As well as writing my Blog and Facebook Posts, I am also the Editor of, and write for, GOD’S GOOD NEWS GAZETTE (www.godsgoodnewsgazette.com). One of the columns we feature is dedicated to various In-Depth Studies on a variety of topics. Currently, we are dealing with The Power of the Tongue, and are doing a series of articles on this topic. At their completion, they will be compiled into book form, which you will then be able to purchase in our Book Store!

Today I want to share the fourth installment of The Power of the Tongue with you, “Preachers and Teachers.”

If we aren’t careful this section could get totally out of hand where length is concerned!!! As a result, we will be dealing with only several Preachers/Teachers and only several of their Preachings/Teachings.

It intrigues me that one individual actually refers to himself as “The Preacher” in scriptures. You will find it in Ecc. 1:1, where Solomon says, “The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.” In this instance, “The Preacher” was, and is, most known for his God-given wisdom, which he shares multiple times in The Word. It stands to follow, then, that all Preachers should use their tongue to impart wisdom to those whom they find themselves preaching to!

Preachers and Teachers are, without a doubt, two of the more important groups in American society. And, as a result, there are a number of individuals who seek such positions. While pursuing such a position might be an honorable undertaking, we are warned about not being too quick to become one, as we see in James 3:1, “My brethren, be not many masters (teachers), knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.”

What this verse is saying, in a somewhat round-about way, is that, like HEBREW NATIONAL FRANKS, teachers are going to be held to a “higher standard.” You see, we will be held accountable for what we say. And, if we are sharing anything other than the true Word of God, we can actually face condemnation! Now, that is, or at least should be, a very sobering thought!!!

I’ll tell you how “sobering” it is to me. Whenever I teach, especially on anything to do with the BIBLE, when I give an opinion, I hold up the first two fingers on each hand and say over and over for about fifteen or twenty seconds “Opinion, Opinion, Opinion, Opinion, Opinion” and so on and so forth! When people give me the hairy eyeball, I explain myself as follows:

 I know that I am going to be held accountable for my words before God. So, when I give my opinion I make sure everyone knows that it is only my opinion, and not Scriptural fact. That way, if someone does wrong based on what I said and, when called on it by God, says “Well, that’s what Floyd said,” God can say, “He told you it was his opinion . . . it was up to you to find out if he was right or wrong!”

If I don’t let folks know it is only my opinion and state it as fact, then I can be held accountable for what I misled others to do or say, or even think! I think this is what James was warning us about there in Chapter Three!

“Why”, you might wonder, “if condemnation may hang in the balance, would anyone even want to be a Preacher or Teacher?” Well, I think Paul sums it up pretty well in Romans 1:13-16:

¹³ Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. ¹⁴ I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. ¹⁵ So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

So, if you find yourself in a position to share wisdom and/or The Word of God, don’t be afraid to “take the plunge.” At the same time, however, be aware that you will be held accountable for what you teach, so be sure to stipulate what is your opinion and what is Biblical Fact!!!