Importance of Sound Doctrine Why Sound Doctrine Matters Two visitors knocked at the door of my house, introduced themselves

as workers from an International Bible Association and invited me to discuss the Bible which I agreed wholeheartedly. But it soon became clear to me that although we were using the same Biblical terms like Son of God, Atonement, Resurrection and Second Coming, nevertheless, we did not share the same Christian beliefs. They did not believe in the deity of Jesus and the Trinity; they insisted that Christ only rose spiritually after three days and that Christ had already returned spiritually since 1918. Perhaps, they thought the young man that I was at eighteen years old would be an easy recruit. However I had just finished reading a doctrinal handbook by T. C. Hammond, In Understanding Be Men (IVP) and was able to counter their teaching. The discussion ended in deadlock. Two important lessons were impressed upon my young mind. First, Christians should guard their faith against false teachers who distort the teachings of the Bible. Further research in my small church library also alerted me to the false teaching or heresy belonging to various cults. Second, reading the Bible alone was not enough. We easily end up with skewed reading of the Bible if we jump from one isolated passage to another which was how the false teachers read the text. To be assured of balanced teaching we must have a sense of what the Bible as a whole is teaching the subject. That is, our reading of the Bible must be informed by doctrine or succinct statements of the core beliefs of the church summarized after a comprehensive analysis of the Bible. Doctrines in turn provide a coherent framework to help the church to articulate the truth of God and his relation to the world that guides godly living and proclamation of the gospel to contemporary society. The most significant lists of core doctrines in the history of the Church represented by the Apostle Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Chalcedonian Creed provide authoritative criteria to test if any teaching may be accepted as authentic expression of Christian faith. Unfortunately, Christians today are ignorant of doctrine and creeds which they deem to be dry and spiritually stifling. Indeed, sound doctrine is being replaced by feel good theology. It is ironic that this sentiment is restricted to inside the church. The same people who despise sound doctrine (or rule of faith) would be disappointed if their investment consultant only offers only feel good sentiments hoping for upward market trends instead of solid analysis of the stock market. They will insist that doctors who operate on them follow strict professional protocols. Somehow, technical expertise and professional knowledge trumps feel good sentiments in matters of finance and health but in matters of belief in church! Christians who ignore the need for sound doctrine should the Bible stresses the paramount importance of sound doctrine. For example, the Old Testament believer may receive a prophet as genuine only if he offers sound teaching, that is, teaching that is in accord with received revelation (Deuteronomy 13:1-6). The self-proclaimed prophet may work miracles, but he must be rejected as false and punished if he taught false teaching. In the New Testament, Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit will teach all that he had taught (John 14:26). Anyone who contradicts the truth taught by Christ cannot be inspired by the same Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul insisted that no one can confess Jesus lordship correctly without the inspiration of the Holy

Spirit, and conversely no one who is speaking in the Spirit will ever utter a false statement about Jesus (1 Corinthians 13:3). However, the church cannot take for granted that the teaching of sound doctrine. It is sobering to read the warning found in the pastoral epistles that there will come a day when people will not tolerate sound teaching and would rather seek out false teachers who offer what their itchy ears want to hear (2 Timothy 4:4). Paul urged Timothy to guard through the Holy Spirit the deposit of faith handed on by trustworthy teachers (2 Timothy 1:14). The task of guarding the deposit of faith must be renewed as each generation of believers faces new challenges. While God has bestowed on the church an unchanging deposit of truth, nevertheless, the waywardness of the human heart being results in a constant deterioration of understanding and commitment to Gods truth. As a neglected garden inevitably get swamped by weeds, a church where right doctrine is not taught and taken root means eventually the average Christian naively accepts every patch of smog newly fabricated teaching that is accommodated to the changing values of wider society and culture as refreshing morning mist. Step by step, worldly wisdom replaces the Christian mindset that is attuned to the revealed truth God. The moral fiber of the church is sapped away without passion and commitment to the truth of God. Heresy and moral laxity church life based on expediency is encouraged as virtues of progressive faith, Indeed, Christians today have become averse to question of doctrine and truth. Hence, the widespread comment, I don't want to study doctrine, I'm tired of doctrine. I want sermons to be short and inspiring. It must be acknowledged that doctrine can become wearisome and understandably people put off if they are couched in terms of convoluted arguments and metaphysical speculations. But surely sound doctrine that is taught to increase understanding of revealed truth can only inspire love for the living God. Sermons should be inspiring, but the kind of inspiration we need comes not from the speaker's eloquence, but from great truths about God that is proclaimed. For example, we can be inspired and have confidence about the future because of what God has done in Jesus Christ. We can be optimistic even in a troubled world because we have been taught about Jesus Christ Lordship over human history. Enduring Christian faith is not built merely on fickle feelings, on special moments of sensing God's presence. We need enduring faith, and that is built on knowing and understanding truth about God. Our teachings and beliefs about Jesus are doctrines, truth about God determine how we live out our Christian life. Sound doctrine that increases our understanding of who God is and what salvation he has done in Christ can only lead to stronger commitment over time. This understanding is kept

