The Bulletin
of the
Church of Christ at
New Georgia
Tim Johnson, editor
August 26, 2007
In
This Issue:
The
Importance of Doctrine
by
Steve Klein
There
Ought to be a Law
by
Stacey E. Durham
The Importance of Doctrine
This past week, I noticed that the sign in front of the Presbyterian Church in Rogersville said, "Love God. Love others. The rest is doctrine." The message was plain. Loving God and loving others are essential things, but doctrine is not essential. In other words, it doesn't matter what you believe or teach, as long as you love God and love others. This sentiment, implied in the message on the church sign, reflects what a lot of religious people in America believe.
Now I am second to no one in my conviction that loving God and loving others are the greatest commandments. Jesus Himself said so explicitly (Matthew 22:37-39). If we get those things right, we will get everything else right as well, because "on these two commandments hang all the Law and the prophets" (Matthew 22:40). However, when doctrine is relegated to the status of non-essential, unimportant and not relevant to man's salvation, there is a lack of understanding concerning the nature of love! If a person really understood what it means to love God and others, he would know that believing and teaching sound doctrine is an essential part of loving God and others.
In John 7:16, Jesus said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me." Now if doctrine is unimportant, why would Jesus bother to inform us that the Source of His doctrine was His heavenly Father? Does anyone really believe that Jesus could have taught any doctrine He pleased and still laid claim to being God's loving and obedient Son? His love for God bound Him to teach His doctrine.
Doctrine matters!
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Obeying the right doctrine frees us from sin. The Romans obeyed a specific form of doctrine in order to be freed from sin. "But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness (Romans 6:17-18).
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Teaching the wrong doctrine invalidates our worship. In Matthew 15:9 Jesus said, "And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." The fact that so many denominational groups teach as doctrines the commandments of men no doubt explains why they want to convince us that doctrine is unimportant. Most denominational groups must get everything from the names of their denominations, organizational structure, manner of worship, titles of church leaders and programs of work from MEN, because they sure can't find them in the Bible.
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Following the wrong doctrine results in departing from the faith. "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons" (1 Timothy 4:1).
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Whoever does not stick with the doctrine of Christ, does not have God. "Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son" (2 John 9).
To summarize, following the right doctrine frees us from sin, but having the wrong doctrine makes our worship useless, causes us to depart from the faith and separates us from God.
What attitude will we have toward doctrine if we love God? If we love others, how concerned will we be about teaching them only doctrine that is correct and sound? The apostle Paul told Timothy to "charge some that they teach no other doctrine" (1 Timothy 1:3). Maybe Paul didn't understand that doctrine was unimportant. Or maybe, Paul loved God and man so much that he wanted only the one true doctrine to be taught.
-- Steve Klein
Do you ever wonder why our local, state, and federal governments have to make so many laws? There seems to be no end to the steady flow of new legislation year after year. Lawmakers are in session for most of the year writing new bills and getting them passed into law. When this nation was founded, lawmakers and politicians spent most of their time tending to their own homes and personal businesses. Now serving in the legislature is a full time job.
Perhaps it is because our nation is out of control. It seems that people of depraved mind are constantly devising ways to skirt the law in order to do harm to others. New breeds of criminals have to be labeled and categorized, such as identity thieves and internet child predators. Corporations have to be held in check so that they do not produce hazardous products or defraud the public. Even public officials have to be regulated carefully to prevent corruption. Because of these, new laws have to be ratified to draw new boundaries and protect the population.
Such behavior is evidence of an immature society, and it is a shame that almost every facet of life in the United States has to be regulated. We are steadily proving ourselves to be incapable of handling the liberties that we have in a decent manner. The situation is very similar to a child who is given freedom to do something that he was not allowed to do previously. Because he is immature, he abuses the new freedom that he has been given, and it has to be taken from him. As this society shows itself to be too immature to manage its liberties, gradually they are being taken away by stricter and stricter regulations.
While Christians are subject to these laws of men, we should appreciate that the Lord does not intend to legislate every detail of our lives with His law. The Bible does not give a specific law describing every possible situation that we may encounter. Christ's gospel simply gives us certain laws, principles, and examples by which we should live. The Old Law of Moses gave much more detailed and specific regulations, but God has freed us from this burden through the Christ's law of grace and liberty (Acts 15:10-11). Now we have the freedom to do what is right and please God by our own choice.
Instead of being regulated in everything, the Lord expects us to have the maturity and spirituality to control ourselves. Paul wrote, "For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another" (Gal. 5:13). Christians should have the maturity, the love of man, and the love of God to restrain them from abusing the freedom that we have acquired through Jesus Christ. We should always seek to please God rather than looking for loopholes and shortcuts to avoid accountability to God. We should ask, "What is right with it?" rather than, "What is wrong with it?" Again, Paul wrote, "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be!" (Rom. 6:1-2). If God was forced to regulate and legislate every matter in our lives because we would always sin otherwise, then we could never be free. Romans 6:14 says, "For sin shall not master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace." If we cannot be free without sinning, then sin is master over us, and we are slaves to Satan.
Therefore, let us be sober-minded and self-controlled. As a nation, we should pray for the time when all people will do the right things without having to be forced. As Christians, we should always do the right things simply because they are right in the sight of our Lord, whom we love and revere. Our freedom in Christ provides a test of our faith. If we can prove ourselves worthy of the liberty that God has given to us, then we can be free indeed and restrictive laws will not be necessary.
-- Stacey E. Durham