I have made a purposeful effort to avoid doctrine in writing this Christian blog. The dictionary defines doctrine as: “a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a Church, political party, or other group.” It is someone’s belief. Does believing something make true? Of course not! People believe lies every day; either because they trust the source or because it is something they want to believe. In the Christian faith, it is doctrine that separates us into denominations or sects; while it is scripture and the Holy Spirit that unite us as one, universal church.
In Jesus’ day, there were a lot of rules about what you could or couldn’t do on the Sabbath. Those rules had become Jewish doctrine even though they were nowhere to be found in the Law or the Prophets. When accused of “breaking the Sabbath” by healing a man on that day of the week; Jesus pointed out to them that nowhere in scripture does God tell His people to refrain from doing good deeds on the Sabbath. (Mark 3:1-6) During his earthly ministry, Jesus pointed out the rules or doctrines that were established by Jewish religious leaders to enforce their beliefs – not God’s commands. (Mark 2:23-28)
Today is no different. Some churches teach rules that can’t be found in scripture. Some charismatic preachers teach their followers doctrine that is not soundly based on God’s word. A friend has been following such a man. One of his doctrines didn’t sound right to me, so I searched the scriptures to find it and found it isn’t there; but many of his followers believe it must be, because that “man of God” says it is. Details are not important. I have pointed out false doctrine in the past, but I would rather point out how to discern the truth than dwell on the distortions.
I have two gates every teaching must pass through; even when it comes from my most trusted pastor. The first gate; is it scriptural? I must see what the inspired, infallible word of God has to say about it. (It is sometimes harder to ferret out the truth of political or other types of doctrine; but scripture is always the best source of truth.) With today’s technology, it is so much easier to search the Bible for an answer than it was with the bulky concordance of my youth. Whenever I quote someone, I always make an effort to compare or contrast it with Biblical truth. (2 Timothy 3:16) The second gate; does the Holy Spirit within me affirm it or warn against it? I must guard against letting my trust in the source muffle the voice of the Holy Spirit. Then, I can clearly recognize His warning or agreement. After all, it is God’s opinion about everything, not the opinion of men that truly matters. (John 16:13 & Galatians 5:25)
I share my real life Christian experiences and scripture with you in this blog, but never take my word for anything I write. Take time to read the scripture references and consult the Holy Spirit to confirm for yourself the truth of my posts. Then, you can comfortably applying them to your own relationship with God and your everyday life of service for Him and for others.