| People are always talking about doctrine. Sometimes they use the term dogma , like church dogma or beliefs. Who cares? Does all this doctrine talk really matter? I mean, as long as a person loves Jesus, what they believe about all the issues shouldn t matter. Right? Well, that may be what a lot of people think. But that s not what the Bible says. First, if we love and respect Jesus as Lord, we ll do what he says. In Mt. 7:21 Jesus said, Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. In Jn. 14:15 he said, If ye love me, keep my commandments. Like I said, if we respect and love Jesus, we ll obey him. So, does Jesus ever indicate doctrine is important? In Mt. 15:9 he quoted Isaiah in protesting those who teach for doctrine the commandments of men. In Mt. 16:6, 12 he warned about the doctrine of the Pharisees. There s no question that Jesus put some emphasis on doctrine. What we believe and practice is important to Jesus. It is therefore appropriate that we carefully consider our dogma, whether it be issues of daily living, or what we do collectively as the church. |
Specific Doctrinal Issues To Be Discussed In Future Studies!! |
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| Let s see, the verse is 2 Cor. 13:5. I believe the verse says, Examine others to see if you think they re up to snuff . No, wait. That s not right. Test others, not your own selves Awe, that s not right. Let me try again. Constantly criticize others to show they are not in the faith. Whatever you do, don t subject yourself to the same scrutiny. It might look bad Oops. Missed it again. One more try. Keep the focus on other people s faults so you don t have to think about your own. Constantly criticize church leaders, workers, fellow Christians and others. Point the finger of blame at them often Man! I m really messing this verse up. I wonder what the problem is? Could it be that the way I m misquoting this passage reflects the way we often act? Sorry folks, not could be IS !We re really good at nit picking other people. But when it comes time to shine the light of examination on SELF, well, that s all too often a different story. Here s what the passage says. Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? God insists we examine ourselves. That s not to say there s no place for recognizing faults in others. There is certainly a place for that. But we must constantly be willing to focus scrutiny on ourselves. In Mt. 7:1-5 Jesus warned of the dangers of needling others while overwhelming faults in ourselves escape our critical eye.Yes, there is a time to note things that others do. And sometimes we must offer correction. But we have a responsibility to first examine ourselves lest we become reprobates. |
HEY YOU! Did you get the point of the above sarcasms? Read it again. Did you get it? Do you get it? Well, God does, and WE'D BETTER!!! |
Question For This Study
Was Moses a Jew? Hmm, think about that.Answer to the Last Question
While it may seem like Abraham was doubting in Gen. 17:16-17, Rom. 4:19-20 assures us his faith was not weak and he didn t doubt.