Paul IV: The Gifted Teacher

Romans 5-8

Of all the gifts of Paul (apostle and missionary, shepherd, healer and miracle worker, prophet and preacher), the gift as teacher-coachmay be the greatest of them. It is obviously a mix of his teaching under the finest minds of his day and the gift that developed in him as a spiritual gift. Notice the themes he so expertly describes: 1) How to have peace with God, even in the tough times, 2) Who Jesus is and how we are saved through faith in Him, 3) How to deal with sin and where grace works in us, and 4) the power of God’s love and the role of the Holy Spirit in it. The letter to the Romans is so very different from the more hurried and passionate letters of Galatians (his first one), Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians. Here Paul is writing to a church and to people he has never met, giving them the basics of the Christian faith.

Picture yourself as Paul. How would you address these very difficult issues? The issue in behind Romans 5 is “why bad things happen to good people”. How would you put his answer into your own words? How do people get through suffering? In chapters 6-7, the issue is “why people still sin after they have been saved.” I had a professor who said in response to this chapter:

“You may be dead to sin, but sin is not dead to you. That’s why in areas of temptation, we still easily and repeatedly fall. There needs to be a sign posted around key areas of weakness in our life that says “no fishing.”

We also know people who have a relationship with God that allows them to be holy on Sunday and then live like the devil the other days of the week. What does this passage have to say about that?

Yet the bible is so very realistic. We are tempted and we fall, but the grace of God is there for us. Chapter 8 is all about moving from good intentions and guilt trips to living by the love and grace of God. Isn’t it true that most people understand Christianity as a morality code that nobody really keeps anyway? What does Paul have to say about that? Notice the role of the Holy Spirit in this chapter. What dimensions of the Spirit do we not think about that are offered in this chapter? How does what Paul teaches help us to have a freer and more confident faith?

Some of you have the gift of teaching. You know how to bring the basics of the Christian faith to people in ways that make sense and help them embrace the grace of God. Paul gives here some examples of how the gift of teaching works. By the way, from reading the writings of Paul, I can’t help but see growth and learning by him in what he writes. Those who have the gift of teaching must always be open to being taught and are always anxious to be continual learners. One way to spot a false teacher is that he or she is not teachable. So how teachable are you?