“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)
Pastor, one of the most dangerous things that can happen to you is to reach the point where you think you already know enough. You may have years of ministry behind you. You may have degrees, books, commentaries, sermon files, and shelves full of notes. None of those things are wrong. The danger begins when your knowledge makes you less teachable instead of more humble.
The longer you preach, the easier it can become to approach Scripture with the feeling that you already know what it says. You recognize the passage, remember the outline, recall the sermon you preached ten years ago, and move on too quickly. But familiarity with a passage is not the same as understanding it deeply. A pastor should never open the Bible merely to confirm what he already believes.
Scripture should still be able to surprise you, correct you, humble you, and change your mind.
Psalm 119:18 says:
“Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your Law.”
That is the prayer of someone who knows he still needs God to teach him. A pastor should never outgrow that prayer. The moment you begin reading Scripture as though there is nothing left for you to learn, you have put yourself in a dangerous place.
Education can be a tremendous blessing, but education must remain a servant of Scripture, never its master. Seminary can teach you languages, history, theology, interpretation, and doctrine, but no degree can replace dependence on God. A man can know Greek grammar and still mishandle the Bible. He can understand church history and still miss what a simple passage plainly says.
Paul warned:
“Knowledge makes one conceited, but love edifies people.” (1 Corinthians 8:1)
Knowledge without humility can become pride very quickly. A pastor can begin thinking, “I have studied this. I understand this. I know what this means.” Before long, he may become more interested in defending his position than discovering whether his position is actually biblical.
That is when education becomes dangerous.
A pastor should be willing to sit before Scripture and say, “Lord, if I have been wrong about this for twenty years, show me.” That takes humility. It is much easier to defend an old belief than to admit that the Word of God has corrected you.
The Bereans give us a good example.
“Now these people were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” (Acts 17:11)
Notice that they did not reject teaching simply because it was new, and they did not accept it simply because someone impressive taught it. They examined Scripture.
Pastor, that should still be your habit.
Do not believe something merely because your denomination teaches it. Do not believe it merely because your favorite preacher says it. Do not believe it because you learned it in school, because your mentor taught it, or because you have preached it for years. Go back to the Word and ask, “Is this what Scripture actually says?”
When you stop doing that, you stop being a student.
There is another danger that often comes with experience. A pastor can become more interested in being clever than being accurate. He begins searching for a fresh angle, an unusual story, a funny illustration, or something people have never heard before. Before long, imagination starts filling in details Scripture never gives.
That may entertain people, but it is not faithful Bible teaching.
Paul told Timothy:
“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and exhort, with great patience and instruction.” (2 Timothy 4:2)
He did not tell Timothy to entertain the congregation. He told him to preach the Word.
A pastor may use a brief illustration when it helps explain the truth of Scripture, but the pulpit is not a place for entertainment. The pastor is not a comedian, and the sermon is not a performance. When jokes, funny stories, and personality begin taking attention away from the Word of God, something has gone wrong. Paul told Timothy, “Preach the word.” (2 Timothy 4:2) That is the pastor’s responsibility. The people did not come to hear how funny or clever the preacher can be. They came to hear what God has said.
God does not need us to improve His Word.
James gives teachers a warning that should never become ordinary to us:
“Do not become teachers in large numbers, my brothers, since you know that we who are teachers will incur a stricter judgment.” (James 3:1)
That ought to make every pastor handle Scripture carefully. Teaching the Bible is not an opportunity to show people how intelligent we are. It is a responsibility to tell them accurately what God has said.
Humility is essential to that responsibility.
Peter wrote:
“God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5)
A proud pastor can become very difficult to teach. Correction feels like an attack. Questions feel like disrespect. Disagreement feels like rebellion. Eventually he may surround himself with people who agree with him and avoid anyone who challenges his interpretation.
That is not spiritual maturity.
A mature pastor should be able to say, “I may be wrong. Let’s look at the Scripture.”
Those may be some of the healthiest words a pastor ever speaks.
The Holy Spirit also matters in our study of Scripture. Jesus said:
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you.” (John 14:26)
That does not mean the Holy Spirit gives us secret meanings that are not in the text. It means we are dependent on God as we study, understand, remember, and apply His Word. Prayer and careful study belong together.
A pastor who studies without prayer can easily begin trusting his own mind. A pastor who prays without studying can easily mistake his own thoughts for the leading of God. We need both careful study and humble dependence on the Holy Spirit.
Paul wrote:
“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God.” (1 Corinthians 2:12)
Pastor, keep reading your Bible as though you still have something to learn, because you do. Keep asking questions. Keep checking your conclusions. Keep comparing Scripture with Scripture. Keep praying for understanding, and never become too proud to change your mind when the Word of God shows you that you were wrong.
When you think you know it all, you are in danger of failing God. When you lose your humility, you are in danger of failing God. When you rely more on your education than on the Word of God and the teaching of the Holy Spirit, you are in danger of failing God. And when you stop reading Scripture with an eagerness to know truth above all else, something important has already been lost.
Samuel said:
“Speak, for Your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:10)
That should still be the attitude of every pastor when he opens his Bible.
You may be the teacher standing behind the pulpit, but before God you must always remain a student.