Over the years I have observed that there are a good many Christians who don’t recognize any discernible difference between preaching and teaching. While both these expressions are biblical and very much needed in the Body of Christ, they are not the same thing.
Jesus employed both. Luke tells us that “Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel…” (20:1). The Apostle Paul exhorted Timothy concerning elders, saying: “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching” (1 Timothy 5:17).
To PREACH means to proclaim — to announce a message! Teaching, on the other hand, is instructional and systematic. It seeks to take the text of Scripture and break it down so the Body of Christ can understand and embrace what is being said.
Preaching announces and exhorts. Teaching instructs and informs.
Interestingly enough, the pandemic that we all experienced in 2020 and following has generated a fresh thirst to know and understand the Bible through expositional teaching. I have received literally hundreds of emails from around the world from believers lamenting their lack of biblical understanding and who decided to spend those many months of quarantine studying through their Bible from cover to cover. These people have made it clear they were weary of short, topical, feel-good inspirational sermons. They wanted to know what the books of the Bible are all about and how they connect one to another. They want to learn chapter by chapter and verse by verse.
I read an article recently that revealed the results of a survey saying that nearly a third of evangelical Protestants want more in-depth teaching. Pastors, Sunday school teachers and Bible study leaders would be wise to heed this hunger by providing more opportunities for believers to study and understand all 66 books of the Bible — from Genesis to Revelation.
Jesus chastised the Sadducees of His day saying, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.” (Matthew 22:29) This is a rebuke we cannot afford to hear in our day, especially with the many excellent translations of the Bible so easily within our grasp, to say nothing of the myriad study tools at our fingertips. The good news is, it’s never too late.