Why Bother With Doctrine?

There are many who would proclaim that doctrine doesn't matter or isn't as important as being loving or living rightly. However, the very problem with that thought is that you cannot live rightly and love others unless your mind has been transformed to the things of Christ. For instance, if the apostle Paul had cared more about living rightly and loving others, do you think that he would have written all of the letters that he did to all of the churches that he did exhorting them to hold fast to the truth and to remember what he had taught them? If they needed to only live right, then they wouldn't need to remember what he had taught them, but rather they would have merely attempted to live by their own merit.

I think that A.W. Tozer lays out an amazing argument as to why doctrine matters. He says:

"It would be impossible to overemphasize the importance of sound doctrine in the life of a Christian. Right thinking about all spiritual matters is imperative if we would have right living. As men do not gather grapes of thorns nor figs of thistles, sound character does not grow out of unsound teaching.

The word doctrine means simply religious beliefs held and taught. It is the sacred task of all Christians, first as believers and then as teachers of religious beliefs, to be certain that these beliefs correspond exactly to truth. A precise agreement between belief and fact constitutes soundness in doctrine. We cannot afford to have less.

The apostles not only taught truth but contended for its purity against any who would corrupt it. The Pauline epistles resist every effort of false teachers to introduce doctrinal vagaries. John’s epistles are sharp with condemnation of those teachers who harassed the young church by denying the incarnation and throwing doubts upon the doctrine of the Trinity; and Jude in his brief but powerful epistle rises to heights of burning eloquence as he pours scorn upon evil teachers who would mislead the saints.

Each generation of Christians must look to its beliefs. While truth itself is unchanging, the minds of men are porous vessels out of which truth can leak and into which error may seep to dilute the truth they contain. The human heart is heretical by nature and runs to error as naturally as a garden to weeds. All a man, a church or a denomination needs to guarantee deterioration of doctrine is to take everything for granted and do nothing. The unattended garden will soon be overrun with weeds; the heart that fails to cultivate truth and root out error will shortly be a theological wilderness; the church or denomination that grows careless on the highway of truth will before long find itself astray, bogged down in some mud flat from which there is no escape.

In every field of human thought and activity accuracy is considered a virtue. To err ever so slightly is to invite serious loss, if not death itself. Only in religious thought is faithfulness to truth looked upon as a fault. When men deal with things earthly and temporal they demand truth; when they come to the consideration of things heavenly and eternal they hedge and hesitate as if truth either could not be discovered or didn’t matter anyway.

Montaigne said that a liar is one who is brave toward God and a coward toward men; for a liar faces God and shrinks from men. Is this not simply a proof of unbelief? Is it not to say that the liar believes in men but is not convinced of the existence of God, and is willing to risk the displeasure of a God who may not exist rather than that of man who obviously does?

I think also that deep, basic unbelief is back of human carelessness in religion. The scientist, the physician, the navigator deals with matters he knows are real; and because these things are real the world demands that both teacher and practitioner be skilled in the knowledge of them. The teacher of spiritual things only is required to be unsure in his beliefs, ambiguous in his remarks and tolerant of every religious opinion expressed by anyone, even by the man least qualified to hold an opinion.

Haziness of doctrine has always been the mark of the liberal. When the Holy Scriptures are rejected as the final authority on religious belief something must be found to take their place. Historically that something has been either reason or sentiment: if sentiment, it has been humanism. Sometimes there has been an admixture of the two, as may be seen in liberal churches today. These will not quite give up the Bible, neither will they quite believe it; the result is an unclear body of beliefs more like a fog than a mountain, where anything may be true but nothing may be trusted as being certainly true.

We have gotten accustomed to the blurred puffs of gray fog that pass for doctrine in modernistic churches and expect nothing better, but it is a cause for real alarm that the fog has begun of late to creep into many evangelical churches. From some previously unimpeachable sources are now coming vague statements consisting of a milky admixture of Scripture, science and human sentiment that is true to none of its ingredients because each one works to cancel the others out.

Certain of our evangelical brethren appear to be laboring under the impression that they are advanced thinkers because they are rethinking evolution and reevaluating various Bible doctrines or even divine inspiration itself; but so far are they from being advanced thinkers that they are merely timid followers of modernism-fifty years behind the parade.

