|| Trinity Discipleship Fellowship ||

Trinity Discipleship
Fellowship

INCORPORATED IN NIGERIA
RC NUMBER: CAC/IT/NO 145940

Trinity Discipleship Fellowship is an evangelical Church in the Baptist and Reformed traditions, patterned like the Church of which we read in the New Testament

MOTTO:
Obeying the Great Commission
(Matt. 28:18-20)

~ Inspirational ~
~ April, 2022

KNOWING THE PATTERN OF SOUND TEACHING

To make or create a thing according to a given pattern is of utmost importance. In the case of a machine, it will guarantee that the new product functions efficiently as its available or existing prototype. Thus, keeping to the pattern already available guarantees the genuineness and reliability of the new product.

When God asked Moses to make a tabernacle for the Israelites, He demanded that he made it according to the pattern He had shown him (Exod. 25:8-9; 26:30) . This was to ensure that the tabernacle made was God's, not that of Moses or anyone else.

This explains why Paul commanded young Timothy to keep to the pattern of sound teaching that he heard from him (2 Tim. 1:13). This was to ensure that Timothy?s teaching did not deviate from Paul?s. But what is it that constitutes sound teaching? One must know exactly what sound teaching is in order to conform to it. To explain what sound teaching is, we will rely on Paul.

For Paul, sound teaching refers to the things he taught (2 Tim. 1:13; 2:2; Phil. 4:9). According to him, he taught the same things everywhere he went (see 1 Cor. 4:17). Apparently these teachings are not confined to one single passage but are spread throughout his writings (2 Tim.2:8; 1 Cor. 15: 1-8; Col. 1: 21-29; Rom. 1:16-17).

When we put these passages together, we find that for Paul, sound teaching is the teaching about God's righteousness, available to all mankind by faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of David, who died and was raised to life and the resulting new life in Jesus Christ. In other words, to Paul, sound teaching consists in the teaching concerning the redemptive work of God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the new life that follows from faith in Him. Therefore, as far as Paul is concerned, sound teaching is primarily about Jesus Christ and faith and life in Him (Gal. 2:20). This is quite consistent with the teaching of the entire Scripture (see Acts 3: 17-26). And Jesus Himself stated that the Scriptures do indeed testify about Him (Lk. 24: 25-27; Jn. 5:39).

This sound teaching is available only in the Scripture and is sealed in it. No alteration or subtraction or addition is allowed (see Rev. 22:18-19). Therefore, we Christians cannot just teach or be taught anything except that which is in accord with this sound teaching. As faithful servants of Jesus Christ, we must teach nothing except that which conforms to sound teaching as Paul has taught above. In fact, any teaching that is not in accord with sound teaching as Paul has explained lacks credibility and efficacy, and we must have nothing whatever to do with it (2 Jn. 8-11).

In recent days, many of us have seen, heard, and read all kinds of teachings purporting to be sound teaching. Obviously not every teaching is sound teaching in the sense seen above. As people say of the drug Panadol, it is not Panadol if it is not Panadol. Similarly, it is not sound teaching if it is not sound teaching. Therefore, we ought not to embrace every teaching. We should test the teachings to see that which is indeed sound teaching (1 These. 5:21). When Jesus Christ is not in it, that is a clear biblical sign that it is not sound teaching (1 Jn. 4:1-6).

Compiled by Abia Friday Abia

CONTACT:
Phone: +2348033556851
Email: info@trinitydiscipleshipfellowship.org
admin@trinitydiscipleshipfellowship.org

Deaconess Helen Silvanus Umoh, Secretary
Rev. Abia Friday Abia, Chairman