5:12
The people get a further rebuke. They had learnt the “basic principles of the oracles of God” (ESV), or “the elementary truths of God’s word” (NIV), but now needed to be taught these all over again! They had become lazy. We are saved by God, through the word of Christ, but that does not mean that we have no responsibility. And it fails to appreciate what God’s salvation means. It does not just mean that we will go to heaven instead of hell! It means that we will become the people we were always meant to be, that we become like Christ, and that process begins now. So we should always be looking to have a better and deeper understanding of the word of God and the gospel. Now that does not mean that we need to be intellectuals. If we are academically skilled, then we should use that ability, but the keys to understanding the Bible are faith and obedience.
“You ought to be teachers!” Now James warns us that not many should seek to be teachers. Is there a contradiction? No. “Teachers” is being used in two ways. In James, and other passages in Paul’s letters, it is referring to the office or function of a teacher. Someone who can explain the gospel. Here it is used in the sense of us encouraging and helping each other, and in explaining the gospel to unbelievers.
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