Little by little evangelical Christians these days are being brainwashed. One evidence is that increasing numbers of them are becoming ashamed to be found unequivocally on the side of truth. They say they believe but their beliefs have been so diluted as to be impossible of clear definition.

Moral power has always accompanied definitive beliefs. Great saints have always been dogmatic. We need right now a return to a gentle dogmatism that smiles while it stands stubborn and firm on the Word of God that liveth and abideth forever."

from: Man: The Dwelling Place of God, A.W. Tozer.

Oh how true these words are today. It would seem as if he had written them about today's Christian church, and these words were written over fifty years ago. May our hearts ache for those who disregard the very foundation that they claim to stand on and forsake the sacrifices that those saints who have gone before us paid with their blood to preserve many works that contain deep and beautiful doctrines that cause the Christian to taste sweet honey from our Father's hand.

The Reason for the Gospel

There are so many people that think that the gospel was meant to form social clubs, religious practices, and many other such things. However, none of them are true. The gospel is not for these worldly and foolish trivialities. The gospel frees our souls from the grip of sin. We are born in sin, and as David says we were conceived in it. So many times people have expressed their desire to form their own gospel, or to create their own version of the real gospel. They twist and turn it until it has no semblance of the truth that it originated from.

Our church bodies and congregations are in place to help us grow in our faith and to hear the gospel preached. They aren't supposed to provide the community with a free coffee cafe or donut shop. They aren't supposed to create a worldly rock concert to draw people in. The church is the place where the gospel is to be shared and heard.

Many people would ask, "what exactly is the gospel?" The answer to that question is very simple, the gospel is the message of salvation for those whom Jesus Christ redeemed on the cross who will believe in His death and resurrection for the redemption of their souls from death and destruction. This is the gospel, that a man would lay down His life for the salvation of all who believe.

Jesus did not establish the church to have earthly rituals that resemble everything that the world does in worshipping idols, we are to stand out amongst those who claim to worship something. Our message has life and hope, Jesus is not in the grave. He has risen and will return for His bride.

The gospel is the tool that God uses to quicken a person's heart as the Holy Spirit begins to open their eyes tho the truth of God. May we share it boldly and with confidence.

Growth in the Uncertain

    So many people view change as a bad thing. They think that everything should always remain the same so that they can feel comfortable and understand what their role is and should be. While many times I fall into this group, I also understand that change can be an opportunity to grow and to learn. God doesn't present our lives with new situations and difficulties just to watch us squirm. He places situations and difficulties in our lives to help us to grow and to become more like Him.

    Over the past two months, so much has happened in my life. My daughter was born at the end of January, easily one of the greatest days of my life. She is so precious and sweet. My son has begun to learn what it means to be a big brother and to care for his sister, which he does with great vigor and joy. To see his face light up when asked to help care for her is one of greatest joys that a parent can experience. I released my first book, which I published on my own. It was a fun experience and I hope that it is a blessing for those who read it. (If you would like more information on it, please go to the 5 Solas tab at the top of this page.) I was offered and accepted a new job in Boston, and therefore will be moving from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts in the next couple of weeks. This is all while we are in the midst of figuring out how to sell our house and what to do with all of our stuff in the mean time.

    God continually keeps reminding me that He is in control and as long as we rely on Him and trust Him, that He will care for all of our needs, just as He has promised. I hear so many people that are scared and worried about taking a leap of faith to go in a new direction for their life. They are worried about money and worldly concerns. However, Jesus told us that our Heavenly Father cares for us more than the birds of the air. Therefore, we should trust Him to provide for us and not worry about what is going to happen and how all of the details are going to work out. Now, I am not saying that we shouldn't do our parts to plan what we can, but there are times when we must rest in His grace and mercy in order to glorify Him.

    Does it scare me a little bit that I am leaving my house and job here in PA for an unknown experience in Boston? Sure it does, and I think that is natural. However, it is how I react to this situation that will determine how I experience it. If I were to freak out and stress about everything that could go wrong or that I do not know about, then how would that glorify my Father? It wouldn't. Therefore, I am resigned that no matter what comes my way, I am going to remain open to what the Lord has planned for me and my family. He will provide for our needs, just as He has done my entire life. He will care for us in ways that many people will never understand. He has provided an opportunity to live near our family, which if you have read my blog for any amount of time I am sure you would understand is extremely important to me. For, I believe that through the dynamics of the family we are shown the most glorious and wonderful examples of God's love for His children.

