A pastor from Argentina called Juan Carlos Ortiz was concerned that his church was educated beyond its level of obedience. His people knew a lot more than they were putting into practice and many of them were getting two or three sermons each week with little opportunity to apply what they had been taught.

One Sunday, Juan Carlos Ortiz stood up to preach on the words of Jesus, “Love one another as I have loved you.” To the amazement of his people, on each of the following Sundays he came back to preach the same sermon. Each time he said, “We are not moving on until we obey this command of Jesus that is mentioned sixteen times in the New Testament.”
Finally, one Sunday he stood up to preach the sermon and all he did was to mention those eight words of Jesus, “Love one another as I have loved you” and then sat down. Three times he did this. He waited silently and by the third time people were starting to feel quite uncomfortable. The silence was deafening.

Finally, one person turned to talk to the person next to him, a person he had not spoken to for months. Then another person got out of her seat and went to someone over the other side of the church and embraced that person and said, “Please forgive me, I’m sorry.” Then husbands and wives turned to one another and spoke words of love for the first time in a long time. Children got out of their seats and went to sit with their parents and one person walked up to the pastor and asked for forgiveness for being critical of him when talking to others about him.
In this one matter, Juan Carlos Ortiz had come to understand that the Christians in his church were educated beyond their level of obedience.

The American teacher Howard Hendricks gave these words a slightly different emphasis when he said, “The local church is like a football game with a number of players on the field badly in need of a rest and thousands of people in the stands badly in need of exercise.”

One of my young adult leaders came to me one day to share a concern regarding the various Bible studies and sermons he was taking in every month without always having the opportunity to apply what he had learned in his life. His story reminded me of the words of James,
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. DO WHAT IT SAYS. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it – not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it – they will be blessed in what they do.” James 1:19-25

James continues this theme regarding the dangers of being educated beyond our level of obedience by a word of warning for teachers and preachers.
“Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” James 3:1
James had a further word of warning, “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” James 4:17

Jesus saved some of His greatest criticism for the religious teachers and academics of His day because “they do not practice what they preach.” Matthew 23:3 He called them “hypocrites” and “blind guides” and in the process reminds us of the responsibility of leaders needing to practice what they preach.

Paul wrote to Timothy telling him to have nothing to do with people who “have a form of godliness but deny its power”, people who are “always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.” 2 Timothy 3:5-7

So how can we make sure that we don’t become educated beyond our level of obedience? How can we prevent our reading of the Bible from becoming an end in itself?

The words of Paul to Timothy provide for us helpful perspective on the place that God’s word should have in our lives in a world where “evildoers and imposters will go from bad to worse.”
“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:12-17

Remember that our goal in life is to grow to become like Jesus and that our study of the Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. Our reading and preaching and teaching of the Bible are not just a matter of sharing information but as Paul says it is to help us be thoroughly equipped for every good work. That is why I have found Wayne Cordeiro’s SOAP journalling method of daily Bible study most helpful.

His four-step approach involves –

SCRIPTURE – Read the Bible passage you will be studying.
OBSERVATION – Write down the key scriptures that come to you as you study the passage.
APPLICATION – Read over the key scriptures and take note of how you can apply God’s word to your life in a specific way. Write down practical points you will apply to your life.
PRAYER – Pray that God’s word will fall on good soil and that the Holy Spirit will help you grow more like Jesus as a result of studying God’s word.

Remember that your personal study or teaching or sermon is incomplete without a practical application.

On one occasion as Jesus was teaching His disciples, He said, “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever.” John 14:15-16
How important is it to know that our study of God’s word comes alive when it flows out of our love relationship with Jesus and when we are filled with the Holy Spirit who has been given to us to help us understand and appl y His word to our lives.

I never fail to be amazed when in my daily SOAP journaling the gentle prompts of the Holy Spirit  cause God’s word to come alive in me and speak into my life.

I wonder what Juan Carlos Ortiz would preach on if he came to your church today. Would he find that many members have been educated beyond their level of obedience? Or would he find Spirit filled people in a love relationship with Jesus who delight to read the scriptures and keep His commands; people who David described in Psalm 15…..

1“Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent?
Who may live on your holy mountain?
2 The one whose walk is blameless,
who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from their heart;
3  whose tongue utters no slander.
who does no wrong to a neighbor,
and casts no slur on others;
4  who despises a vile person
but honors those who fear the Lord;
who keeps an oath even when it hurts,
and does not change their mind;
5  who lends money to the poor without interest,
who does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
Whoever does these things
will never be shaken.”

Such people are amongst those who are living in a love relationship with Jesus and have never been educated beyond their level of obedience.

WARNING:  We have an enemy who is happy for us to immerse ourselves in the Bible, even to the point where we diligently read it, teach it and even gain high academic achievements in studying it. He will even cause us to believe that our educational achievements are of great value, so much so that our study can become an end in itself and we can become educated beyond our level of obedience.

Note: all scripture quoted from the New International Version