Be Still And Know

James 3:1 Teachers have an incredibly important role in the life of the Church - and that was especially true in the early Church. On a number of occasions, Paul referred to them as having one of the three most prominent ministries, alongside apostles and prophets (see 1 Corinthians 12:28). If the Church was to thrive, it needed effective, faithful teachers. Equally, it needed to be protected from people who simply fancied themselves in an influential role, or who deliberately sought to mislead the Church. There were plenty of false teachers around, and James needed to warn against them. He wanted to do everything he could to dissuade the wrong people. They needed to know that the responsibilities of teaching were great, and they would be answerable for what they taught. The Church still needs good teachers today. The level of understanding of the Christian faith is incredibly low, and reading the Bible is sometimes not seen as a priority by many Christians. In a survey conducted by the Bible Soci