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“FOLLOW MY EXAMPLE” TEACHING THE WORD OF GOD IN OUR LIVES Neil Foster 1. Introduction One of the topics which is justifiably high on the agenda of everyone interested in theological education is that of “spiritual formation”, or, in terms perhaps closer to New Testament terminology, training our students to grow in godliness. No matter how much information about the Bible and the Christian faith that our students have, it will be of no use unless they know the Lord personally and grow in maturity. It struck me very forcibly, when reviewing New Testament material on “teaching” generally, how strong the emphasis is on the teacher providing a model of godly living for the student. We must teach, not only in the classroom, but through our lives! I knew, of course, one or two verses which mentioned this; but it surprised me when I looked a bit more closely how much material on this topic there is in the new Testament. Not only the apostle Paul, but the Lord Jesus, the apostle Peter, and the author of the letter to the Hebrews stress that we who are teachers, must be careful to live what we teach! Of course there is a general principle in the Christian life that we as believers are to imitate Christ (e.g. Rom 15:1-3, 2 Cor 8:9, Phil 2:5-11, 1 Pet 2:21, 4:1) and even God (Eph 5:1, 1 Pet 1:15-16)! These verses alone would give us good grounds for teaching by example, for this is just what the Lord Jesus did (e.g. Mk 10:45). Yet beyond these general principles of Christian life, there is a solemn charge laid upon those of us who are teachers of God’s people, that our lives must be worthy of imitation. 2. The Lord Jesus’ teaching We start with a saying of the Lord Jesus in Lk 6:39-40: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.” A frightening thought, but true! If a blind man leads another blind man, they will both be ruined. And if a teacher is not following the Lord Jesus himself, how can we expect the student to be any better? We praise God, of course, that in his mercy he does sometimes rescue students from poor teachers. But as teachers we must take this warning very seriously. If we read in Lk 6 we see the dangers that we can fall into: hypocrisy, trying to correct minor problems in our students when we have major areas of sin in our lives; ungodly talk, which reveals the true state of our hearts; lack of firm foundations in the Lord ourselves. May the Lord teach us these things clearly so that we do no prove to be a danger to others!

3. The Apostle Paul When we turn to Paul’s writings we find again and again that he learned this lesson from the Lord Jesus very well: that his way of life was a pattern, an example, for others to follow. (a)

Paul himself set an example for those he taught.

Let’s look first at 1 Thessalonians, probably one of Paul’s earliest letters. This is the way he describes his ministry in Thessalonica in 1 Thess 1:5-7: “Our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became initiators of us and of the Lord. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaea.”

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From this passage we see that (i)

Paul consciously chose to live his life in a certain way, for the benefit of the Thessalonians, for their sake. His life and that of his companions was a model to the Thessalonians of the gospel he was preaching. Indeed, when we look at 2 Thess 3:9 we see that Paul and his companions always had in mind the fact that the Thessalonians would observe their behaviour and imitate it. They had refused to accept financial help from the Thessalonians, and instead had worked for their own living. He says: “We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow.”

For Paul was prepared, even if he had no rights as an apostle, to give them up in order to set an example to others.

(ii) Secondly, if we look at the context of this imitation, we find that it expressed itself partly in the way that the believers endured severe suffering, while welcoming the gospel with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. (iii) And not only did they imitate Paul, but they in turn became a model for other believers. We might call this the “golden chain” of imitation: Paul imitates the Lord, the Thessalonians imitate Paul, others believers imitate the Thessalonians. Think of the “multiplication” factor: from Paul, to the congregation in Thessalonia, to the congregations in Greece. Think of the potential effect of our modelling on the church in our country! If we present a godly model of life to our students, which (with God’s grace) they follow, and they then present a godly model of life to the congregations they work in, then this can spread through many churches. If we behave in a godly way when in the Seminary issues of status or property are at stake, who can tell what good effects this might have in the future in the church at large? In 1 Thess 2:9-10 Paul refers to this again: “Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God.”

