Uneducated and Untrained Men

"Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply (Acts 4:13-14)." How often as Christians, or just in general, are we inclined to believe only those with "credentials" are the true authority when it comes to certain subjects? We see advertisements on television that rely on statements like "4 out of 5 doctors" agree their product works as proof we should purchase it? It is not any different when it comes to matters of the faith. We assume that because someone has a title like pastor or bishop, wrote a book, is "seminary trained" or has acronyms after their name that they automatically are correct and our beliefs about a subject are not? Now don't get me wrong, formal education and training has its place and I don't intend to ridicule it. However, it is absolutely unnecessary when it comes to proclaiming the truth about God's Word and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. Nobody is more qualified them Him on any subject, but especially the Gospel. Yet, His most ardent opposition came from the "educated" and "trained" men of His day. What did they say about Jesus during His ministry? "Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners! (Luke 7:34)." In other words, He was ridiculed for associating with the "uneducated" and "untrained." Yet, each and every time they opposed Him on a subject, He refuted them to the point that eventually they stopped asking Him questions; "No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question (Matthew 22:46)."

Therefore, when we see Peter and John proclaiming the Gospel, what is the first thing that is said about those in leadership they were speaking to? It says that they were "amazed" because Peter and John were what? They were "uneducated" and "untrained" men. Despite their "lack" of education and training the leadership "had nothing to say in reply." The leadership didn't realize and dare I say many Christians forget that we have the Lord indwelling us and speaking through us! He is our education and training. When we know Him and learn to trust and depend on Him to lead us into all truth, we can be sure that when He is speaking through us that what is being said does not originate from our level of education and training, but the depths of His knowledge. Remember what the Apostle Paul said. He was a trained Pharisee. Yet he said, "those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ (Philippians 3:7)." Jesus called men who were fisherman and tax collectors to preach His Gospel. Perhaps He did so because they did not have formal "education" and "training" to get in the way of God speaking through them. What education and training do you have? Regardless, God does not require you to have it nor is He hindered by it. Anything of value that God uses to promote His Gospel came from Him to begin with, so take heart that as long as you have Jesus, you have the education and training necessary to be used by God.