    I would ask for prayer. Prayer that I would remain strong in my resolve to glorify God through all things. To trust Him no matter the circumstances. To worship Him in every situation that I may face. To understand that I am alive by the power and will of God, and therefore the things that I need to live will be provided for me until the day He calls me home.

New Life

   My daughter, Aisling Joy, was born last week on the 27th. It has been an absolute joy being able to meet her, hold her, and see her amazingly beautiful face! God has blessed me in so many ways that I cannot even comprehend His grace and mercy. She has been very loved since arriving last week. Her big brother greets her with many kisses throughout the day and tries desperately to make sure that she is happy, even at the cost of giving her his own stuffed animals, cause who wouldn't want a stuffed to comfort them? It is precious to see the care and joy that a little boy has for his sister, just because of who she is, his sister.

   New life has always been amazing to me, but there is nothing that compares to seeing your own child for the very first time. It makes you wonder about so many different things. It also causes you to be able to begin to understand the depths of God's love. To be adopted as His children is truly special and we can begin to understand this when we see our own children and feel the emotions that flood through our bodies. 

   I pray that God would draw my daughter unto His side in a way that only He can do. It would be an amazing joy to see her come to know and love Him as I do. When God draws someone unto His side, there isn't anything that can keep them from Him. My prayer is always that my children, still seems weird to have that be plural there, would be drawn by Christ, even dragged if needed.

   I know that this post is much shorter than most of my posts, but I have been busy recently with my new little one and with working on my coming book. I am getting excited to release it in just over a month. I pray that God will use it in many ways for His glory alone. 

Coming Soon

    It has been a while since I last posted, so I figured it was time to post again. Over the last few months some very exciting things have been happening. All four siblings that were in the process of being placed in my parents home have no been placed there. They will all start to be in the process of being adopted. What joyful and wonderful mercies God has shown to these children recently and to my family. My parents are still working on expanding their home so that they more adequately live with all of the wonderful children that they now have.

    My wife and I are expecting our second child any day now and cannot wait to meet her! Our son is very ready to meet his little sister. Each and every day he holds discussions with us about "baby". I cannot wait to see his reaction to the little bundle of joy that we are expecting. It amazes me with how many intricacies there are in children. They seem to proclaim truths about God without even opening their mouths. God surely creates us wonderfully!
   
    I have also been working on a book that I am hoping to release as an e-book in March and later in print. Pre-order for the e-book is available here. I have always enjoyed writing, as shown by the numerous and sometimes lengthy blog posts here. So sometime last year I thought to myself, why not try a book? So I began writing about an issue that has been deeply important to me and I believe should be to all Christians. I have entitled my work God's Design for Men and Women. It is an attempt to work through some of the issues surrounding gender and our roles as Christians within those confines. It has been a lot of work, but I hope that it will be used by God to bless those who choose to read it. If so, then every minute put into working on it will have been thoroughly worth it.

    I look forward to hearing feedback and engaging in discussions with those who do happen to read it. I pray that God would take away any man centered sections of my book and cause only His truth to shine forth for those who read it. The other day I was driving home from work and there was the most beautiful coloring in the sky. It was reflecting off of the still waters of the river that I was driving next to and caused my heart to soar with delight at the beautiful creation that God has given us. It made me want to proclaim His truths to anyone who would listen even more than usual. So, I hope that is what this book does. I hope that it shines forth God and His majesty alone. I want only to reflect God towards those who are seeking His face.

    Stay tuned for more!!

Suffering for Christ

      There are so many places around the world that people suffer daily for their faith and belief that Jesus is the Christ and Ruler of all. People are killed, fired from their jobs, disowned by their families, and thrown into prison. These are just a few of the many ways that Christians around the world are forced to live and are used to display the glory of God in a way that most Americans have never experienced. This however, is going to and has already begun to change. The church in the USA needs to wake up and realize that the ways that God is planning to use them is about to change dramatically from the ways in which they are accustomed.

     No longer is it the "cool" thing to do to claim that you are a Christian. If you proclaim the truth of Christianity you will be frowned upon and asked to be quiet. You will be asked to step down from your positions at work, to change your beliefs, and to keep your thoughts to yourself. This is something that Christians must realize and draw a line in the sand.

