Pitfalls to Avoid When Using Human Examples in Church Teaching

Scripture itself employs human examples extensively—the prophets as models of suffering affliction, pastors as patterns for their flocks, and Christ himself as the supreme example ^[4]. Yet the practice carries inherent dangers that have troubled Christian teachers across traditions. The apostle Paul warned the Corinthian church against the strife that arose from partisan allegiances to human leaders ^[3], and the biblical record consistently distinguishes between legitimate exemplification and the flattery, pride, and offense that corrupt teaching when human examples are mishandled.

The Temptation to Flatter Rather Than Instruct

Flattery represents perhaps the most insidious corruption of human exemplification in teaching. The biblical witness forbids ministers from using flattery ^[2], yet the pressure to gain worldly advantage through it remains constant ^[2]. When a teacher holds up a wealthy donor as a model of generosity, or praises a prominent member's spirituality in terms that exceed reality, the line between legitimate commendation and flattery blurs. The danger intensifies because flattery seldom gains genuine respect ^[2], even as it may temporarily secure favor with those in authority ^[2].

The woman of Tekoah and Absalom both exemplified this misuse ^[2], employing carefully crafted praise to manipulate rather than edify. In contemporary church teaching, this manifests when examples are selected not for their instructional value but for their capacity to please influential listeners. Wisdom serves as a preservative against such flattery ^[2], suggesting that teachers must cultivate discernment about their own motives when selecting human illustrations.

The Risk of Causing Offense Through Inappropriate Examples

The New Testament acknowledges that occasions of offense must arrive, yet explicitly forbids creating them ^[1]. When teachers use human examples carelessly, they risk multiple forms of offense. Highlighting the "low station" of certain believers while elevating others can create the same stumbling block that Christ's own humble origins presented to some ^[1]. The necessity of inward purity ^[1] means that external examples—however impressive—may mislead if they suggest that visible achievement constitutes spiritual maturity.

Paul's warning that persecution causes mere professors to take offense ^[1] carries particular weight for teachers using contemporary examples. A business leader held up as a model of Christian success may later face scandal; a marriage presented as exemplary may dissolve. These reversals do not merely embarrass the teacher—they become occasions of offense that can shipwreck the faith of those who were encouraged to emulate what proved unstable. The blessedness of not taking offense at Christ ^[1] implies a corresponding responsibility for teachers not to create unnecessary stumbling blocks through poorly chosen human illustrations.

The Problem of Obscuring Universal Sinfulness

All human beings are born sinners ^[5], and even after regeneration, believers continue to commit actual sins ^[8]. This theological reality creates a fundamental tension in using human examples. When a teacher presents a contemporary figure as a model without acknowledging ongoing struggle with sin, the example distorts the gospel's teaching about sanctification. The distinction between those who indulge their sinful nature and those who fight against it ^[5] is real, but the fight itself must remain visible in any honest exemplification.

John Chrysostom, preaching on Paul's instruction to Timothy to be "an example of the believers," noted the necessity of distinguishing between cases requiring command and those requiring teaching ^[12]. The implication for using human examples is clear: a living illustration must not be presented as a command to replicate every aspect of another's life, but as teaching that illuminates principles while acknowledging the complexity of individual circumstances.

The claim "we have not sinned" makes God a liar ^[8], representing the worst form of self-deception about human moral capacity. Teachers who present human examples without this theological frame risk encouraging the very pride that Scripture condemns. Augustine's observation that the devil begets none but that whoever imitates the devil becomes his child by imitation ^[6] applies equally in reverse: imitating godly examples does not occur through mechanical replication but through understanding the principles that animate godly conduct.

The Danger of Provoking Strife and Comparison

Christ himself exemplified the avoidance of strife ^[3], yet human examples in teaching frequently generate exactly this problem. When the Corinthian church divided over allegiances to Paul, Apollos, and Cephas, the apostle identified this as evidence of a carnal spirit ^[3]. Contemporary teaching that holds up particular members or leaders as models risks creating similar factions, with congregants aligning themselves with or against the examples presented.

