In these last days,
spiritual warfare and discernment
is needed more than ever before.
You have to know God's word to discern truth.
There are countless reasons why
biblical theology needs to be fully accurate
and central,
it shapes how we can respond to and be equipped
for
God's True Calling
Behavior is an extension of theology, and there is a
direct correlation between
what we think and how we act.
Worldly discipline, diet, submission, coercion, and habits
have zero to do with
Gospel of Christ
and his power within us
or his ability to speak to us or use us
The true power of God is not from
Man, but directly from
God and God Alone
Worldly philosophy should never be exalted
over the head,
which is Christ
Paul charges Titus,
“You must teach what is in accord with
sound doctrine”
(Titus 2:1).
Such a mandate makes it obvious that sound doctrine is important.
But why is it important?
Does it really make a difference what we believe?
Sound doctrine is important because our faith is based on a
specific message
The overall teaching of the church contains many elements, but the primary message is explicitly defined: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures [and] . . . he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
This is the unambiguous good news, and it is “of first importance.” Change that message, and the basis of faith shifts from Christ to something else.
Our eternal destiny depends upon hearing
“the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation”
(Ephesians 1:13; see also 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14).
Sound doctrine is important because
the gospel is a sacred trust,
and we dare not tamper with
God’s communication to the world.
Our duty is to deliver the message,
not to change it.
Jude conveys an urgency in guarding the trust:
"I felt I had to write and urge
you to contend for the faith
that was once for all entrusted to the saints”
(Jude 1:3; see also Philippians 1:27).
To “contend” carries the idea of strenuously fighting for something, to give it everything you’ve got.
The Bible includes a warning neither
to add to nor subtract from
'God’s Word
(Revelation 22:18-19).
Rather than alter the apostles’ doctrine,
we receive what has been passed down to us
and keep it “as the pattern of sound teaching,
with
faith and love in Christ Jesus”
(2 Timothy 1:13).
Sound doctrine is important because
what we believe affects what we do.
Behavior is an extension of theology, and there is a direct correlation between
what we think and how we act.
For example, two people stand on top of a bridge; one believes he can fly, and the other believes he cannot fly. Their next actions will be quite dissimilar. In the same way, a man who believes that there is no such thing as right and wrong will naturally behave differently from a man
who believes in well-defined moral standards.
In one of the Bible’s lists of sins,
things like rebellion, deceit, fraud, stealing, murder, lying, and slave trading are mentioned.
The list concludes with “whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine”
(1 Timothy 1:9-10).
In other words,
true teaching promotes righteousness;
sin flourishes
where “the sound doctrine” is opposed.
Sound doctrine is important because we
must ascertain truth in a
world of falsehood.
“Many false prophets have gone out into the world”
(1 John 4:1).
There are tares among the wheat and wolves
among the flock
(Matthew 13:25; Acts 20:29).
The best way to distinguish
truth from falsehood
is to
know what the truth is.
Sound doctrine is important because
the end of sound doctrine is life.
"Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers”
(1 Timothy 4:16).
Conversely, the end of unsound
doctrine is destruction
. “Certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago
have secretly slipped in among you.
They are godless men, who change the
grace of our God
into a license for immorality and
deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord”
(Jude 1:4).
Changing God’s message of grace
is a “godless” thing to do,
and the condemnation for such a deed is severe.
Preaching another gospel
(“which is really no gospel at all”)
carries an anathema: “let him be eternally condemned!” (see Galatians 1:6-9).
Sound doctrine is important because it
encourages believers.
A love of God’s Word brings
"great peace”
(Psalm 119:165),
and those “who proclaim peace . . . who proclaim salvation” are
truly “beautiful” (Isaiah 52:7).
A pastor “must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it” (Titus 1:9).
The word of wisdom is “Do not remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set” (Proverbs 22:28, NKJV). If we can apply this to sound doctrine, the lesson is that we must preserve it intact.
May we never stray from
“the simplicity that is in Christ”
(2 Corinthians 11:3).
spiritual warfare and discernment
is needed more than ever before.