    Truth does not change just because a culture has changed. Just because someone tells you to think a different way or to live a different way does not mean that that is what God has called you to do. For those Christians who have never experienced persecution, run to the scriptures. This is the only place where you can find solace and comfort in a time such as this. For those Christians who have experienced persecution before, stand strong in the faith. Lead by example and show those who follow what it truly means to give all for the cause of Christ. Just as the apostle Paul suffered and persevered, so also are we to suffer and look to Christ for our strength and courage.

    Sin cannot win, it cannot conquer and it has already been defeated. Jesus bought our righteousness before the foundation of the earth and thereby defeated death, sin and the grave. This was manifest through His work on the cross for the salvation of those whom He chose for His glory before the world began.

    Stand strong brothers and sisters. We do not fight alone and we do not serve a feeble God. We serve a mighty and wonderful God who has already won the battle. Though our flesh may be destroyed we will not. Suffering is coming and everyone who bears the name of Christ will experience it. It is not something to be feared, but rather something to expect to be used to shine forth more beauty and grace so that others may see and come to know the saving faith of our Lord.

Holiday Musings

   There have been so many thoughts going through my head recently. Ranging from people's holiday decorations, people's perspectives on the world, the salvation of God's elect, and all the way to what it means to love and be loved. I could go on all day about these points, but I would like to just touch on each briefly in order to give a place for others to explore them as well.

   First holiday decorations. I love decorating for Christmas, it gives me a chance to think about the many ways that my Lord has been gracious to me and has blessed me. However, there are so many people that don't understand anything about what it means to be saved by the grace of God. They put up lights of every color and design, some of them even putting up Christian themed lights without any clue or desire to understand what they mean and stand for. Let us use decorations to encourage, bless, and strengthen those we come in contact with.

   Second, people are supposed to be "nicer" around the holidays. I have found this to be ludicrous. A person doesn't actually change for a certain time of the year. They are who they are all the time. They may attempt to act a certain way to be perceived by those around them as being a certain way, but if they aren't that way all year round, then that is not who they really are. There are so many people that don't even enjoy the holidays. Instead of enjoying their family and making memories together, they stress about gifts, shopping, cooking, cleaning, and decorating. Instead of worshiping the King of kings, they worry about how they look, are perceived, and whether or not they will offend someone. They think that if they can just do something right, it will bless someone else. This just isn't true, God blesses people, no matter what you do.

   Third, this is the time of year that we most hear about the birth of our Savior and His plan for salvation. So many people take His plan and distort it into something that is hideously ugly and man centered. They tell those around them that they have the power over salvation and that they can control their own destiny. Someone recently asked how I could believe that God had already either condemned or elected for salvation every single human being ever. How I could believe that since I have children. The answer is simple. Do I believe that God is on His throne and is in control of my life and the life's of everyone else? Yes, I do. Do I believe that He does everything for His glory? Yes. Do I believe that He loves me in such a way that He does all things for my good? Yes. Then I must trust Him to redeem those whom He has providentially chosen before the foundation of the world. If God isn't the one who controls the salvation of people, then man does and that scares me. For man has never been able to do anything good, so what makes some people think that man would make good executioners of their own salvation? It is extreme folly to believe that God sits in heaven wringing His hands hoping that people choose Him over themselves. God knocks down the door to our heart and completely sacks every part of it, leaving nothing left. If God does not save fully, He does not save. I believe that God has chosen everyone before the foundation of the world which gives me comfort to know that neither age, smarts, or physical handicaps can keep any of my children from the grace of God, because there is nothing that they can do to receive it.

   Fourth, I have been completely and utterly amazed by the beauty in Shane & Shane's song "So I Can Love". It seems to me to be one of the best presentations of the gospel and how we are to live it out that I have ever heard in song. In the song they proclaim that if we have breath in our lungs and blood in our veins, there must be a reason that we are alive. So many people think that there are so many reasons that they are alive. To care for family, to work, to teach, to give. However, in their song Shane & Shane make a profound statement. That the only reason we are alive is to love. At first listen this may sound odd and even overly simple to many people, leaving something to be desired. However, I want people to dig deeper. If we are alive to love what does it mean to love? The first thing that we should think of is that scripture tells us that God is love. Ok, so we have two things then. We are to love, but loving someone means that we bring God to them or show them God. If we are to God (love) others, shouldn't this mean that no matter the consequences or the cost, we show them what it means to be loved? For those who are apart from God have never experienced love.