Strife is excited by pride ^[3], and few things provoke pride more readily than being held up as an example—or being implicitly criticized by the elevation of others. The difficulty of stopping strife once begun ^[3] makes prevention essential. Teachers must consider whether a human example will edify the whole body or create divisions between those who identify with the example and those who feel excluded or condemned by it.

The Confusion of External Achievement with Spiritual Maturity

Paul's teaching about universal sinfulness applies equally to Gentiles and Jews, and no human action can secure favor with God ^[7]. This theological foundation undermines any teaching that presents external success—whether in business, family life, or ministry—as evidence of superior spirituality. The Corinthian error of claiming partisan ownership of spiritual leaders ^[9] reflects a broader human tendency to assess spiritual reality by visible metrics.

When teachers use examples of believers who have achieved notable success in worldly terms, they must carefully distinguish between legitimate gratitude for God's blessing and the suggestion that such success indicates special favor or spiritual advancement. The prophets serve as examples specifically of suffering affliction ^[4], not of worldly prosperity, suggesting that Scripture's own pattern of exemplification deliberately counters natural human assumptions about what constitutes a model life.

The instruction that younger widows supported by the church too seldom invest their lives in remarkable piety ^[11] warns against assuming that external circumstances—even favorable ones provided by the church—automatically produce spiritual fruit. Teachers using human examples must resist the temptation to present correlation as causation, as if a believer's outward circumstances directly reflect their inward state.

The Necessity of Pointing Beyond the Human Example

The ultimate purpose of Christian teaching is not to amuse with mysteries or entertain with mercies, but to engage believers in the practice of Christian duties ^[10]. Human examples serve this purpose only when they function as transparent windows to divine truth rather than opaque monuments to human achievement. The reminder that believers are stewards of manifold grace ^[10] applies to teachers themselves: human examples are entrusted resources to be deployed for edification, not personal aggrandizement or institutional advantage.

