Doctrine Is Crucial

"You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine." Titus 2:1

"They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." Acts 2:42

I remember hearing the late Ravi Zacharias saying a few years ago that one of the crucial things missing in Christianity today is expository teaching from the puplit. It seems that we've adopted a pragmatic approach that says if you teach doctrine you won't win people for Christ. You may have heard the Expression, "Doctrine divides, but Christ unifies."

Many have lamented that the modern church lacks the powerful working of the Holy Spirit that was present in the early church. Perhaps before we mourn too much we should take a look at what the early church was like and what the apostles really taught the early church.

A Quick Primer on the New Testament

I remember years ago my pastor was teaching on the sufficiency of scripture. He referenced 2 Timothy 3:16:

"All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."

He pointed out that at the time Paul wrote this to Timothy there was no New Testament. There was more to the canon than existed at the time. Then he made the following statement:

"The Bible is completely consistent throughout. The reality is everything is in the first 5 books. It is all there! The rest of the Old Testament, in many ways, is really a commentary on the first 5 books. And in many ways the New Testament is a commentary on the Old Testament."

Now this does not mean that we look to the Old Testament as the foundation of our doctrine. The Old Testament was looking forward to the New Testament and the New Covenant. To properly understand the thread of the Bible you must study the Old Testament from the perspective of the New. Many in the Hebrew Roots movement get that backwards. Paul had to spend a lot of time dealing with that in the early church. But more on that later.

The new Testament begins with the 4 gospels. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the 'synoptic gospels' because they basically cover the same information but they fill in details the others leave out. Their purpose is to give you the general history of Jesus Christ on earth and a brief overview of the gospel message. John has a different focus. While he also writes about Jesus's time on earth, he focuses more on his deity and his purpose in coming to save his people. John spends 5 chapters just on the night before Jesus was crucified. (Chs 13-17) 

Acts is the history of the early church and introduces us to the apostle Paul who would write 13 books of the New Testament.

Then comes the 13 epistles of Paul, the 'mysterious' epistle to the Hebrews, and then the general epistles. These are where the doctrines of the New Covenant are expounded on. In the gospels we get an introduction into the doctrines of the New Covenant from Jesus's own lips. The exposition and explanations are left up to the writers of the epistles.

Much of the Epistles Are Correcting Bad Doctrine

Of the epistles, 2 of them are primarily on the doctrines of the New Covenant. Romans deals with the theme of justification by grace through faith (Ephesians does too) . Hebrews deals with the priesthood of Jesus Christ; Different and far superior than the Levitical priesthood. (Ps 110:4 ...After the order of Melchizidek). Much of what we find in the rest of Paul's epistles and the general epistles is correcting bad doctrine. 1 Corinthians deals with blatant immorality. Galations deals with legalistic lawkeeping. Without going on too much more on specifics. Here is the point.

If there was so much doctrinal error back when there were still eye-witnesses to the man, Jesus Christ still living, how far have we fallen today? Especially when doctrine has become almost heresy? Jude says it very well in verses 3 & 4:

"Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord."

It seems today that the focus is on all being in unity. That is a noble goal. Jesus intended for his bride to be unified. 

BUT HE NEVER INTENDED TO UNIFY BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS. (Sheep and goats)

2 Timothy 4:3-4:

"For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."

As Charles H. Spurgeon said:

"The time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the church will have clowns entertaining the goats."

There was never a time in church history when Spurgeon's sentiments were more true than they are today. Much of what passes off as Christianity is simply pandering to those who are not true followers of Christ.

Separation of Sheep and Goats

One of the motives for avoiding the deep doctrines of the gospel and preaching a shallow message is to cast as big a net as possible in order to get as many people 'saved' as possible. But did Jesus or the apostles ever taylor the message of the gospel in order to attract more converts? NO!! Instead they confronted false teaching AND false teachers. They called them out by name. John called out Diotrephes in 2 John 9. Paul called out Alexander and warned people about him in 2 Timothy 4:14. We need to call out the false teachers of our time as well in order to protect the flock.

We also need to understand that often sheep and goats all appear to be sheep until times of testing come upon us. We have been dealing with a 'pandemic' in our country since early this spring. Many have lamented the division it has caused even in the church. Yes it is lamentable..., but maybe the division is necessary. Times of crisis are often revealing. It is easy to appear as a sheep when things are going along smoothly. When crisis hits, the true colors come out and we see what we are made of. 