Teaching and Preserving Sound Doctrine How then do we ensure that sound doctrine is taught in church so that Christians are able to defend their faith against heresy and witness with confidence? Heresy comes in many forms and fashions. It may well be a futile exercise chasing every new wind of doctrine that comes to town. As the old military adage goes, He who defends everything ends up defending nothing. One must focus on what really matters. Perhaps a good place to help Christians discern crucial teaching from less essential teaching is to familiarize them with the doctrinal statement of their church or denomination. The early Church provided a short list of core doctrines in their classes for new believers such as the Apostles 2

Creed and the Nicene Creed and contemporary churches have similar lists. I assume that any such list will at least contain a minimum statements that affirm the divine inspiration and final authority of Scripture that is without error in all that it affirms, the Tri-unity of God, human depravity and the Holy Spirit work of regeneration, the necessity of faith and grace to receive salvation, Christs sinless perfection and deity, Christs atoning death and his physical resurrection after death on the cross and his second coming. It is presumed that teaching of these core doctrines are grounded in the Bible and informed by how the universal Church has passed on its tradition of doctrines represented by the creeds. But how do we formulate and teach doctrine today? The process may be summarized in three aspects, (a) scientific, (b) artistic and (c) sacral. a) Scientific Scripture provides objective data which needs to be understood, organized, and explained. We should move from the traditional focus on literal interpretation of Biblical text and aim at the historical and contextual meaning of texts that includes analysis of syntax of the passages, careful consideration of the theological teachings of peculiarities of different literary genres in the Biblical canon (whether the form of the writing is historical, poetical wisdom or prophetic) , knowledge of the specific period of the original writer(s) and readers and alertness to the distinct factors in the situation which influenced each writer and his teaching. Such comprehensive knowledge will help the interpreter understand how the message from God was peculiarly suited to that historical situation.
There are some reservations about studying doctrine that leads toward topical arrangements rather than historical categories, but in reality the doctrinal categories employed are taken from the biblical materials and it is the specific historical settings (in theological terms salvation history and the biblical language) which determine the arrangement.

The above approach to studying the Bible is scientific insofar as it is systematic and aimed at producing organized knowledge. Furthermore, whether one is dealing with testing of scientific hypothesis when doing science or whether one is evaluating doctrine in seeking understanding of faith, the explanation must be subject to and open to correction by the data being explained. As such, doctrine is fundamentally exegetical, that it, it must conform and make sense with biblical data and the explanation (whether scientific hypothesis or doctrine) has the most plausibility if it best explains the data at hand. b) Artistic Like all great works of art, the Bible cannot be understood in a detached manner. Understanding the Bible requires the involvement of the whole person that includes his presuppositions, his prior experience of life that informs his pre-understanding and psychological make-up. For example, an interpreter whose grasp of the life and meaning of sin is shallow will, end up with a shallow if not distorted understand the teaching of Scripture on sin. That being the case, formulating a doctrine goes beyond surface reading of the text and demands meditation, contemplation and internalization of the teaching of the Bible. c) Sacral Finally, it is not just the text that is interpreted, but the interpreter is interpreted, challenged and transformed. Doctrine assists in maintaining communion with God as the reader gratefully claims his promises and pledges to obey Gods commands. Doctrine is not about what we make of biblical text, but rather, what the biblical text makes of us. Right doctrine is never about just being accurate knowledge. Rather, the goal of right doctrine is always about establishing and nurturing right relationships. Perfect doctrine without love only inflates the ego. The goal of doctrine is not just clarification and understanding of abstract truths drawn from the biblical text. Sound doctrine brings us face to face with the one who God who reveals himself through the text. It must elicit from us wonder, love and obedience. 3