Wednesday, December 2, 2009

The Importance of Sound Doctrine

I just finished writing a devotion on the importance of sound doctrine in our Christian walk.  There are so many voices out there vying for our attention today.  Unfortunately, there are a number of so-called
"Christian" books in print that really take great liberty with the Bible.  This leads to confusion and distortion of the truth.  I enjoy a good book as much as anyone, but I want to make certain that what is being stated follows what God's Word says.

In addition to articles and books in print, there are a number of movements afoot in the Christian realm.  I ran across an excellent YouTube video which took place some time ago with R.C. Sproul, Albert Mohler and Ravi Zachiarius.  They were asked about their thoughts relating to the "Seeker Sensitive Movement" and the emergent church.  Here is a link to one of the videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2zvqQ1w-Os . After watching this video, you can find the one that deals with the emergent church. I think they are noteworthy to view and consider.


God has really been impressing on me over the last two weeks how important it is to know what we believe and why we believe it. Several great places to go for solid information on Christian doctrine is "The Westminster Confession of Faith", The Heidelburg Catechism, and John Calvin's " Institutes of the Christian Religion" to name a few. Each of these come with a list of Scriptures to look up so that you can compare each statement based on the Word.


My husband and I also led the series put out by Focus on the Family entitled "The Truth Project". This DVD series is perhaps one of the best teachings concerning our Christian walk in light of our current culture. If you have a chance to participate in watching this series through your church or small group I would encourage you to do so.

Sound doctrine is based on the Word of God. The principles of living taught by our Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostles is what we need to follow for our daily living. With so many voices crying for our attention today, we all need to to be careful who we listen to. The one verse which most clearly sticks in my head about today's culture and our place in it is found in 2 Timothy 4:3-5: "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." To that....I say Amen.


In His love,
Barbara and Glenn