Another thing people lament is the division politics has caused even in the church.

There was a time when political divisions revolved around general philosophies on the role of government and how our country should be run. Today the divisions are on deep moral issues. 

THERE MUST BE DIVISIONS ALONG POLITICAL LINES TODAY!!!

I don't believe that any political party is going to save America or "Reclaim America for Christ." But if God's people cannot see that the democrat party has embraced all manner of what God's word calls evil, then the church is no different than the rest of the world and we have become completely irrelevant. "The salt has lost its flavor."

I realize that often going to the polls feels like having to choose the lesser of two evils. I've often said you have to 'hold your nose at the polls.' If the choice is the lesser of two evils then we choose the lesser of the two evils. Remember we will be called into account for what we did during our time here on earth.

Search the Scriptures

Acts 17:11:

"Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."

If you are not searching the scriptures regularly on your own, it is not a question of, 'will you be deceived', but when and to what extent. Jesus warned that there would be MANY false teachers, not few. So it is imperative that we who are followers of Christ need to be in the word ourselves and make sure that what we are being taught is in line with what Jesus and the apostles taught.

Now you may be saying, "But I'm not a Bible scholar." You don't have to be. You can take notes during the sermon and look up the scriptures later and see if what was preached is really what the Word teaches. A pastor worthy of his calling will encourage you to do that.

Conclusion

We are entering difficult days on our country. it is going to be ever more crucial that we be strong in our faith. It is also going to be crucial that we unsterstand what the gospel does teach and what it doesn't teach. The false teachers will very likely become more prominent and prevelant. We need to be like the Bereans and constantly be in the word...not just so we can feel good, but so we can truly grow into the followers of Christ that He desires.

May God bless you richly.

The Patriotic Duty of Christians

"Give to Ceasar what is Ceasar's and to God what is God's" Matthew 22:21

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and be trampled by men." Matthew 5:13

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldy wealth, who will trust you with true riches?" 

Luke 16:10-11 

The Stewardship of Citizenship 

I found this definition of biblical stewardship on the internet:

"Utilizing and managing all resources God provides for the Glory of God and the betterment of His creation." 

In Genesis 2:15 it says that God took the man and put him in the garden to work it and take care of it. The first purpose of man was to be a steward over what belonged to God.

We are stewards! Everything we have been given is something we have been charged with taking care of. It doesn't belong to us. It belongs to God. It is our responsibility to take care of it.

The context of the aforementioned verse in Matthew 22, Jesus had been asked if it was lawful to pay taxes. I find it interesting that Jesus didn't simply answer the question with a simple yes or no. He actually gave an answer that went far beyond simply paying your taxes. We are temporary citizens of a country and as such we have civic duties that we must exercise. While our ultimate citizenship is in the heavenly country we have a temporoary citizenship here as well. Verse 12 of Luke 16 says the following:

"And if you haven't been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?"

We are going to have to give an account one day for how we exercised our civic duties in the country in which we were citizens. So it is crucial that we exercise our civic duties responsibly.

Our civic duties is what is 'Ceasar's', and yes, it includes paying taxes.

The Roman Empire of The Apostles Day vs. The Unitied States of America

Some have made the claim that because Jesus and the apostles weren't involved politically, modern Christians shouldn't be either. Those who claim that fail to contrast the vast difference between the Roman Empire, where Ceasar reigned supreme, and our modern representative republic. Simply stated, the option of political involvement didn't exist in ancient Rome the way it does here. In Matthew 5:13-14 Jesus said we are both salt and light. We are supposed to impact the culture. We have very little impact when we aren't involved. We become the light that remains hidden under the bushel. It has no impact. But even in Rome, a citizen had certain rights and the apostle Paul DID exercise his rights as a Roman citizen. (Acts 16:37-38; Acts 22:25-28) Here in the United States we have a constitution that contains the Bill of Rights. We have the right to free speech, to bear arms, freedom of religion. Those rights didn't exist in the world of the apostles.

These rights should be looked upon as things that God has given us to be stewards over.

With these rights and freedoms comes great responsibility. 

And just like the master in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) God is going to demand an account of what we did with the freedoms and rights we have been given.

