4 Minute Read
Prepare Your Heart
To the best of your ability, get rid of all distractions. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and quiet yourself in the Lord’s presence. Then, ask the Lord to speak to you in this time. Let Him know that you will listen and make whatever adjustments He will reveal to you.
Read God’s Word
A Verse for Today
Slowly and reflectively read the following verse(s) and listen to what God will say to you through His written Word. Consider writing down any insights He reveals to you.
Acts 4:13 (CSB): “When they observed the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and recognized that they had been with Jesus.”
Reflecting on God’s Word
Some Christians may read Acts 4:13 and excuse their spiritual laziness. I’ve heard preachers excuse their laziness and lack of biblical knowledge by pointing to this verse.
“Peter and John were uneducated men. They didn’t go to school. So I don’t need no biblical education, either, hallelujah! Why? Because I’ve been with Jesus, praise God!”
It only takes a brief moment to realize that those sort of pastors and Christians don’t know their Bible. The one Book they should strive to know and obey is the one Book they clearly haven’t spent much time studying.
It only takes half a brain to realize Acts 4:13 doesn’t mean what they think it means.
What does it mean that Peter and John were untrained and uneducated?
Simply put, it means that Peter and John didn’t have a formal education. They didn’t go to a rabbinical school and get a parchment with their educational achievement on it.
But they had something so much better! They spent three whole years learning from Jesus! They got a Master’s Degree from the Master! Two thousand years later, and we’re still reading and studying what Jesus taught them in the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Clearly, those men were incredibly educated by the greatest Teacher of them all! It just didn’t happen in a formal school setting.
Getting a theological degree is an incredible option for Christians in general and pastors in particular. It can open us up to so much knowledge and training that we might never obtain without pursuing higher education.
But a theological degree isn’t absolutely necessary for Christians in general and pastors in particular. God can use (and has used!) Christians who have never had a formal education.
However, regardless of whether you have a theological degree, you absolutely MUST be in God’s Word and get God’s Word into you. You MUST be with Jesus, listening to Him teach you in His Word. That is, after all, how God primarily speaks to us. When God chooses to speak to us in other ways, we must ALWAYS compare it to His Word, because God will never contradict His Written Word.
First Corinthians 1:26-29 tells us that God tends to call the less impressive into His Kingdom. He calls people the world doesn’t think too highly of. But, as we read our Bibles, we realize that God never leaves someone as He found them. He desires to grow them, to cultivate them, to equip them so that they are more useful to Him.
But God’s work in us doesn’t happen in a vacuum. He does His work, but we also have the responsibility of getting into His Word. Our Bible is what God has given to us so that we can be equipped for anything He calls us to do, and we must become students of it.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (CSB): “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
Join Him in His work in your life! He desires to equip you for every good work, but it requires that you join Him by getting into the Bible that is given to equip us. Get into your Bible and get your Bible into you! Spend time with Jesus!
Then, whether you have a theological degree or not, people will be able to tell that you’ve been with Jesus!
Spend Time in Prayer
- Ask God to give you an even bigger appetite to get into His Word. Then, get into it.
Going Deeper
If you want to dig a little deeper into the value of Christian higher education, consider reading the following GotQuestions article:
Sharing
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Matt Ellis is the pastor of White Hall Baptist Church in Richmond, Kentucky (whitehallbaptistchurch.org)
Matt’s Musings 