Terrific Tallinn
Welcome to Cox’s Corner.
Teaching (and learning) in Tallinn
I'm a touch tardy with this update, but I’m glad to say the teaching conference in Tallinn was terrific. In my opinion the best to date. I thought you might like to see an edited version of my class: Calibrating the Teacher’s Voice: A Guide to Biblical Discernment. A lesson aiming to answer the question: How can we speak with confidence without becoming overconfident — and acknowledge uncertainty without becoming vague?
You can watch the recording of the session if you would prefer to hear the ideas explored in person.
This AI generated infographic above goes some way to summarising the material below.
What is discernment — and why does it matter?
I have come to realise that the most helpful Bible teachers are not necessarily those who know the most. Instead, they are the ones whose certainty is properly calibrated to the text and their audience.
When I step up to teach, I am reminded that my calling is to speak into the faith community with humility, courage, and love. Discernment in teaching is the ability to recognise the relative importance of biblical teachings and their particular relevance to a local congregation.
It isn’t just about knowing facts. It is about recognising:
- What kind of issue are we addressing?
- How clearly does Scripture speak to it?
- What weight does it deserve?
We see this expectation of discernment throughout Scripture. Paul expected Timothy to develop this kind of understanding:
“Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in all things.” — 2 Timothy 2.7
Similarly, the Jerusalem Council had to apply biblical principles wisely to their particular context:
“It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements.” — Acts 15.28
This matters because teaching carries an awesome responsibility. James warns:
“Not many of you should become teachers… for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” — James 3.1
Avoiding the “twin ditches”
Our goal as teachers is to stay on the narrow road, avoiding what I call the twin ditches of destruction:
- Over-simplification — having 100% confidence about everything.
- Over-caution — being vague about everything.
I learned the lesson of overconfidence the hard way when I was eight years old. I tried to impress my father — a Cambridge geography scholar — by making up a story about thunder being caused by clouds “banging together”. I dug a hole of false confidence that I couldn’t get out of.
We must lose the illusion that we need to appear utterly confident about every point.
Paul described people who:
“want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.” — 1 Timothy 1.3–7
That said, there are things to be bold about! Peter was very confident that David was dead and buried (Acts 2.29) — and that Jesus was raised.
The key is calibration.
We don’t want people leaving our sermons thinking, “He almost said something.”
Why do we misuse our voice?
Sometimes we fall into these ditches because of:
Laziness.
It is easier to keep the status quo and preach the same points we’ve used for 30 years than to wrestle with nuance.
People-pleasing.
The pressure to please others can shift our balance. Think of the prophet Hananiah, who made people “trust in a lie” and faced severe judgment (Jeremiah 28.15–17).
Contrast that with Micaiah, who stood up to the king of Israel when the king complained:
“I hate him, for he never prophesies anything favourable about me.” — 1 Kings 22.8
Hobby horses.
We all have “deep convictions” we love to return to, like a child with a favourite toy. If we aren’t careful, these niche interests can gradually move from opinion to the core of our teaching.
The role of mystery and relationship
We must remember that not everything in Scripture is meant to be clear.
Consider:
- The confusion of Job’s friends
- The Mysteries of Ecclesiastes
- The Psalms of Lament
- Jesus’ teaching on suffering in John 9
- Paul’s discussion of conscience in Romans 14
As Penny once told me, medicine is half science and half art. It is about facts and people. Theology is similar. Truth must be applied to individual people and congregations.
Our goal is fidelity, not just certainty. We want to reach the maturity described in Hebrews 5.14, where our:
“faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.”
Two practical tools
I’d like to offer two tools to help you find your discerning voice.
1. The Quintilateral Method
Instead of looking at a text in isolation, look through five lenses:
- Scripture — always primary.
- Tradition — 2,000 years of Christian wisdom.
- Reason — your God-given brain.
- Experience — what happens when we live this out?
- Community — wrestling with the Word together.
These five perspectives can help us resist the temptation to make a single passage carry more weight than it can bear.
2. The Discerning Voice Table
A simple way to think about our teaching is to ask how clearly Scripture speaks.
- Where revelation is clear: speak confidently. Think of the basics of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15, or the warnings in Galatians 1.6–9.
- Where revelation gives principles: teach wisdom. Acts 15.28 provides an example. This applies to things like how we use money or handle dating.
- Where revelation is silent: admit uncertainty. Whether it is school choices, political voting, or when Jesus is coming back, sometimes we simply don’t know.
Letting Scripture set the volume
Ultimately, our calling is to let God’s Word determine our volume.
We must avoid extremes:
“Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes.” — Ecclesiastes 7.18
We must embrace the truth that:
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us.” — Deuteronomy 29.29
For now, we:
“see in a mirror, dimly” but one day we will see face to face (1 Corinthians 13.12).
So:
- Where God speaks loudly, we must not whisper.
- Where God whispers, we must not shout.
- Where God is silent, we must not manufacture sound.
Discernment is not maximum certainty. It is faithful, loving, Christ-shaped teaching.
Your brother, Malcolm
Family Matters
If you can spare it, please take a moment to pray for Carly, my mother-in-law, who is very ill. Penny is such a trooper, doing everything she can to support her mother. We pray it's not the end, but we never know.
Many thanks, and God bless, your brother, Malcolm
