What a Big Deal!
You probably agree with me that
having good doctrine is an essential thing when it comes to walking with
Jesus. What you may not have noticed
before this is just how harsh the Bible is about people who teach bad doctrine. Even though I had a pretty decent
understanding of it, I was still shocked with what I found when I researched
the word “doctrine” and found it in its contexts throughout the New Testament.
Doctrine, essentially, is teachings
or instruction. So if I were to teach that
in order to be saved you had to shave all the hair off of your body and then
you were all set; that would be doctrine, although very strange and
unbiblical. If you knew anything about
Scripture you would be onto me pretty quickly.
Some doctrines would matter more
than others. People can argue about what
hairstyles are Biblical, and there are good points and counterpoints. We tend to think that long hair isn’t good
among males, yet Nazarenes were commanded to not cut their hair. Stuff like that isn’t usually of eternal
consequence. The one about shaving all
your hair would have eternal
consequences, however, as someone believing it would not get to enter Heaven,
for faith in Jesus is not even mentioned!
False doctrine, as you may well
know, interests me greatly. As a general
rule false doctrine must contain a degree of truth, or people would figure out
that it’s wrong pretty quickly rather than be deceived. So let us take a little journey through the
New Testament, stopping at some (but not all) of the places where doctrine is
talked about.
First up are the scribes, Pharisees
and (to a somewhat lesser extent) Sadducees.
Usually when I hear about them, not a lot of time is spent on who they
were. Not that the Bible spends a lot of
time on who they were either, but it is important to understand that these were
respected leaders of the day. And as
Jesus very emphatically pointed out, they were wrong. Not only that, He indicated that they would
not be going to Heaven:
“But woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the
kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer
ye them that are entering to go in.” Matthew
Not surprisingly, doctrine is brought up during the times when they are spoken about:
“1: Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which
were of
(An exchange follows, and then Jesus says)
“7: Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias [Isaiah] prophesy of you, saying,
8: This people draweth
nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with
their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9: But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the
commandments of men.” Matthew 15:1, 7-9 KJV (I added the note about Isaiah, I am using an older rendition of the King James)
In the next chapter Jesus warns about the doctrine of the Pharisees and Saddcees:
“12: Then understood they how
that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the
Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” Matthew
Thus we quickly should realize that
the leaders are not always right,
even if given respect, and that while looking good, they can actually be on the
way to Hell.
So let’s see what some of the other
passages have to say:
17: Now I beseech you, brethren,
mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye
have learned; and avoid them.
18: For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their
own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
Romans 16:17-18 KJV
It really doesn’t get much scarier than this, does it? This is the same type of thing, leaving people who fit this description out of the picture for Heaven, for they do not serve Jesus.
“3: As I besought thee to abide
still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest
charge some that they teach no other doctrine,
4: Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister
questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.” First Timothy 1:3-4
“9: Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in
the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth
in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
10: If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him
not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
11: For he that biddeth him God speed is
partaker of his evil deeds.” Second John 9-11
This one in Second John is equally scary. Supporting someone with bad doctrine means partaking of his evil deeds? That is one heavy statement, but not one that I hear a whole lot about.
Next let us look at something in one of the letters to the seven churches of Revelation:
“14: But I have a few things
against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam,
who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock
before the children of
15: So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
16: Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight
against them with the sword of my mouth.” Revelation 2:14-16
I don’t really know much about the Nicolaitans, but I know that God hated their doctrine. He warned the whole church about these people, with the scary thought of God Himself fighting against them!
And of course the granddaddy of them all, the prophecy:
“2: Preach the word; be instant
in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and
doctrine.
3: For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but
after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching
ears;
4: And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be
turned unto fables.” Second Timothy 4:2-4
I cite this passage a lot, because it is one of the most telling ones about the day that we live it. It means that you as a believer must test everything carefully against the totality of the Bible to make sure that it is sound.
This is serious business. One of the most telling passages for those who are teaching is this:
“4: Whosoever therefore shall
humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of
heaven.
5: And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
6: But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me,
it were better for him that a millstone were hanged
about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
7: Woe unto the world because of offences! for
it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence
cometh!” Matthew 18:4-7 KJV
Granted, with the context you might think that it is children specifically talked about, but even so the seriousness of leading one astray should not be lost. A proverb backs this up:
“Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession.” Proverbs 28:10 KJV
The Big Three
At the beginning I talked about doctrines with eternal consequences, ones that can affect whether you wind up in Heaven or Hell. Assuming that all start with “faith in Jesus”, there are three (that I see anyway) major points that must be very carefully considered. For once I won’t say which I adhere to, but simply identify consequences for being wrong.
Or “Perseverance of the Saints” or “Eternal Security” or even “Preservation of the Saints”, no matter what you call it, it is the question of whether or not salvation may be lost. If it is a true doctrine, then those who say that you can lose your salvation are causing undue stress and fear among the flock, causing people to think they aren’t saved when they really are. If it is a false doctrine, then those who say you cannot lose your salvation can give people a false sense of security, sending them to Hell while thinking they are on their way to Heaven. Consider carefully.
Most won’t argue that there IS a rapture; (or catching up of the Saints) talked about in the Bible, although there of course have to be skeptics. Assuming that a Pre-trib rapture is false doctrine, many will walk into the Tribulation not understanding what is going on, and may wind up deceived by all the problems and strange goings on, with the grave possibility of taking the Mark of the Beast and spending eternity in the Lake of Fire. Assuming that a Pre-trib rapture is truth, those who say that the Saints must go through the Tribulation are crying “Wolf” and stirring up discord in the flock. Consider carefully.
Jesus talked about money quite a bit. Prosperity, rich people, and the like are found in more than one place in the Bible. The question becomes “What stance do you take on prosperity?” Do you seek it, do you help others to seek it, what does money mean to you, how dangerous is loving money? Consider carefully.
The price for being wrong and causing others to go wrong is steep. Your own soul is involved, plus the souls of whomever you influence. This means that if you are one who teaches doctrine to others, you must realize the weight of your being right or wrong.
I Will be the First
I, Ken
Goding, declare publicly today,
If I find that I am in error doctrinally, I shall repent and make changes as necessary, changing past documents or audio files so that I can be wholly in line with the Bible.
Will You Join?
It’s tough to admit how big a deal it is, but whether you admit it or not God will hold you accountable.
Leaving Doctrine for
Perfection
Consider this interesting passage:
“1: Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine
of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of
repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
2: Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying
on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
3: And this will we do, if God permit.” Hebrews 6:1-3 KJV
But if the
foundations are bad, that’s kinda hard to do. Even so, the ultimate goal is perfection,
Christ likeness.