Who Is Your Teacher
By Adam Mitchel
There’s one thing that has struck me, over the nine years that I have been a believer of Christ, and that’s how as a body, we generally rely on theology and schools of thought to reveal who God is. At the time of my salvation I was knocking on all the doors before me, trying to see who or what would answer. Finally, after years of seeking the spiritual realm, I nearly died after knocking on the doors of sorcery, with the use of Entheogens and psychedelics. I was trying to expand my mind and delve deeper into myself for answers, while also trying to see the spiritual realm through spirit guides, and Gaia, also known as mother earth.
I found the answer in the form of Jesus Christ, he answered the door, and he spoke back to me, and guided me to the bible, where I literally gorged myself on his living word. I spent months filling my inner most man with the deep truths of God, and the spiritual realm. Eventually he spoke to me about going to church, and finding other believers to grow with, and wow did I grow. It was fascinating to hear people’s theology’s, and schools of thought, gleaned from a lifetime of growing up in church, listening to sermons, going to study groups, debating each other, and reading a plethora of books. Not to mention listening to endless pod casts and watching YouTube sermons.
The thing that fascinates me after so many years, is I too have been caught up in the apologetics, theology, and the school of thought movement. Don’t get me wrong these things all have their place, but if we are only relying on these truths and thoughts to teach us about who God is, are we not just like the Pharisees and Sadducees??? We have all heard of the Pharisees and Sadducees and how Jesus challenged them, but do you personally know what the Pharisee’s or a Sadducee’s were?
Both the Pharisees and Sadducees had different responsibilities and beliefs, but the core thing they had was the Judaism belief of God, sacrifices, theology, and temple worship. They were also the priests and leaders that the people looked up to for answers about the things of God, and they debated in the synagogues over interpretation of the Torah, the Law, Sheol ‘aka Hell’, and if there was a resurrection of the dead. Rather than focusing on scripture like Proverbs 3:5-6 which states “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths” to help lead them to God.
What fascinates me is how much we rely on the debate of individuals, the opinion polls of theologians, pod casts, video sermons, and other people’s opinions, to reveal to us who God is. Of the many things Jesus came to achieve, he also came to allow the Holy Spirit to minister to us. He came to release a teacher within us, to guide us, and aid us in our understanding of the Holy Scriptures. He came to remove the sacrifice of animals through his atoning blood and tear the veil of the temple to allow individuals to approach God directly. And he released the gifts to us individually to function as a body together in fellowship.
I recently had a conversation with a friend, who had spoken to a mutual friend, and a question had been raised “How can a loving God send good people to Hell?” That’s a great question, and a question that requires study of the bible, much prayer, and teaching by the holy spirit. This question is one that I would expect from an atheist or a new convert, not from someone who has grown up in the church their entire life. I also wouldn’t expect a Christian to be asking this question and using this as a reason to reject their Faith in Jesus, doesn’t the first 4 chapters of Romans help address this question, and that’s just to mention one small section of scripture on the topic. But without a genuine relationship with God, Jesus, the Holy spirit, and a burning desire to seek the truth through Gods holy scriptures, why AM I surprised?
I have seen other Christians fall away after spending their entire walk listening to schools of thought and researching topics outside of the Holy scriptures, and as one who loves what I have found through the bible and the Holy spirit, it greatly saddens me that they have missed what I have found.
I want to leave you with one question to consider “When was the last time you had a question about your faith, prayed about it, and then opened your Bible to find some answers?”