It is impossible to be wise, in the biblical sense, without doctrine. The Apostle Paul warned the Roman congregation Rom. The noun doctrine occurs in a similar context in Ephesians Here, bad doctrine and moral corruption are intertwined. True doctrine is never mere theory. There is another consequence of denying Christian doctrine: chaos.
Dorothy Sayers, in the s, predicted this outcome in her book Creed or Chaos? Today, partly as a result of the misguided search for non-doctrinal Christianity, there is virtually no consensus as to what constitutes evangelical Christianity.
Nevertheless, for all its virtues, good doctrine is not magic. It is possible for someone to profess right doctrine and yet remain an unbeliever. That is called hypocrisy. It is also possible for one to live well and yet confess bad doctrine.
That is blessed inconsistency. Neither Scripture nor history commends either option. We should rather think that good doctrine is salutary— healthy and helpful in the same way that sunshine, clean air, and rain are salutary for living beings. The biblical pattern confessed by the church is to live well by living in light of the truth, which is formulated in Christian doctrine.
We do so, however, chastened by the knowledge of our past failures, that we have not always lived in accordance with what we teach, and by the certainty that we will fail again. Our hypocrisy, however, is no ground for giving up on doctrine. Non-doctrinal Christianity is more than oxymoronic: it is a myth.
Christians can no more escape doctrine than Mike the mechanic can escape the laws of physics. Teaching Series. Conference Messages. Tabletalk Magazine. Gift Certificates. Ligonier Ministries. Supporting Ligonier.
Renewing Your Mind. We can love God and our neighbor not based on a need to perform but rather out of tremendous gratitude for all God has done for us and as our rightful duty as his children. Because doctrine teaches us the great truths we need to know, we can pick up our cross and follow Christ Matt. We must always be diligent to seek out sound doctrinal teaching and learn how to distinguish biblical truth from error, just as the Bereans did Acts Doctrine is essential because it helps us to understand the biblical truths we need to know to have lasting joy, peace, and confidence in Christ.
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Up Next Dawn and Steve Mornings. Up Next Unlocking the Bible. Change station. Call In Program Menu. July 28, Does Doctrine Matter?
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