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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | The Word, the Doctrine of Christ | John 8:45 | DocTrinsograce | 243450 | ||
What do we mean by the word doctrine? It is nothing more than God's teaching. People earnestly try to separate God from His Word. This is an impossible task, for "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being." (John 1:1-3) Doctrine, part and parcel with God Himself, is the truth that sets us free (John 8:31-32). Only in the truth can God be rightly worshiped. Indeed, it is in truth that He seeks those to worship Him! (see John 4:24). Those who seek to separate God from the Word deny Him. In their midst a spirit does dwell, but it has nothing to do with the Holy Spirit who instructs His own in the Word (John 14:26; Hebrews 1:1-2). Doctrine, in its simplest definition is simply a teaching. When we use the word doctrine we are talking about all that the Scripture has to say on a given topic. For example, when we speak of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, we do not simply refer to an experience. There is no authority in experience, instead we look to those passages that teach us what it looks like to be Baptized in the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16ff). We do not ever try to force the Word to say what we believe, rather we transform our minds to living, thinking, loving, believing, doing, and feeling what the Word says. We do not resist what our Lord says (John 8:45). Theology is all that the Word says about any given subject (doctrine). None of this is the teaching of men, for indeed, God has instructed us, that "we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming." (Ephesians 4:14) The apostle further says, "All who are under the yoke as slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honor so that the name of God and our doctrine will not be spoken against." (1 Timothy 6:1) Holding an alien doctrine makes it quite clear that the source is something that is also alien and rebellious to the Lord. Their nature, their objective, and their works always characterize the god of this world. "If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain." (1 Timothy 6:3-5) Just as a bramble cannot bear the fruit of figs, watch what these others teach. Our Lord assures us that we can identify the false prophets from the true, even though they come in sheep's clothing. We know them by their fruit (Matthew 7:15-16). Do they speak the Word of God, are they loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, tender, gracious, gentle, and exercise self-control? (Galatians 5:22ff)? Or do they set themselves against the Word, being divisive, angry, pugnacious, argumentative, envious, slanderous, angry, bitter, and arrogant? Do they point to themselves or do they point to Christ alone? As the Puritans once prayed, "Lord Jesus, I sin. Grant that I may never cease grieving because of it, never be content with myself, never think I can reach a point of perfection. Kill my envy, command my tongue, trample down self. Give me grace to be holy, kind, gentle, pure, peaceable, to live for You and not for self, to copy Your words, acts, spirit, to be transformed into Your likeness, to be consecrated wholly to You, to live entirely to Your glory." |
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2 | The Word, the Doctrine of Christ | John 8:45 | EdB | 243452 | ||
Theology is all that the Word says about any given subject (doctrine). None of this is the teaching of men, for indeed, God has instructed us, that "we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming." If that were true there would not be so many different theologies, so many different books on theology, some many perceptions of what theology say. Most Christian theology was not crafted by the trickery of man or deceitful scheming. Most come from a pure heart that believes they have interpreted scripture most purely and correctly. It was once said that if a person was left on an island to read the Bible that after so many years they would have a Christian theology. I believe this because the Bible is true. But what we know for sure their theology would not line up with the theology of one denomination or another. It may have points of one but it most assuredly would have points that would conflict with that one. This is seen most often in missions. Tribe are given bibles for the first time but if they are influenced by Lutheran then their theology aligns with the Lutheran, if they are influenced by Methodist then their theology closes aligns to the Methodist even though their Bible was translated by a group with different theology. |
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