The Importance of Sound Doctrine

Titus 1:1-4 | The Importance of Sound Doctrine

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Slides:

Theme: Sound doctrine produces order, in the lives of individuals and in the life of the church.

A summary from “Against Heresies” by Irenaeus written in the late 2nd century:

Salvation through enlightenment, unity with universal truth

God of the Old Testament differs from God of the New Testament

Claim to follow Jesus’ original teachings

Matter is evil, spirit is good = denial of Christ’s humanity

Divide Jesus and Christ into separate realities

A denial of atonement

“Jesus is the grounding wire that holds this huge force field of Christ onto the earth.” Richard Rohr

1 Timothy 4:1 

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,

Real truth produces real godliness.

James 2:14, 17, 24

What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? ... 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, [being] by itself. ... 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.

Heaven and hell are biblical realities.

Matthew 25:31-33, 41, 46

"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 "All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. ... 41 "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; ... 46 "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

The proclamation of the Gospel is a work entrusted to all believers.

2 Corinthians 5:18-20 

Now all [these] things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Jesus Christ was both fully man and fully God.

Philippians 2:5-8 

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, [and] being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Theme: Sound doctrine produces order, in the lives of individuals and in the life of the church.

A recipe for order:

Healthy men + healthy doctrine + healthy proclamation = order