Cloudy with a Chance of Heresy

Teaching doctrine has fallen on hard times. Many people with in the church (at large) cannot see how "doctrine" is relevant. After all, some reason, doctrine divides. Thus, many conclude that doctrine is for egghead theologians who would rather read a book than live life. Or to put it more bluntly, some conclude that theology is for individuals who don't want to work. The question arises, is theology and doctrine relevant for the church today? Is doctrinal teaching still important today?

Before we answer the questions, lets lay down some definitions. In the narrowest sense, theology is the study of God, specifically the God of the Bible. In a broader sense, theology is study of the doctrines found in the Scriptures. When we speak of doctrine, we are speaking of the teachings found in the Scripture. Theology and doctrine are so closely related that I will use the terms interchangeably.

The early church was devoted to the apostles' doctrine, or teaching (see Acts 2:42). The apostolic doctrine, as we see throughout the New Testament, focused heavily on the person and work of Jesus Christ. So, one might say, the apostles' doctrine centered on the message and meaning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This fits with commissions Jesus gave to his disciples commanding them to teach others about him and how to obey his teachings (see Matt. 28:18-20, Acts 1:8).

With these truths in mind, let us turn to the question concerning the relevance of doctrine for today. If we believe in Jesus, does it really matter what else we believe? That is to say, can a person who professes to be a believer in Christ, not believe the Bible? Or not believe in the resurrection? Or not believe in the Trinity? Can 21st century people still believe in miracles? Can the Bible still guide us into truth, supposing there is truth?

To put it another way, sound doctrine is and always has been vital to the Christian community. I do not mean to imply that all who claim to fly the banner of Christ are Christ's people. Even Jesus warned that many will call him "Lord," but be cast out as strangers. The apostles warn against the rejection of sound doctrine. Paul states, "If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing" (1 Tim. 6:3-4, ESV). Jude encourages us, ". . . to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 1:3, ESV). John states, "We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error" (1 John 4:6, ESV). Peter warns, "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction" (2 Pet. 2:1, ESV). And these are only a small sample.

There are core doctrines, without which there is no salvation. These doctrines cover the Trinity, the person and work of Christ, the doctrine of salvation by grace alone through faith alone, and the trustworthiness of Scripture. Thus, if our thinking on any of these subjects are cloudy, we might lead others astray. If we categorically deny these doctrines we cannot in any honest way call ourselves "Christians."

For this reason, Paul rebukes the Galatians for going along with false teachers in their misrepresentation of Christ and salvation. He exclaims, "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed" (Gal. 1:6-8, ESV). Doctrine matters, because it divides. It separates that sheep from the goats, the saved from the lost, the children of God from the children of Satan. For this reason, Paul warns young Timothy, "Keep a close watch on yourself and the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers" (1 Tim. 4:16, ESV).

Life and teaching go hand in hand. If we believe the wrong things will do the wrong things or will do the right things for the wrong reasons. However, when we believe the right things, we will do the right things for the right reasons. Doctrine is still important because it teaches who God is and how we are to relate to him as fallen individuals. It is important because it teaches us who Christ is and how he can redeem us. Theology is relevant for today, because through the revealed truth of God, the Bible, we find life. As we study the Bible, we learn how to live that life in grateful obedience.

Cloudy thinking, especially when it comes to doctrine, always leads to mischief. While all the doctrines are not expressed with exhaustive clarity, there is sufficient clarity to understand the essentials of our faith. There are things revealed in Scripture that are to marvelous for our finite minds to comprehend fully. But that does mean we cannot comprehend them to the extent that God intended. Moses reminds us, "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things he has revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of his law" (Deut. 29:29, ESV). Solomon advises, "Trust in the Lord with all you heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths" (Prov. 3:5-6, ESV). Thus, we accept a certain amount of mystery when we study the Scripture, because God has not exhaustively revealed his mind. He has kept some secrets. Armed with this knowledge, we learn not to become overly reliant upon our own understanding, but lovingly trust the Lord to lead us in the straight path by his Word.

I want to stress that I am not saying that a person has to have absolute clarity concerning every doctrine, before they can be saved. I am saying that they must trust the Lord even when they cannot fully, or even partially, understand what he has revealed. Yet, once they are saved their life's aim should be to understand, to the best of their ability, what God has revealed. Learning theology is a process. It takes hard work, determination, and perseverance. For Christ's disciples theology is not an option, it's a mandate. But not everything will become clear all at once. Once we place our trust in Christ, we begin a journey in which the Holy Spirit will guide us, by the Scriptures, into an ever increasing understanding of truth. As we mature in Christ, his teaching will become clearer, as they become clearer we will mature, and we must press on toward maturity.