WHY IS DOCTRINE IMPORTANT? (1 of 2)

Unchanging Faith ❧ Part 1

Selected Passages ❧ Pastor, Dr. John Denney

This morning we’re going to begin a series of messages I’ve entitled: Unchanging Faith: What Every Christian Should Know & Why It Matters. Over the next number of weeks we’re going to examine a number of the Bible’s major doctrines and why they are important to our faith in Christ. We’re going to look at a host of topics such as: Why is doctrine important? Is the Bible God’s Word? What is God like? Who is Jesus Christ? Who is the Holy Spirit? and so on.  I’m pretty sure some of you just groaned when you heard that, if not outwardly, then inwardly.  Doctrine! Ugh!  I think the words “dry” or maybe “boring” comes to mind for most people when they think of doctrine. Talking about bible doctrine is about as inviting as being offered an old piece of stale bread that is long past its shelf life.  If that’s what you’re thinking, I believe you’re going to be more than surprised.  

This topic has been stirring in my heart and mind for some time now.  As we hear more and more of main line denominations, Bible teachers, even friends and family abandoning solid biblical truth for popular opinion, it is both heartbreaking as well as alarming.  We may be surprised, but God isn’t.  He warns us in 1 Timothy 4, But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons(1 Timothy 4:1).  In 2 Timothy 4, For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires (2 Timothy 4:3). What we’re seeing today is not new, but it is noticeably increasing. Almos sixty years ago A.W. Tozer insightfully penned: We have gotten accustomed to the blurred puffs of gray fog that pass for doctrine in churches and expect nothing better. From some previously unimpeachable sources (I take this to mean once solid denominations, well-known churches and pastors) 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.  Little by little 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 definite beliefs. Great saints have always been dogmatic. We need a return to a gentle dogmatism that smiles while it stands stubborn and firm on the Word of God that lives and abides forever. The more blurred our doctrine the more powerless our living. 

So let’s get started. Today, we’re going to look at one of two messages on: Why Is Doctrine Important?  Let me say up front, when I use the word “doctrine” I mean what the whole Bible teaches about a specific topic. Like four legs of a chair, biblical doctrine is firmly and solely based on the timeless, universal, unchanging, and wholly reliable Word of God, the Bible.  There are four areas I’m calling 4 Pillars of Reliable Truth we’re going to look briefly at today: 1) The necessity of God’s Word, 2) The authority of God’s Word, 3) The sufficiency of God’s Word, and 4) The clarity of God’s Word.  Necessity, authority, sufficiency, and clarity. 

1. The necessity of God’s Word.  There are two ways we know God exists.  Theologians call them Natural Revelation and Special Revelation.  Natural Revelation is the world around us.  We know just by observing creation there must be a Creator.  If you were strolling down the beach one day and found a watch and you took it apart and saw all of its minute working parts, you’d naturally conclude the watch didn’t just happen, but that there was a watch maker.  That’s what the Bible says about creation. Romans 1 points out, For since the creation of the world (God’s) His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse (Romans 1:20).  The evidence of God’s handiwork in Natural Revelation tells us there is a God.  But we would not know Who He is.  That’s where the Bible, or Special Revelation comes in.  Special Revelation tells us truths about God that we would otherwise not know.  One author put it this way, the Bible is God unmasked.  Without the Bible, we would not know how to have a personal relationship with God.  We would not know how to live or grow in our faith. We would not know the purpose or the meaning of life.  We would not know we can be forgiven.  We would not understand why the world suffers from sin and death and pain.  We would not have real hope beyond this life. 

God created our world to sustain our lives physically with everything we need.  But even with all of our physical needs met, we know there is something missing.  What’s missing is there is nothing in the world that can ultimately feed or satisfy our souls.  Jesus said, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). The truth is, God’s Word more than feeds our souls, it feeds our hearts and minds in ways the world can’t.  God’s Word is as necessary to our souls as oxygen is to our lungs. 

Let me illustrate the necessity of God’s Word.  Years ago I remember hearing a speaker describe a training method flight instructors would use for new pilots to learn the importance of trusting their gages instead of their own senses.  When the flight instructor and the pilot in training were at a certain altitude the trainee was directed to stall the engine.  Without power gravity took over and the plane went into what is known as a “Graveyard Spiral” or “Death Spiral.”  As the plane drops from the sky it begins to spin.  At that moment, something happens that neither the instructor nor the trainee is aware; they suffer from sensory illusions. That is they lose their equilibrium; the ability to accurately tell what is left or right which is critical to pull out of the death spin.  A wrong turn could put the plane in an unrecoverable spin.  They can’t trust their own senses to know which way to turn the plane in order to pull out of the death spiral. At that moment they are helpless except for one thing – their instrument panel.  The panel of instruments are unaffected by the fall.  The pilot has to completely trust the gauges in order to safely counter the plane’s spin.  

