Introduction...continued

The Doctinal Effect - The Dynamics of Doctrine

Sound doctrine has forces at work within it and has consequences for the believer.

Doctrine must be sound
In the last days some will depart from the faith, they will turn to false teachings. They will rely on the fables, stories and the traditions of men. Sound doctrine alone preserves the believer from error, and makes for spiritual health and the development of the believer.

Doctrine must be pure
Job 11:4 You say to God, 'My beliefs are flawless or my doctrines are pure. There are other religions and pseudo-Christian cults that believe, teach and practice false or impure doctrine. The test for the purity of teaching is by the purity of life it produces.

Doctrine must be scriptural
2 Tim 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Scripture is the test and the only test because it is the word of God that proceeds from God for our edification.

Doctrine must be obeyed
Rom 6:17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. To really understand truth you must obey it. If the truth is that the switch will turn on the light, one will never know or fully understand, and we will have no benefit until we obey the truth and flick the switch.

Mat 23:1-3 'Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach."'

This is the biggest charge against Christians today, the charge of hypocrisy or not practicing what you preach. All the theory is dead and useless unless it is put into practice. Truth without experience is truth without life. If we preach the doctrine of love, holiness, light, fellowship, unity of the body of Christ, ministry of the Holy Spirit, the Christian family etc, then we must also obey that doctrine or we become like a modern day Pharisee.

Doctrine determines character
It is an accepted fact in most quarters that doctrine determines character. What we believe will affect what we are. Believing affects being, and being affects doing.

We can choose therefore to be strong by our acceptance and practice of sound doctrine. There are many, many stories of men whose faith has made and kept them strong.

Doctrine affects fellowship
1 John 1:5-7 "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."

Doctrine affects fellowship and there can be no fellowship unless both parties walk in the light. In fact the measure of common light between believers will partially determine the measure of fellowship.

Fellowship between believers is essential and we must not compromise what we believe, yet with integrity fellowship with others. We should not sacrifice doctrine for fellowship nor should we sacrifice fellowship for doctrine.
There should be doctrines for which we are willing to die, these are the essentials, therefore seek after the following:

In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty and in all charity.

Doctrine determines destiny
Who and what we believe affects our eternal destiny. It is ridiculous to say, "It doesn't matter what you believe as long as you are sincere, because it is possible to be sincere but sincerely wrong.

Mark 16:16 "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."

John 3:16 -18 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

This simple and uncompromising truth should motivate us to evangelism.

Doctrine and Love
Though all our doctrine be exactly right, scripturally and theologically, if we do not have love we are nothing.

1 Cor 13:2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

If as God's people we would remember that love is the greatest doctrine in the bible (and God is love) then we would be better placed to obey all other doctrines of the bible.

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