Test the Teaching

Claire Black: This is True Girl, a podcast for girls and their moms. I’m Claire Black. Together, we’ll explore God’s truth for us one drive at a time.

Song:

I am a true girl.
Oh, oh, oh, oh.
I am, I am, I am a true girl!

Claire: Have you ever heard someone say something about the Bible and thought, Hmm, that doesn’t sound quite right!” Maybe it was something a friend said, maybe a teacher, maybe even something you saw online.

Here’s the thing: not everyone who talks about the Bible teaches it accurately. That’s why God gives us a very important job. He wants us to test the teaching—to check and make sure it really matches His Word. If it doesn’t, the Bible has a really strong picture of what to call that teacher: a wolf . . . in sheep’s clothing.

True Girl is hosted by Dannah Gresh. This is episode 3 of season 24, and we’re calling it, “Test the Teaching.” Dannah’s joined on her farm today by True Girl lead teacher Suzy Weibel. This time she only brought one of her Bernese Mountain Dogs—Sherman.

Dannah Gresh: Oh, Suzy! We walked the whole two miles. Let’s sit here in the shade. I need a rest.

Suzy Weibel: That walk was much better than our last one!

Dannah: Agreed!

Suzy: Do you think that’s because I only brought one ginormous dog instead of four? Or because we didn’t hear any big, bad wolves?

Dannah: It’s that last thing I didn’t miss. I did, however, miss Zu, Selah, and Sookie.

Suzy: Well, Sherman was due for some one-on-one time! As a therapy dog, I have to be sure to keep our handler-dog bond strong. 

Right, Sherm?

Dannah: What’s a therapy dog actually do?

Suzy: Basically they help people feel calm and cared for. They learn to notice when someone is sad, scared, or hurting, and by sitting close, being gentle, and letting people pet them or read to them or use them as a big pillow, they help. 

Dannah: I love that. 

Suzy: You know, I think . . . did you have a hard day?

Dannah: Did I? The barn flooded this morning, my car is in the garage because I wrecked it, and my to-do list is longer than a fruit roll up! How can you tell?

Suzy: Well, I can’t but, I think Sherman can. He’s studying you!

(Dog sniffing)

Dannah: He is?

Suzy: Yeah. Therapy dogs pay close attention to a person. They read body signs of stress or sadness. Things like rapid breathing, rigid posture, shaking, emotions, or just other small signs that something’s not right. And then . . .

Dannah: He’s leaning against me!

Suzy: . . . they respond!

Dannah: Oh, Sherman, thanks! I didn’t even know I looked like I wasn’t okay.

Suzy: That’s just it. The signs are so subtle. You have to look closely and be trained to see them.

Dannah: Oh, Suzy! That reminds me of the wolf in sheep’s clothing we talked about on our last walk—the false teachers who misuse their Bibles and make it say what they want it to say.

Suzy: How did Sherman remind you of that?

Dannah: Well, because you have to look closely to actually see that they’re false teachers.

Suzy: You know who was good at that? The Bereans.

Dannah: Oh, yeah! Do you have your pocket again Bible today?

Suzy: I do. Want me to find the Bible verses about them?

(Pages turning)

Dannah: Yeah, because they were good at seeing the subtle signs of a false teacher.

Suzy: Let’s see . . . ah, here it is. Acts 17:10–12.

The believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.

Dannah: Let’s look at that to see what they did to recognize those subtle signs of a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Suzy: Well, first of all, “They listened eagerly.” They wanted to hear what God’s Word said, not just what people thought about it.

Today, that might look like opening your Bible during a lesson, paying attention. And when someone teaches God’s Word, really wanting to understand it.

Dannah: Then, let me see. Yeah, there’s a second thing. It says right here “they searched the Scriptures day after day.” That means they didn’t just listen to Paul and Silas as teachers, they were studying God’s Word for themselves.

So, that would have made them familiar with it.

