TEACHABLE; ‘to be able to learn by being taught.’
When it comes to biblical things, your first instructor is the Holy Spirit and the Word of God together. There is nothing important in the world that isn’t covered in the Bible. There are many resources to help you study the Word of God. My personal favorite way to study is word studies. You choose a topic, and find the words in the Bible most relevant to that topic. So, if I am studying ‘Mercy’ I would search for that specific word, ‘Mercy’, and other words relating to it. Then I would read every passage containing that word to get a full understanding of what the Bible says about that topic. (I generally stay away from commentaries and just allow the Holy Spirit to define and explain the Bible. I have found that commentaries can sometimes trip people up with the preconceived ideas of the author.) Through the Old Testament we can also see the personality traits of the wicked and the mistakes of the righteous. We can understand what the right thing is through the biblical testimony of those Bible characters we all know, and what the narrator (God) has to say about events and people. There are, however, those out there who would say that you don’t need another person at all, ever! These people are usually clinging to the verse 1 John 2:27 “But the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him.”Although the fact that we don’t necessarily need someone to teach us is true, it certainly helps in those first few years. You should put your pride away to let someone else help you. An arrogant person cannot learn by being taught, they are not teachable and they will refuse to acknowledge that God gave the church certain people with the spiritual gift of teaching! (ACT. 13:1, 1 COR. 12:28, EPH. 4:11.) Why would God give the church people blessed with the ability to teach if He didn’t intend for any of us to be taught by them? Matthew 28:19-20 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: [20] Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Jesus Himself commanded us to teach all nations what He taught the apostles! So, God did give the church teachers!
Without the characteristic trait of teachability, you can’t advance; unless you are willing to go through the process of making mistake after mistake. “A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.” Proverbs 29:23.
Being teachable also requires you to keep an open mind. By ‘open mind’ I mean you cannot just assume that you’re right all the time. You cannot assume that teachers that you may idolize are right all the time either! Just because someone doesn’t go to your church doesn’t mean they are automatically wrong. Keep your mind open to the fact that you may be mixed up! Listen as if you are wrong.
You should not scoff at other people’s ideas or instructions. If someone is offering to help you learn something, no matter what the subject is, you should always assume they know what they are talking about, unless they give you an obvious reason to stop trusting the information they’re giving you. For example, if you find a glaring discrepancy between what they are saying and what the Bible teaches. Just like the Macedonian Church in Berea, “…they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Acts 17:11.
Before you allow anyone to teach you about biblical things your first act should be to make sure that they are saved themselves. If you inspect a house, the first thing you look at is the foundation, and we are all temples. I found the easiest way to tell if someone is saved or not is to ask them for their testimony. Sometimes Christ’s sacrifice on the cross won’t be a part of it at all and instead of detailing his sacrifice they’ll tell you a story about how they’re saved because they quit drinking, or because they ‘felt something’ once in a church service.
In their testimony, if their own works play any part in their salvation, or if they reached salvation through another god, the foundation isn’t good and you don’t have to worry about wasting their time or yours because you already know that they are not reborn in the Spirit. Truly saved people aren’t saved by faith in addition to their own good deeds or their repentance from sin. Jesus’ one time death on the cross doesn’t need anything added to it for it to be sufficient enough to give salvation to the whole world, especially not our pitiful works. It is either our works (which fail every time) or God’s grace. It is not both.
Romans 11:6 “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it (salvation) be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.” You cannot have it both ways.
So I am very clear in what I am saying, Turning From Sin to Get to Heaven is Working to Get to Heaven! “…And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way;” Jonah 3:10a Works equals turning from evil ways.
There is another ‘gospel’ out there that is based on works. People will tell you that ‘getting right with God’ is what it takes to get to heaven. No. They will say that ‘You better stay on the right path..’ No. Don’t let them deceive you into hopeless work. Trying to earn something that you can never afford. If you are saved, then you are saved. There is nothing you can do to earn it and there is nothing you can do to keep it. Simple. It is fully relying on the mercy of God all the time. Paul wrote about this other gospel for us to beware of, (a gospel of works!) “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. [4] For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.” 2 Corinthians 11:3-4.
We should know when another gospel is being preached. We should be careful of the teacher. “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. [14] And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” 2 Corinthians 11:13-14. There are many such warnings in the Bible. Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” 2 Peter 2:1 “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” 1 John 4:1 “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”
So yes, there are false teachers out there and you shouldn’t listen to everyone, but that doesn’t mean that there is no one for you to listen to! There are many Gospel-preaching Bible-believing churches out there willing to help you study and learn the Word of God! You just have to be interested, be willing to be taught, and above all pray and ask God to lead you to the one He wants you to be a part of!