Starting with Appraising Grace
What credentials qualify you to teach and preach the Word of God?
This Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the Lord the God of Israel had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him…
For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was on him. For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel. Ezra 7:6, 9-10
What credentials qualify you to teach and preach the Word of God?
This Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the Lord the God of Israel had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him…
For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was on him. For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel. Ezra 7:6, 9-10
Like many of us, Ezra was blessed with the responsibility of being the primary teacher of God’s Word in his sphere of influence. But what qualified him for this position of leadership? Did his learning license him to teach the holiest of subjects? No doubt a “scribe” like Ezra was blessed with an excellent education. Was it his proficiency in the pulpit or theological prowess? After all, he is described here as not merely schooled but also “skilled in the Law of Moses.” Or maybe he had the advantage of the resources that attend a prominent position? Perhaps Ezra was qualified because he was recognized by human authorities like the king who “granted him all that he asked.”
I propose that Ezra’s education, expertise, and eminence, though helpful, were not the credentials that ultimately qualified him to teach God’s Word to God’s people. The phrase that Ezra most often uses to describe himself is “the good hand of his God was on him/me” (Ezra 7:6, 9; 8:18, 22, 31). The credential that Ezra counted on most was the firm grip of God’s grace on his life. The same is true for us: the cross is the crux of our teaching credentials.
I propose that Ezra’s education, expertise, and eminence, though helpful, were not the credentials that ultimately qualified him to teach God’s Word to God’s people. The phrase that Ezra most often uses to describe himself is “the good hand of his God was on him/me” (Ezra 7:6, 9; 8:18, 22, 31). The credential that Ezra counted on most was the firm grip of God’s grace on his life. The same is true for us: the cross is the crux of our teaching credentials.
As you consider your teaching role in the church, what credential do you count on most: your training, your talent, your top billing? Or do you lean most on the love of God?
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