What do I need to learn to teach others?
Question:
I have been baptized in Christ's church since I was a teenager and I am now in my thirties. I'm married with children. I work and go to school. I attend services faithfully and try to work on the things in my life to live righteously. So I'm starting to learn how to teach others about Christ's church. I figure I would attempt to teach online.
What are the basics that should be mentioned when trying to teach others? I'm chatting with a Muslim and the question and things he is saying are ridiculous about the Koran. What's the best way to get through to those who have been taught fraudulently? Better yet, what are the basics that I should know, like when was Christ's church established? I mean I know he built it and purchased it with his blood, but what year was it established? Please help me. I see doing this will allow me to learn a lot more about the Bible as well.
Thanks!
Answer:
Teaching others is the best way to teach yourself. But there is no set way to teach or set doctrine that must be first presented. If you go through the Gospels and Acts you will find that what is discussed is as varied as the audience to whom was being taught. That is because each person is different and at a different point in life.
If you look at teaching God's word as needing to convert each person you come into contact with, you will end up sorely disappointed. Few people respond quickly to the Gospel message unless you just happen to be in the right place at the right time. There are people Paul taught who did not respond. "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase" (I Corinthians 3:6). So consider it your job to help each person you come into contact with to get one step closer to God. You are there to plant a seed or to nurture what someone before you planted. Eventually, a plant may spring up and you might even be lucky to be the one to watch with joy as it sprouts.
The key to teaching is listening. When you see someone who has a wrong idea, find the appropriate passage and point it out to them for their consideration. Since you are on the Internet, quote the passage and give the reference, since most people won't take the time to look up a verse for themselves.
As an example, you note that the ideas being presented by a Muslim are ridiculous. So what verses from the Bible are being contradicted? Mention those verses and politely ask the person to consider them. Don't give your opinion, even if it is based on Scripture. Give God's word so that God gets the glory (I Peter 4:11).
In regards to when the church was established, Jesus said he came to build his church. "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 16:18-19). Notice that the church and the kingdom are synonymous terms. Jesus also gave a time frame for when the church would be established. "And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power" " (Mark 9:1).
When we get to Acts 2, we read about the apostles receiving power from the Holy Spirit and the first gospel sermon being delivered on the day of Pentecost, fifty days after the resurrection. In response to that sermon, 3,000 people were baptized. "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them" (Acts 2:41). And the numbers continued to grow. "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved" (Acts 2:49). Thus, the answer to your question is that the church, the kingdom, was established less than two months after the resurrection, which would be about 30 A.D.
