1)  What is Doctrine?

2)  Does the Bible have much to  say about doctrine?

In the Book of  Deuteronomy 32:1-2  we have the song of Moses.

Moses gave this song, and in it he was speaking about his teaching,  his doctrine, which he was going to give to the children of Israel before his death:

Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak;

And hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

Let my teaching [doctrine] drop as the rain,

My speech distill as the dew,

As raindrops on the tender herb,

And as showers on the grass.

In the Book of  Proverbs 4:1-2  Solomon wrote:

Hear, my children, the instruction of a father,

And give attention to know understanding;

For I give you good doctrine.

In the New Testament,  the apostle Paul wrote to  Titus about setting things right in the church, and he mentioned 3 areas in which the church should function.

1) The church should be orderly.

2) The church should be doctrinally right.

3) It should be a practical church  -  doing things.

Titus 2:1   "But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine." 

I think the apostle Paul would say to a preacher who does not believe the Bible, as he said to this young preacher Titus, 

"Speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine." 

That is,  if you are going to be a minister and stand in the pulpit, then your authority ought to be the Word of God, the Bible. 

That should be the basis of what you have to say.

Now do not misunderstand me. 

You have a perfect right not to believe the Bible, but you have no right to stand in the pulpit and not believe the Bible. 

A preacher has a perfect right to leave the ministry if he doesn’t believe the Word of God. 

When any man  stands in the pulpit,  it is assumed that he believes the Word of God.

I would hate to go to a doctor who did not believe in the medicines or instruments that he was using. 

MEN WHO DOUBT THE WORD OF GOD SHOULD NOT STAND IN THE PULPIT.

THEY OUGHT TO GO INTO ANOTHER PROFESSION.

THEY OUGHT NOT TO BE IN GOD'S SERVICE.

Any person who stands in the pulpit should believe the Word of God.

What is the Meaning of Doctrine?

Apostle Paul said,  

"Speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine." 

This word doctrine  -  the Greek word is didaskalia,  simply means "teaching." 

It is interesting to note that the words doctrine and doctor come from the same origin. Actually a doctor, primarily and originally, had nothing to do with healing the human body. 

He was a teacher. 

So I think a minister may have a better claim to the title doctor than the physician who originally was a teacher and attempted to improve the brain, not the body. 

And so this word doctrine means teaching. 

There is a great importance attached to doctrine or teaching in the Bible. There are an abundance of Scriptures to look at about doctrine.

2 John 9   "Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God.  He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son."

Doctrine you see,  is teaching.

The apostle John wrote his epistles even after he wrote the Book of Revelation. When he wrote this epistle, it was about A.D. 100. 

The apostle John was about a hundred years old at this time, and he was very adamant here, very dogmatic that if you do not have the doctrine of Christ,  you are not one of His; and if you have the doctrine of Christ, you have both the Father and the Son.

At the very beginning of the church, on the Day of Pentecost when three thousand were baptized and brought into the church, we are told:

Acts 2:42   "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers."

Those were the 4 things the church continued steadfastly in.

1)   The apostles doctrine  -  their teaching. 

2)   Fellowship. 

3)    Breaking of bread.

4)   Prayers.

All of these were very important.

Doctrine, will lead to action 

The Lord Jesus said this:

John 7:17   "If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine [the teaching],  whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority." 

The difficulty today is that it is so easy to deny and to criticize and to find fault with the Bible, saying, "I don’t believe that." 

But God has put down a challenge to you. 

He says,  that   the only way  we can  know that the Bible is true, is by testing it.

In other words, God says, 

"You pour it into the test tube of your life, and you’ll know whether this doctrine that I am giving you is true or not." 

That dear reader is the real test of Christianity. 

It is the real test of anything,  for that matter. 

There are so many inventions on the market that just do not work.

Why? 

Some inventions are marvelous ideas  -  but they did not work. 

And the thing about the Christian faith is that God approaches you from the opposite viewpoint. 

God says, 

"If you will make the Word of God the authority of your life, you will find out whether it is true or not."

Now, that is the challenge God gives us. 

Someone has put it like this:

Doctrine without duty is a tree without fruit.

Duty without doctrine is a tree without root.

We must have  right doctrine  before  we can have right actions. 

We have to  think right  before  we can  act right. 

This business today of saying, 

"It doesn’t make any difference what you believe, just so you act right" 

is dead wrong. 

If you start thinking about turning off the highway to the right and you signal you’re going to turn right, and then all of a sudden you turn left, may I say to you, dear reader, you will find out that you have to act like you think or you are in for trouble. 

We cannot think one thing and do another. 

We have got to think right if we are going to act right. 

Doctrine is very important. 

The teaching is very important.

The apostle Paul gave instructions to Titus for the church in Crete, 

Titus 2:10   "Not purloining,  but shewing all good fidelity;  that they may  adorn the doctrine of God  our Savior in all things." 

The Greek word for adorn,  kosmeo,  is the same word from which we get our English word  cosmetics. 

In other words,  if we are sound in the faith,  we should be wearing the appropriate cosmetics. 

We need more kindness.

We need more of the truth.

We need more sincerity and reality in our lives. 

My, there are all kinds of cosmetics that we should use today as a Christian.

We need the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour, desperately. 

The definition of the word doctrine in Webster’s dictionary  -  a systematic and scientific arrangement of biblical truth.  

Doctrine means principles in any branch of knowledge. And as far as the Word of God is concerned, it is the systematic and scientific arrangement of biblical truths under their different subjects. 

Its purpose is to see what the Word of God has to say in a systematic way on any subject.

The apostle Paul wrote to the young man Timothy:

2 Timothy 3:16   "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine."

That is the first thing he mentions. 

2 Timothy 3:16 (the Amplified Bible)  "Every Scripture is God-breathed  -  given by His inspiration  -  and profitable for instruction,  for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error  and  discipline in obedience,  and for training in righteousness [that is, in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose and action]." 

In my opinion this exhausts the meaning of the verse. It tells us that the Word of God is profitable for doctrine, for us to organize these great subjects that we have. 

Therefore doctrine is the arrangement of biblical truths.

That is where doctrine differs from theology. 

Theology can deal with philosophy, or deal with many other things, but doctrine must rest upon Bible truths. 

It must rest upon what the Word of God says.

When  we walk  with  the Lord
In  the light  of His Word,
What a glory  He sheds  on our way!
While  we  do  His good will,
He  abides with us  still.
And  with  all  who  will
Trust and obey.

THIS PAGE UPDATED:  1-7-2007.