The experience of sensory illusions is not just true for pilots, but for us as well.  Our sin has put all of us in a death spiral.  Our spiritual equilibrium is out of whack. We can’t trust our own judgement to escape.  We need something like the pilot’s gauges that are unaffected by the fall.  That something is God’s Word. Without it, we there is no hope.  God’s Word is profoundly necessary to our lives, our souls, our eternity.     

1. The authority of God’s Word.  The Bible is the ultimate authority for our faith and conduct because it is comprised of God’s very own words.  2 Timothy 3:16 says, All Scripture is inspired by God… The word for inspired literally means “God breathed” θεόπνευστος (ESV and NIV bring this out).  God breathed out the all the words of the Bible – all 66 books from Genesis to Revelation.  We’ll talk more about this in the second topic of this series: Is The Bible God’s Word?  

For now, I want to make two brief points about the significance of the authority of God’s Word.  To say all of the words of the Bible are God’s words means they came from the mind of God, not man.  It is true that God used human authors as the pen in His hand to compose Scripture, but God is the Author.  Peter brings this out in 2 Peter. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God (2 Peter 1:20-21). The word for moved is the same word used in Acts 27:17 to describe Paul’s ship that was driven by the wind.  In the same way, the human authors of Scripture were moved by God in their thoughts and words recording exactly what God wanted them to.  

Second, to say all the words of the Bible are God’s means the very words themselves are God’s, not just the thoughts He put in the minds of the human authors.  Some people agree with the idea of the Bible being inspired by God, but they don’t believe the words themselves are God’s.  They believe the Bible is made up of merely human words that bear witness to their experience of God.  They would say their thoughts were inspired by God, but not their actual words.  Their words may or may not be trustworthy or consistent.  Listen to what Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians.  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words(1 Corinthians 2:12-13).  Words are the very clothes of ideas.  Change the words and you change the ideas.  The Bible says all of its words are completely God’s and therefore completely authoritative for our lives. 

An unknown writer said, “This Book is the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding; its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s character. Here paradise is restored, heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. Follow its precepts and it will lead you to Calvary, to the empty tomb, to a resurrected life in Christ; yes, to glory itself, for eternity.”  

1. The sufficiency of God’s Word.  That is to say, the Bible contains all we need to personally know God, to live for God, and to grow in God.  The Bible is God’s complete written revelation He intended for us. We have need of no other “sacred” writings.    

It is said that when the famous missionary, Dr. David Livingstone, started his trek across Africa he had 73 books in 3 packs, weighing 180 pounds. After the party had gone 300 miles, Livingstone needed to throw away some of the books because of the fatigue of those carrying his baggage.  As he continued on his journey his library grew less and less, until he had but one book left—his Bible. He needed no other books. 

One of the books in my library is entitled: “The Lost Books of The Bible.”  The implication is our Bibles are incomplete; important information to our faith is missing.  To believe God failed to give us all we need in the Bible repudiates the very character of God and our ability to fully trust His Word.  God tells us His Word is all sufficient.  There is nothing missing.  All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work(2 Timothy 3:16-17).  The word translated adequate means “proficient and able to meet all demands which are placed upon one’s life.” This points to the all-sufficiency of Scripture.  By giving us the Bible, God has provided for the complete nutrition of our heart, mind, and soul.  God’s Word lacks nothing we need.  

1. The clarity of God’s Word.  The Bible is written in such a way that is understandable.  You don’t have to have a college degree or have studied the original languages the Bible in order to understand it. The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand (Psalm 119:130, NLT). The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple (Psalm 19:7, NAS). Does this mean everything in God’s Word is easy to understand? No! Somethings are very difficult.  Peter says that of some of Paul’s writings (2 Peter 3:16).  But we are not left to ourselves.  God promises believers He will illuminate or bring to light what He is saying in His Word to us through the Holy Spirit who was given to us the moment we trusted Christ (Eph. 1:13-14; 1 Cor. 2:12).  

I would say this, the key to our understanding God’s Word has more to do with our obedience than our intelligence.  I have been impressed time and again when a new believer who knows very little about the Bible or God shares some great insight or lesson they’ve learned from God’s Word. That’s the evidence of the Holy Spirit helping them understand God’s Word.  The Holy Spirit helps us understand and apply the Bible.  

So, there you have it – Biblical doctrine is based solely on the necessity, the authority, the sufficiency, and the clarity of God’s Word.