Who is your teacher?

For those of you who know me and those that don't but read this blog, you have by now come to see that I have been heavily influenced by the teaching of John Piper. God has greatly used Dr. Piper in teaching me His word. I have come to see that thinking is the means to understanding. Simple yes I know but all to often we ( and I mean me) just expect that if we read the Bible, no matter how cursory it may be, that that will be enough to grasp the truths of Scripture. That is not the case. God desires us to think (meditate) on His word day and night. Psalm 1. So there is no doubt that Dr. Piper has been and continues to be very influential in this area.
With that said I feel I must make a point here that I have been convicted of in recent days. I must never set Dr. Piper or anyone else in the seat of ultimate teacher in my life. Let me explain what I mean. There can come a tendency in our lives that we set someone up to be of great influence in our lives and mistakingly make them to be god. Even if they have been used by God to show us more of Himself we, as humans, can make them out to be something they are not. For example, we could perhaps interpret Scripture based on their understanding of the Bible and not God teaching us through the power of the Holy Spirit. You might ask the question, what is so wrong with getting their view on Bible interpretation. Nothing as long as you are not using them to do the work that God desires to do in you. In other words, if you would rather read men's books to grasp an understanding of Scripture than to read the Bible and think about it yourself then you are setting yourself up to be deceived. Men are fallible, all men. No matter how great they may seem to be and no matter what impact they have had on your life they are capable of being wrong. So the best thing to do is ask God to be your ultimate teacher. God wrote the book and if anyone can teach us it would be Him. Seek first God and His word, because it is absolute truth, then go to the secondary sources. We should never put man in the place of primary teacher in our life because they did not write the Scripture, God did. Go to the source. Do not just blindly believe everything that you may hear someone say. Study the Bible. Think (meditate) on the Bible and allow God to teach you first. Then utilize those whom He has also taught to help you when you need it.
It is our responsibility and our pleasure to read the Bible and know the God who redeems us. God wrote His Word not to primarily give us a list of rules to follow but rather to reveal to us who He is. It is only when we see who He is that we will change. When you get a glimpse of the holiness of God for example you will begin to hate sin more and more. A view of the cross in light of God's holiness reveals the severity and gruesomeness of sin. So read the bible and know God. Pray that He would be your primary teacher. Then go to other sources once you have thought it through. God has given us tremendous teachers to assist in pointing us in the right direction but he never means for those teachers to take his place in our lives. Seek Him first through His Word!
DAW