You have to know God's word to discern truth.
There are countless reasons why
biblical theology needs to be fully accurate
and central,
it shapes how we can respond to and be equipped
for
God's True Calling
Behavior is an extension of theology, and there is a
direct correlation between
what we think and how we act.
Worldly discipline, diet, submission, coercion, and habits
have zero to do with
Gospel of Christ
and his power within us
or his ability to speak to us or use us
The true power of God is not from
Man, but directly from
God and God Alone
Worldly philosophy should never be exalted
over the head,
which is Christ
Paul charges Titus,
“You must teach what is in accord with
sound doctrine”
(Titus 2:1).
Such a mandate makes it obvious that sound doctrine is important.
But why is it important?
Does it really make a difference what we believe?
Sound doctrine is important because our faith is based on a
specific message
The overall teaching of the church contains many elements, but the primary message is explicitly defined: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures [and] . . . he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
This is the unambiguous good news, and it is “of first importance.” Change that message, and the basis of faith shifts from Christ to something else.
Our eternal destiny depends upon hearing
“the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation”
(Ephesians 1:13; see also 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14).
Sound doctrine is important because
the gospel is a sacred trust,
and we dare not tamper with
God’s communication to the world.
Our duty is to deliver the message,
not to change it.
Jude conveys an urgency in guarding the trust:
"I felt I had to write and urge
you to contend for the faith
that was once for all entrusted to the saints”
(Jude 1:3; see also Philippians 1:27).
To “contend” carries the idea of strenuously fighting for something, to give it everything you’ve got.
The Bible includes a warning neither
to add to nor subtract from
'God’s Word
(Revelation 22:18-19).
Rather than alter the apostles’ doctrine,
we receive what has been passed down to us
and keep it “as the pattern of sound teaching,
with
faith and love in Christ Jesus”
(2 Timothy 1:13).
Sound doctrine is important because
what we believe affects what we do.
Behavior is an extension of theology, and there is a direct correlation between
what we think and how we act.
For example, two people stand on top of a bridge; one believes he can fly, and the other believes he cannot fly. Their next actions will be quite dissimilar. In the same way, a man who believes that there is no such thing as right and wrong will naturally behave differently from a man
who believes in well-defined moral standards.
In one of the Bible’s lists of sins,
things like rebellion, deceit, fraud, stealing, murder, lying, and slave trading are mentioned.
The list concludes with “whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine”
(1 Timothy 1:9-10).
In other words,
true teaching promotes righteousness;
sin flourishes
where “the sound doctrine” is opposed.
Sound doctrine is important because we
must ascertain truth in a
world of falsehood.
“Many false prophets have gone out into the world”
(1 John 4:1).
There are tares among the wheat and wolves
among the flock
(Matthew 13:25; Acts 20:29).
The best way to distinguish
truth from falsehood
is to
know what the truth is.
Sound doctrine is important because
the end of sound doctrine is life.
"Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers”
(1 Timothy 4:16).
Conversely, the end of unsound
doctrine is destruction
. “Certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago
have secretly slipped in among you.
They are godless men, who change the
grace of our God
into a license for immorality and
deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord”
(Jude 1:4).
Changing God’s message of grace
is a “godless” thing to do,
and the condemnation for such a deed is severe.
Preaching another gospel
(“which is really no gospel at all”)
carries an anathema: “let him be eternally condemned!” (see Galatians 1:6-9).
Sound doctrine is important because it
encourages believers.
A love of God’s Word brings
"great peace”
(Psalm 119:165),
and those “who proclaim peace . . . who proclaim salvation” are
truly “beautiful” (Isaiah 52:7).
A pastor “must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it” (Titus 1:9).
The word of wisdom is “Do not remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set” (Proverbs 22:28, NKJV). If we can apply this to sound doctrine, the lesson is that we must preserve it intact.
May we never stray from
“the simplicity that is in Christ”
(2 Corinthians 11:3).
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