Sources

Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Offence — Occasions of, must arrive -- Mt 18:7. Occasions of, forbidden -- 1Co 10:32; 2Co 6:3. Persecution, a cause of, to mere professors -- Mt 13:21; 24:10; 26:31. The wicked take, at The low station of Christ. -- Isa 53:1-3; Mt 13:54-57. Christ, as the corner-stone. -- Isa 8:14; Ro 9:33; 1Pe 2:8. Christ, as the bread of life. -- Joh 6:58-61. Christ crucified. -- 1Co 1:23; Ga 5:11. The righteousness of faith. -- Ro 9:32. The necessity of inward purity. -- Mt 15:11,12. Blessedness of not taking, at Christ -- Mt 11:6. Saints warned against taking -- Joh 16:1. Saints ”
Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Flattery — Saints should not used -- Job 32:21,22. Ministers should not use -- 1Th 2:5. The wicked use, to Others. -- Ps 5:9; 12:2. Themselves. -- Ps 36:2. Hypocrites use, to God. -- Ps 78:36. Those in authority. -- Da 11:34. False prophets and teachers use -- Eze 12:24; Ro 16:18. Wisdom, a preservative against -- Pr 4:5. Worldly advantage obtained by -- Da 11:21,22. Seldom gains respect -- Pr 28:23. Avoid those given to -- Pr 20:19. Danger of -- Pr 7:21-23; 20:5. Punishment of -- Job 17:5; Ps 12:3. Exemplified Woman of Tekoah. -- 2Sa 14:17,20. Absalom. -- 2Sa 15:2-6”
Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Strife — Christ, an example of avoiding -- Isa 42:2; Mt 12:15-19; Lu 9:52-56; 1Pe 2:23. Forbidden -- Pr 3:30; 25:8. A work of the flesh -- Ga 5:20. An evidence of a carnal spirit -- 1Co 3:3. Existed in the church -- 1Co 1:11. Excited by Hatred. -- Pr 10:12. Pride. -- Pr 13:10; 28:25. Wrath. -- Pr 15:18; 30:33. Frowardness. -- Pr 16:28. A contentious disposition. -- Pr 26:21. Tale-bearing. -- Pr 26:20. Drunkenness. -- Pr 23:29,30. Lusts. -- Jas 4:1. Curious questions. -- 1Ti 6:4; 2Ti 2:23. Scorning. -- Pr 22:10. Difficulty of stopping, a reason for avoiding it -- Pr 1”
Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Example — Of Christ (1 Pet. 2:21; John 13:15); of pastors to their flocks (Phil. 3:17; 2 Thess. 3:9; 1 Tim. 4:12; 1 Pet. 5:3); of the Jews as a warning (Heb. 4:11); of the prophets as suffering affliction (James 5:10).”
Psalms (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Psalms 58:3: 58:3 All human beings are born sinners (see 51:5); however, whereas the wicked indulge their sinful nature, the godly fight against it (Rom 7:19-23; Jas 4:1-10).”
1 John (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 1 John 3:8: He that committeth sin is of the devil--in contrast to "He that doeth righteousness," Jo1 3:7. He is a son of the devil (Jo1 3:10; Joh 8:44). John does not, however, say, "born of the devil." as he does "born of God," for "the devil begets none, nor does he create any; but whoever imitates the devil becomes a child of the devil by imitating him, not by proper birth" [AUGUSTINE, Ten Homilies on the First Epistle of John, Homily 4.10]. From the devil there is not generation, but corruption [BENGEL]. sinneth from the beginning--from the time that any beg”
Romans (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Romans 1:18: 1:18–3:20 Paul delays exploring the theme of righteousness through faith (see 3:21) until after he first teaches about universal sinfulness. Gentiles (1:18-32) and Jews (2:1–3:8) are equally under sin’s power and cannot find favor with God by any action of their own (3:9-20). 1:18 God’s anger is not a spontaneous emotional outburst, but the holy God’s necessary response to sin. The Old Testament often depicts God’s anger (Exod 32:10-12; Num 11:1; Jer 21:3-7) and predicts a decisive outpouring of God’s wrath on human sin at the end of history. While Paul usually de”
1 John (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 1 John 1:10: Parallel to Jo1 1:8. we have not sinned--referring to the commission of actual sins, even after regeneration and conversion; whereas in Jo1 1:8, "we have no sin," refers to the present GUILT remaining (until cleansed) from the actual sins committed, and to the SIN of our corrupt old nature still adhering to us. The perfect "have . . . sinned" brings down the commission of sins to the present time, not merely sins committed before, but since, conversion. we make him a liar--a gradation; Jo1 1:6, "we lie"; Jo1 1:8, "we deceive ourselves"; worst of al”
1 Corinthians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on 1 Corinthians 3:23: 3:23 Just as they may now claim everything as their own, so Christ has claimed them for himself (see Rom 14:7-9), and in Christ they are ultimately claimed by God (see 1 Cor 6:19-20; 7:23).”
Luke (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Luke 16:1: We mistake if we imagine that the design of Christ's doctrine and holy religion was either to amuse us with notions of divine mysteries or to entertain us with notions of divine mercies. No, the divine revelation of both these in the gospel is intended to engage and quicken us to the practice of Christian duties, and, as much as any one thing, to the duty of beneficence and doing good to those who stand in need of any thing that either we have or can do for them. This our Saviour is here pressing us to, by reminding us that we are but stewards of the manifold grace ”
1 Timothy (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on 1 Timothy 5:13: 5:13 Too seldom do those who are fully supported by the church invest their lives in remarkable piety (cp. 2:9-10; 5:10). Abusing the church’s support does not help them or the Good News (cp. 5:14). • talking about things they shouldn’t: The wording suggests involvement in the false teaching (5:15; cp. 2 Thes 3:11-13; Titus 1:11).”
CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on Galatians–Colossians–Thessalonians: 449 Homily XIII. 1 Timothy iv. 11–14 “These things command and teach. Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.” In some cases it is necessary to command, in others to teach; if therefore you command in those cases where teaching is required, ”

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