The apostle Paul used his rights as a Roman citizen and we should use our rights as American citizens. We have been given these rights by our creator and we have a responsibility to use them for His glory and the advancement of His kingdom. The opportunities and freedoms we have provide a great opportunity to preach the gospel and we should do what we can to preserve and keep those freedoms.

How to Vote

I remember many years ago hearing Joyce Meyer comment that if everyone who calls themselves a follower of Jesus Christ would vote according to principles outlined in his word, it would only take a few election cycles and abortion would be a thing of the past. And if Christians would stop going to see movies that are dishonoring to Godly principles, Hollywood would either go out of business or they would have to completely change. I mention Hollywood because all too often Hollywood celebrities are revered as the experts and they are the ones influencing the culture and politics. 

You have heard the old adage, "All it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing." 

So does the Bible give any guidelines on how we should vote?

I'd like to share this passage from Dueteronomy 17:14-20:

"When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,” be sure to appoint over you a king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite. The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.  When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel."

I don't think this needs much commentary. There are a lot of principles to be gleaned. One thing I would point out is that the king was not above the law. In Israel, the king was to write a copy of the law and read it all his life. What if we required all of our national elected leaders to write out for themselves a copy of the constitution and read it every day while in office? The important point is we should be electing leaders who understand the law of the land and seek to uphold and preserve it. As a matter of history, the nation of Israel never obeyed this command and it eventually led to the divided kingdom and the captivity of both.

"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

Now some have gone into the other ditch and made our entire mission about "Reclaiming America For Christ." Both extremes are wrong. Our citizenship is in another country. And we must always see everything from that perspective. This country is not our home, but we are stewards of what we have been given.

Be Informed

I remember a talk show host on a Christian radio station interviewing someone and the subject turned to politics. The guest admitted that she really didn't understand the issues. The host told her in a very kind way, "If you don't understand the issues then please, DON'T VOTE!" As I said earlier; With our freedoms and rights comes great responsibility." It is crucial that we be informed on who we are voting for and what we are voting for. 

Don't listen to the news.

Don't listen to the campaign adds.

Do the research.

If you hear a claim in an add, look up the information and see if it can be verified. 

Look up voting records. See how these people have voted in the past. Then as a Christian, look at the principles that guide our worldview and vote for the candidate that most closely lines up with it.

Some have lamented that sometimes it seems like you are voting for the lesser of two evils. I totally get that. But that's OK. If there are only two candidates to choose from and those are the only choices, then vote for the lesser of the two evils. If enough Christians did that, over time we might start to slowly turn the tide and eventually have some really good candidates to choose from.

The Church's Role

I remember hearing Cal Thomas talk about how the church was duped by the tax exempt/non-profit status because it was very effective in silencing the church in matters of politics. While the rules only prohibit churches from actually endorcing candidates but not speaking out on policy and moral issues, many of our church leaders have chosen to remain silent and simply not ruffle feathers. That is why we have lost our saltiness. Our light is under a bushel so we aren't seen by the culture and we have allowed ourselves to be polluted by the culture to the point that we are no different than the rest of the world -- The salt has lost its saltiness. Salt is an element. It can't actually morph into something else. The way salt loses its flavor is it becomes contaminated by something else. That is what happens to the church. We become polluted with the world. And we've done that to the point that we don't look any different than the rest of the world. 

The church needs to address social and political issues. But in order to do that, pastors and leaders need to be informed about what the social and political issues are.

We need to be salt.

We need to be light.

No more compromising and no more being silent.

SPEAK UP AND LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!

But it's Hard

I want to end this with a story about Dietrich Bonnhoeffer. 

Toward the end of World War 2 Mr. Bonnhoeffer was in prison. The story goes that the prison chaplain was making his rounds one day and saw Bonnhoeffer in one of the cells. He exclaimed, "Brother Dietrich, what are you doing here? Mr. Bonnhoeffer replied, "Given the state our country is in, what AREN'T you doing here?" As the saying goes: 

"Any dead fish can float down stream. It takes a live fish to swim up stream."

Jesus Christ through his Holy Spirit has breathed true life into those of us who are truly his. 

WE ARE CHRISTIANS!

IT'S NOT WHAT WE DO. IT'S WHAT WE ARE!

We must swim upstream against the current even as those around us may be floating downstream. 

We have been given a great country. It is our job as stewards to take care of it. 

Be blessed as you do.