John 3 Accountability and Teaching

It’s hard to believe sometimes that we are accountable to not only our faith, but to our knowledge about our faith. Sitting in a seminary class a couple of years ago, a professor made it clear to us students that as seminarians we were now the keepers of the doctrine, the ones who “know--someone who understands and can speak intelligently about doctrine and Scripture.” James 3 makes it clear that the more we know, the more responsibility we have. As this information sunk in, I became increasingly nervous about the validity of his statement. I was now responsible for what I knew. I wasn't sure I was ready to always have to know the answers, to be able to engage in deep conversation about what passages meant. I was training to be a leader and as a leader what I say and teach matters. This is not something to be taken lightly.

Take a minute and read John 3:1-12. Nicodemus was a Jewish leader, a Pharisee, who didn’t understand the severity and importance of his role. As a Pharisee it is safe to assume he had gone through rigorous Torah training and mentoring. He had been taught about the Scriptures and the Messiah, yet here we see Jesus pointing out that while Nicodemus was leading and teaching, he did not have a clear understanding about what he was teaching. We can only assume the reason for this. Perhaps Nicodemus had “head knowledge” but it hadn't translated to an understanding in his heart. In verse 10 Jesus says, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not understand these things?” Try thinking about it this way: We can be in a relationship with a person and know nearly everything about that person, but at the same time, not necessarily care an awful lot about them. This is head knowledge verses heart knowledge. When it comes to the Word of God, head knowledge is nothing without the heart.

What does this mean for the person who is not in direct leadership? What does it mean in regards to their accountability to remember or understand what they learn? Or does it mean as Christians we should maybe shy away from learning so we will not have to be responsible for it? I don’t think so. Now take a minute to look at Hebrews 5:12-14. The Lord does not want us to stay young in our faith. Accountability will grow but with the additional knowledge, so will our hearts.

While the responsibility of growing and learning more about God may be great, it is still what we are to do. As we learn more, it draws us closer to Him. It is a holy calling, but one filled with liability; it is not so different from our earthly relationships. The more we learn about someone, the more we are expected to know about them. This doesn’t mean the Lord expects each of us to go through the rigorous training Jewish men did in their day, but naturally as we attend church, read our Bibles, and engage in fellowship, knowledge will grow; when that happens, you have responsibility for what you have learned. As you live your life, the Lord expects you to live in a way that reflects this new knowledge. As you talk to others about Him, the Lord expects you to speak truthfully about what you know.

Are you currently accepting this accountability the Lord is requiring of you? If not, what should you be doing differently? Are you taking every opportunity to learn and turn around and teach even in small ways? Is your learning changing who you are? If your answers are yes, you are seeing the joy of following and serving a mighty God whose ways are beyond our understanding.

Lord, show us your ways. Teach us, open our eyes to understand your teachings, help us to see the opportunities we have to teach others what we have learned. Give us the strength to be accountable to what we have learned and to live lives that reflect it.