The following article comes to us courtesy of Brother Jeff Perry. Jeff is a fellow member of the Christian Bloggers circle and I appreciate his time, thoughtfulness and scholarly approach in writing this piece. Because this is important and necessary information for all believers and because I want to make sure that it is presented in the most easily digestible format, I will be posting it in sections over several days. What follows is part one.
The Complimentary Doctrines of the Holy Spirit, Predestination and Free Will
This article is designed to navigate through 3 major doctrines of the Christian faith. We will discuss and address some problems and objections with each doctrine. The whole Bible within its properly translated context will be our sole authority in dealing with these doctrines. Before we begin I feel it is important to provide answers to a few questions, “Why it is essential to believe proper theological doctrines?” And how can doctrines deepen our faith? In conclusion, can a Christian refuse to reject sound doctrines?
Doctrine is defined as something taught. Teachings are essential to the Christian faith. Doctrine is a rock for the believer to firmly plant their feet on. We see the word doctrine used many times in the New Testament. Particularly in verses 1 Timothy 4:6; Titus 1:9; Titus 2:1; teach the phrase sound doctrine. In the Old Testament we read the word precept, the original meaning of the Greek for doctrine. The most important fundamental understanding with doctrine is that it is from God. We read in the OT, Psalm 119:4 “You have ordained Your precepts, That we should keep them diligently.” We read in the NT, Titus 2:10 “Not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.” Millard J. Erikson states, “Correct doctrinal beliefs are essential to the relationship between the believer and God.”
God ordained doctrines deepen our faith. How? There are many, I will discuss two. One, doctrines do not disappoint (Titus 2:7). Sound doctrine is pleasing and satisfying for our faith. God’s integrity is on the line not ours. God is always faithful (Deuteronomy 31:6). Secondly, God ordained doctrines do not disagree. We read in Psalm 19:8 “The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.” The original meaning of right is straight, upright and correct. This produces confidence in our faith.
We looked at why doctrine is essential to the Christian faith. We observed two ways doctrine can strengthen the Christian faith. Next we will look at three Christian doctrines. In each doctrine I will present an overview, problems and objections, answers to the objections and lastly, what the Bible specifically teaches about the doctrine.
Join us next time for part two as Jeff examines three crucial Christian doctrines and their role in our life of faith.