Paul says that he was like a father to them. What do we see in someone’s children? How much they resemble and imitate their parents! It is no surprise, then, when Paul says to the Thessalonians in 2 Thess 3:7 “For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example.” Turning to other letters of Paul we find the same theme. In 1 Corinthians 4:14-17 we again find the image of the father. Paul, he says, is their “father” in Christ because through him the gospel first came to them. “Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.” We may note in passing how deeply involved Paul is in imitating God, for, like God, he “sends” his “beloved son”. The Greek word agapetos, used to describe Timothy here, is the word used of the Lord Jesus at his baptism - see Mk 1:11 and parallels.

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What is most significant for our purposes is this: that Paul can boldly claim that his teaching and his life in Christ completely agree with each other. And this is why, I Cor 11:1, Paul can say: “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” Next in Paul’s career we come to a letter written from a Roman prison. He says in Philippians 3:17: “Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.” The context tells us two important things. (i)

First, that Paul here (and in other examples we’ve seen) is not being haughty or proud, as if to say: “I’m perfect, look at me!” No! In the immediate context of Phil 3:12 he reminds his readers that he is not perfect, that he has not reached complete godliness. But he reminds them of the direction in which he is moving, the energy he is putting into reaching the goal, running the race, with the call of Jesus Christ as his goal, the prize of heaven.

(ii) Again, there are other people involved as well as Paul. Not just Paul but also his companions have given the pattern. There is one pattern, a life of serving God, but it is a pattern that they gave. We should never forget the impact that can be made, not just by individual lives, but by an example of godly community life set by a group of teachers! Finally from Paul’s letters, we have one that was probably written at the end of his life, from another prison. He says this in 2 Timothy 3:10: “You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance.” His teaching and his chaal challan, his way of life, are again tied up together. And so in v.14 he goes on to make this the basis of Timothy’s behaviour: “Continue in what you have learned…because you know from whom you learned it.” (b) Paul taught that teachers ought to set an example of godliness Having seen Paul’s example of godly behaviour, we ought also to listen to his teaching, as to how we should teach. When he wrote to Timothy and Titus he gave them clear principles as to how they should pastor the people in their care. In 1 Timothy 4:11-12 Paul says: “Command and teach these things. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” The result of this we see in vv.15-16: “Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” For Paul both life and doctrine are essential! We need to understand the word of God correctly and have right teaching. But that teaching will be powerless if it is not reflected in our living! Paul gave the same advice to Titus, in Titus 2:7: “In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech.”

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The way we teach God’s word and the other subjects we present is also a big part of modelling godly behaviour. Do we do so frivolously, without adequate preparation, in a lazy way? This will model bad habits for our students.

3. Other New Testament writers. We should briefly notice the teaching of two other New Testament authors. (i) In Hebrews 13:7 the author writes to the congregation to urge them to follow the example of

their leaders: “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.” (ii) The apostle Peter gives a stern warning to all those who teach the word of God to others, in Peter 5:2-3: “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care…not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.”

4. Conclusion God’s word speaks clearly to us from all these passages, doesn’t it? Any one of them deserves detailed study and reflection. Taken together, they provide a powerful argument for living transparently godly and obedient lives, which can be modelled by our students. We are rightly concerned when we catch students copying each others’ exam papers and essays. This is difficult to stop! But we cannot stop another copying the way they will copy the lives of their teachers. They will do this whether we like it or not; this is the way God made us, so that we learn by modelling. The only question left is that raised by the simple words of the apostle John in his third letter (3 John 11): “Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good!” Will we set a good example, or a bad? The responsibility on our shoulders as teachers is indeed a heavy one, but we rejoice that with God nothing is impossible! As we allow the Spirit of God, through the Word of God, to shape our lives in godliness, we can look forward to the Lord producing much fruit through our ministry, for his glory.