Paul's ministry was a teaching ministry. In verse 27, Paul reminds the Ephesian elders that 'he had not hesitated to proclaim to them the whole will of God'. In his book, Evangelism in the Early Church, Michael Green emphasizes the importance of 'teaching evangelism' (pp. 204-206). At the very beginning of the book, he speaks of his own commitment to both evangelism and teaching. His words, written in 1970, are still very relevant to our 21st century Church. This is what he says,
'Most evangelists are not very interested in theology; most theologians are not very interested in evangelism. I am deeply committed to both' (p. 7).
Deeply committed to both evangelism and teaching - what a good description of Paul's ministry! His ministry was a Gospel ministry, calling on men and women to come to Christ in repentance, to come to Christ in faith. His ministry was also a teaching ministry. He did not rest content with inviting people to make a new beginning with Christ. He called them to go on with the Lord. He called them to press on to maturity.
God has so much to say to us. There is so much more than the call for conversion. The Lord is calling us to walk with Him all the days of our life. True conversion is not just a one-off event. It is a lifelong experience of divine grace, a lifelong experience of turning to God in repentance, a lifelong experience of learning to trust in our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.
If this lifelong experience of God's salvation is to grow strong in our hearts and lives, we need 'the whole counsel of God'. We need solid teaching from the Word of God.
We need teaching which rebukes us when we move away from the paths of righteousness, teaching which corrects us, calling us back into the paths of righteousness.
We need teaching which will lead us in the paths of righteousness, teaching which will keep us walking in the paths of righteousness.
During the late 1990s, I began writing Daily Bible Reading Notes. The full set of notes covers the whole Bible - from Genesis to Revelation. Each quarterly booklet begins with these words of 'Introduction':
'Welcome to an exciting ... journey of discovery. On this journey, you will visit places you know well. You will also travel to places you hardly know at all. They will be places of blessing - places where you will meet with God and be blessed by Him ... May God bless you richly as you journey with Him to the many places of blessing found in His Word.'
The Christian life is a journey. On this journey, we are travelling with God and we are travelling in faith. On this journey, God has a plan for us. It is His perfect plan. He wants us to grow - in our knowledge of Him, in our faith in Him, in our love for Him.
God does not want us to remain 'babes in Christ'. He does not want us to remain content with 'the milk of the Word' (1 Peter 2:2). He wants us to move on to 'solid food' (Hebrews 5:12-14). He has given us 'the whole counsel of God' so that we can grow more and more like Christ, so that we can bring more and more glory to God.
We must never rest on our laurels. When the challenge of God's Word comes to us, calling us on to maturity, we dare not say, 'I'm a believer' as if that was the end of the matter. When God is calling us on to maturity, He is not asking, 'Are you a believer?' He is asking, 'Are you a growing believer? Are you growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ?'
On this journey with God, this journey of faith, this journey of spiritual growth, may our whole life - in the 21st century - be a living echo of this great prayer from the 13th century:
'Day, by day, O dear Lord, three things I pray, to see You more clearly, to love You more dearly, to follow You more nearly, day by day'.
"Eat The Cookie, Buy The Shoes"
