If it is important for God’s people to be taught, then the implication is that God’s people must look for clear and faithful Bible teaching. We will only flourish and grow as Christian believers if we are regularly exposed to such teaching. The Christian life is not one where we get saved only to live the rest of our lives on our own steam. Personal Bible reading and prayer is important, but we also need to hear preaching where God’s Word is explained. We need to hear the law of God, the law that reminds us of our sins and our need for a Saviour. We also need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ, and that God has graciously adopted us into his family despite our sins (Romans 8:14–17; 1 John 3:1).

Knowing that we need clear and faithful Bible teaching in order to persevere as Christian believers should have a big influence on the way we structure our time. Our weekly schedules are quickly filled with lots of important tasks and activities. There’s always more work to be done, at home or at the office. If you’re at school your time is filled with sport, music, drama, homework, and visits to your friend. The busyness of life can easily make us think that we don’t have time for Bible teaching. There seems to be so many other important things for us to do. But if you belong to God and you want to grow as a Christian, you must not allow your busy schedule to keep you from the means of grace (ministry of the Word and sacraments). The Holy Spirit has promised to use the ministry of God’s Word to nurture our faith; we need to be there where God’s Word is being taught.

The need for clear and faithful Bible teaching is one that we will have for our entire lives as Christians. We will never reach a point in our lives where we graduate from Bible instruction. We need exposure to regular and faithful teaching in order to persevere in the Christian life.