Honoring God's Pastor Also as a Teacher of God's Word

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There is the statement that the pastor is a teacher but the teacher is not a pastor. So how is the pastor also a teacher? The pastor simultaneously preaches and teaches the Word of God to people. There is a difference between teaching and preaching. His job as a preacher is to proclaim the Word of God to the world. His job as a teacher is to teach others more details on the Word of God, how to win souls and how to grow in grace in the Christian faith.

Matthew 28:18-20 has Jesus telling His disciples to teach all things that He has commanded them. The eleven disciples were told that their mission was not only to preach but also teach all nations. That cements the very truth that the pastor is indeed called not only to preach but also to teach. We have to remember that in John 21:15-17 where Jesus told Peter to feed His sheep. So what is Peter told to feed the sheep with? As the first ordained pastor of the Christian church - Peter certainly had a huge task. Jeremiah 3:15 says that God will raise up shepherds that will feed the flock with understanding. That's what Peter's task would be - to teach and to preach!

Do you know that the Law is called a schoolmaster? Galatians 3:24 says that the Law is the schoolmaster that points to Christ. The pastor is a teacher and preacher because when he preaches the Gospel - he also uses the power of the Law as a schoolmaster to point out the need for salvation. A good example is the scene where Ray Comfort points others to the Ten Commandments while he preaches. What he is doing is simple - he is teaching them that God's Law is valuable and holy. He teaches them the truth while he is preaching. While you can be a teacher without being a preacher but you can never be a preacher without being a teacher. You can see that Comfort is both preaching the Gospel and teaching others what the Law says about sin.

There's also the Sunday school or devotional time before the main service. It's an hour of teaching. Yet the lesson doesn't end in the Sunday school. The Sunday morning and evening services gives another lesson. The lecture isn't over because when the pastor steps on the pulpit - be ready for another lesson! He's preaching to first time visitors who aren't saved yet all the while he also teaches the pulpit another lesson after the Sunday school. He raises points that Christians need to hear. He's not only preaching another sermon. He's also teaching another lesson that Christians need to learn. He's simultaneously preaching God's Word and teaching God's Word when he's at the pulpit.

There's the statement that the teacher made all the professions because without him or her (because women too can be teachers) - there wouldn't be other professions that would help society today. However, do we forget that the pastor too is a teacher? He may not only be preaching on Sundays but he may also be teaching couples how to reconcile their differences. He may also be a schoolteacher himself. The pastor himself plays an important part in being a teacher of God's Word and must be honored as a teacher himself.

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