed. You may have learned, but you have not been taught, nor much changed by the Word. This may also include sitting in judgement on the sermon, straining out a theological, grammatical or idiosyncratic gnat while failing to apply the sermon to angularities in you.
5. You haven’t been wrong for a long time. There is always an answer for your actions. It is actually a long time since you had to put your hand up and say, “I got that wrong”—even at the dinner table. Since we spend so much time at the table, inevitably it should be a place where our family hears us say, “Sorry I was wrong.” But if we aren’t saying it there, we aren’t likely to say it in public.
6. You haven’t repented or sought forgiveness in a long time. In theory you admit to being a sinner, but functionally you are sinless. It is a long time since you repented, either to your wife, your children or to God. It is other people who need to repent.
7. You have never changed your mind or altered an opinion. We all grow and mature. None of us have it all nailed down.
8. You see changing your mind as backing down and damaging to your identity (self), rather than a means of growing into your identity (Christ-likeness).
9. You focus on minutia when you are wrong. Increasingly insisting on being in the right in a minor area, whilst ignoring fault in major areas. And so you miss the opportunity to grow. More straining of gnats. Rather than being taught, and growing, you risk turning into Gollum all for the sake of ‘your precious’.
10. Your eyes glaze over and you tune out when something challenges your position. You hear arguments against it, but rather than take those on board and respond to them, you simply restate your opinion in a different way, or even with the same words.
11. Your circumstances override any command God has given. Your past or present trumps anything God says—His commands or promises may apply to others but not you. It may be problems, it may be pain, it may be opportunity, but it is their voice that regulates your life.
12. You continue to search for a supporting opinion from someone—anyone—even when lifelong friends, or biblically qualified leaders, tell you otherwise.
Don’t be unteachable, unpersuadable. Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit, by resisting the work that he is seeking to do in you. Be easily persuadable that you may be wrong.
If any of this hits close to home, as Kevin DeYoung said at the conclusion of his article: “Look to Christ. He has the power to change us and has made provision to forgive.”
Mark pastors 2 churches in the Republic of Ireland. He is married with three daughters. Before entering the ministry he studied architecture. He enjoys open water swimming, design, and watching rugby.
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