Studying Bible Doctrine is Essential

I am amazed by how many Christians (pastors and church members) don't understand even basic Bible doctrines. It is no wonder today's churches are shallow and struggling! Well, I'm excited to tell you that we've had to "cap" our Bible Doctrine 101 class at Emmanuel. We now have over 40 adults enrolled in the class, which meets every Sunday morning for one year. Over the past three weeks, I've been teaching on how we got the Bible, who wrote it, where it was written, in what languages, how it was translated, which version is the best, whether our copies are reliable, why only 66 books were included, how to understand the Bible and find things in it, and more. Future weeks will include the doctrines of God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Salvation, Angels, Heaven/Hell, Last things, etc.

Common sense tells you that not every denominational interpretation of doctrine can be right, and so many people don't know what to believe today. Just consider a few common discrepancies:

· Bible (Is the Word of God vs. Contains the Word of God)

· Eternal security (Can’t lose salvation vs. Can lose salvation)

· Hell (Is literal vs. Is not literal)

· Baptism (Symbolic vs. Washes away original sin)

· Lord’s Supper (Symbolic vs. Literally becomes the body & blood of Christ)

· Creation (Intelligent design vs. Evolution / Literal days vs. figurative days)

· Salvation (Faith vs. Works)

· Holy Spirit (Fully indwelled at salvation vs. Saved then later filled with the Spirit)

A common practice in too many pulpits today is to read the Scriptures and explain what we "think" a passage means. The problem is that we don't have that right or liberty. Our responsibility is to study the passage, do our research, and then interpret what the passage meant in the original context. Doctrine must be studied in the context of the writer's intent, not the reader's interpretation. I encourage you to follow the instructions of Matt 28:19-20 as you study, teach, and make disciples who are fully devoted followers of Christ and rightly divide the Word of Truth.