That’s important because if someone came to me and told me, “Suzy said she doesn’t like football.”

Suzy: You’d be like, “That doesn’t sound like Suzy!”

Dannah: Right! Because I talk to you on the regular and know what kinds of things you say. That helps me know what kinds of things you would not say. So, if they were considering what the Bible said every day, they’d know what it says enough to be like, “Yes, that sounds like something God would say in His Word,” or “No way! I’m gonna check that. It doesn’t sound like the Bible.”

Suzy: And that brings us to a third thing: they really did check the Scriptures to see if what Paul and Silas were saying was true. Just flat out test the teacher!

Have you ever had that happen?

Dannah: All the time. And I don’t mind it. When someone comes to me after I teach and says, “Hey, is this really what God said?” Well, I know I have a good student. I love that. 

Suzy: It says here that what happens when you put good, truthful teachers—like Paul and Silas—in a room full of people like the Bereans—good things happen. It says, “As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men!” Faith in God grew because they were careful to keep the teaching pure!

Dannah, I have to ask, you said someone has questioned your teaching in the past. Was their questioning ever valid?

Dannah: Of course.

Suzy: Me too! And a time or two or three, I learned that I needed to adjust how I taught a passage of Scripture.

A good teacher doesn’t always get everything right, do we? Interpreting the Bible is a challenging task. We are human. We make mistakes. But a good teacher wants to be tested like Paul and Silas, and they admit it when they get it wrong—a false teacher doesn’t. 

Dannah: Bible study in the back yard! This was fun Suzy. Wanna go see my barn critters?

Suzy: Sure. Can Sherman come? It’s important for him to stay calm in various unique situations, and I think your barnyard qualifies.

Let’s see if your sheep remembers him.That reminds me, weren’t you going to tell me why his name is Carl Epley.

Dannah: Let me tell you.

Farmer Bob and I went to the wonderful farm where he was born to pick him up. We were so excited! We woke up in a little hotel that morning ready to go get our cute little black lamb who was being bottle-fed.

The farm had already named him Carl, which I thought was hilarious. I mean . . . Carl? For a lamb?

But before we could go get him, Farmer Bob tried to lift his head up—and suddenly he was super dizzy. Vertigo!

Now, I really wanted to go pick up my baby lamb. So I remembered this thing called the Epley Maneuver that’s supposed to help with vertigo. I thought, No problem! I’ll fix this!

Well, instead of helping, I just made Farmer Bob even dizzier.

So guess what? I had to drive him home. No little lamb.

But a few weeks later the breeder kindly delivered him to me later. And when I finally met that sweet little guy, I just happened to call him Carl Epley . . . and the name stuck.

Suzy: I don’t even know what to do with that?

I think that story just made me dizzy!

Claire: True Girl, I think Dannah and Suzy just invited you to test them as teachers. A good way to start is by looking up in your own Bible the verses they talk about here. Read what’s around them too. And . . . get into your Bible daily! 

That’s the secret. Girls who know the Bible can tell the difference between truth and something that only sounds true.

That’s exactly why we started the True Girl Subscription Box, so we could help girls get into their Bibles. When you sign up, you get a box at your door every two months, and it’s packed with fun surprises. But the best part is that it motivates you to spend time in God’s Word every single day! In it, you’ll find sixty days’ worth of daily devotions written by Dannah, Suzy, and the team; plus memory verse cards, a coloring meditation page, and more. Learn more about it at MyTrueGirl.com.

Has all this talk about wolves made you feel nervous? God didn’t give us these warnings so we’d be afraid, He gave them so we’d be wise. Next time on the True Girl podcast, Dannah will share the secret to living without fear of false teachers.

Song:

Oh, oh, oh, oh.
I am a true girl.
Oh, oh, oh, oh.
I am, I am, I am a true girl!

The True Girl podcast is a production of Revive Our Hearts, calling women of all ages to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.

*Offers available only during the broadcast of the podcast season.