The DeGRAFF FREE
State Route 235/
Phone: (937) 585-4463
James R. Roby, Pastor
by
DR. CHARLES W. ANDERSON (1912-1991)
"Preach the
word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all
longsuffering and doctrine"
II Timothy 4:2
Probably never before has a subject been more appropriately chosen or
designated at a more timely moment for discussion than this one.
There was an hour - and not too long ago at that - when the battle lines
were fairly clearly drawn between truth and error, orthodoxy and liberalism,
sound doctrine and unsound. But the hour in which we now find ourselves
presents many confusing dilemmas, and our archenemy has been successful in
obliterating the sharpness of the lines formerly drawn. In nearly every area of
life the marginal section of gray - between black and white has been widened to
such an extent that it is increasingly difficult to hold with firmness and
conviction to principles of right and wrong, truth and error.
Of course, we should not be overtaken by surprise at this state of affairs,
for the Holy Spirit long ago warned us in the language of Paul's epistle to
Timothy that such a condition would exist:
"For the time
will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts
shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall
turn away their ears from the truth, and shalt be turned unto fables"
II Timothy 4:3
How Important the Bible Makes Sound Doctrine!
One of the basic needs of this hour is a re-examination of what the Bible itself
says concerning sound doctrine. In its singular form the word
"doctrine" occurs 45 times in the New Testament,
and surely any subject receiving as much attention from the Holy Spirit as this
must be of great importance and deserves close scrutiny on our part.
One of the earlier references to the importance of "doctrine" is
found in Acts 2:42 where the characteristics of the pristine believers are
outlined as continuance "steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and
fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers."
It is of particular note that the word itself only occurs three more times
in the whole book of Acts, and in two of those references the enemies of the
church scornfully refer to the teachings of the disciples. Perhaps the reason
why so little stress is placed upon "doctrine" in Acts is that the
accent was on action. The Spirit of God was moving mightily and rapidly in the
formation of the church, and there was as yet little dispute over what was the Faith and what was to be excluded from it!
However, once the church was established and the vine was in growth, there
appeared many fungus growths seeking to attach themselves to the living plant;
and it became necessary to carefully delineate the body of truth to be held by
Christian believers - and at the same time to warn of the solemn dangers of
departing from that truth or doctrine.
Hence we hear Paul declaring: "But God be thanked, that ye were the
servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which
was delivered you" (Rom. 6:17).
Here he has reference in all probability to the Gospel of God's grace - that
form of doctrine which had declared the divine provision for deliverance from
sin's penalty and its power.
Later to these same Roman believers Paul sounds a sharp warning in the words
of Romans 16:17, "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause
divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid
them."
Apparently at even this early stage of church history there were some who
were attempting to dilute or pollute or adulterate or change the body of truths
which had been taught these believers, and the clear-cut words of the great
apostle are to make out these dissenters and separate from them. The separatist
movement is as old as the first century A.D. In a day when the cry is raised on
every hand for a minimization of doctrinal differences, one wonders how the
writer of Romans 16:17 and the author of Galatians 1:8 and 9 would preach and
teach.
Still later, in his letter to the Ephesian church,
the apostle cautions, "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed
to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of
men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive"
(Eph. 4; 14).
But it is in the two epistles to Timothy, his protégé in the
Faith, that Paul hammers harder and harder on the importance of adherence to
sound doctrine. Here he sternly reminds Timothy that he in turn is to charge
the Ephesians to be careful "that they teach no other doctrine, Neither
give heed to fables and endless genealogies" (I Tim. 1:3,4).
And in a passage almost startling in its association, he says that "the
law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for
the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers
and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that
defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for
liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary
to sound doctrine ..." (I Tim. 1:9,10).
Certainly it can scarcely be gainsaid that, by and large, and in the long
run, there is an intimate connection between what a man believes and what a man
is. Doctrine and doing - creed and conduct are vitally connected!
Paul then proceeds to admonish this young leader that, "If thou put
the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of
Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine,
whereunto thou hast attained" (I Tim. 4:6); and, "Till I come,
give attendance to ... doctrine" (vs. 13).
Let it be carefully noted that Paul has just sounded a grim note of warning
that the latter times would be marked by a departure from the Faith, with many
giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons (4:1). The antidote for
these perilous conditions is a people "nourished up in the words of
faith and of good doctrine." The tense of this verb
"nourished" suggests that it is not by one outstanding banquet nor by
an occasional feast, but by a regular diet of everyday feeding on good solid
fare - not, let it be noted, fancy pastries, but good old-fashioned bread and
butter, meat and potatoes!
As an article of spiritual diet these days, words of faith and good doctrine
are out of fashion. We are so enamored of bright, brief, brotherly talks or
short, sweet, sisterly addresses that we are impatient of anything
"heavy," The result is that we are breeding a race of half-starved
Christians so anemic in spiritual vitamins that they are easy prey to every
current disease.
You can't grow strong on a glass of milk and a bun! The delicate spiritual
digestion of most modern Christians has been produced and is cultivated by the
demitasse fare on which they are fed. No one can enjoy spiritual health and vigor
whose appetite is poor.
The cry of the hour across our land is for something new! Who says that the
old is no longer useful? Because a truth is old does not make it untrue.
A young preacher was admonished by his people to give them something new in
his sermons - the plain implication being that the old truths of the Word were
out of date and no longer relevant. in response, he
prefaced his next sermon with the words, "I'm going to give you something
brand new today. Here it is: 2 plus 2 equals 5! That's certainly new, but it
isn't true!"
In his final charge to this young bishop, Timothy, as Paul neared the end of
his journey, he carefully and solemnly warned Timothy of the sad state of
affairs when men would "not endure sound doctrine; but after their own
lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they
shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto
fables" (11 Tim. 4:3,4).
And what is to be our response to this attitude and condition? Are we to
accommodate ourselves to the likes and dislikes of men? Are we to cater to
their whims or cower before their demands? Indeed not! We are to "Preach
the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all
longsuffering and doctrine" (vs. 2).
The learning of mathematical axioms and algebraic formulas and the tables
and logarithms of calculus may indeed be tedious and tasteless for a time - and
there might be some who would like to devise a more popular and attractive way
to absorb these fundamentals of mathematics; but the fact remains that their
forms and substance are time proven and they are indispensable to an
understanding of all the problems of practical mathematics.
And the old-fashioned, biblical and theological expressions of the
fundamental tenets of our Faith may appear to some to be tedious and tasteless
in their expression, and even no longer up to date - but the fact still remains
that the words of faith and sound doctrine were Sufficient for centuries to
solve the problems of life and death for our forefathers, and there is no
reason to believe that they are inadequate for the complexities of modern life.
Separation From Those Not Holding Sound Doctrine
Is Commanded
Toward the end of the New Testament in the tiny epistle of II John stand's
one of the clearest caution lights regarding the importance of sound doctrine
and the equal importance of separation from those who do not hold to this
soundness of doctrine. After having clearly predicted that there were many
deceivers who had entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is
come in the flesh, John says, "Whosoever transgresseth,
and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not
God .... " And further, "If there
come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your
house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth
him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds."
This vital doctrine to which John here refers is the incarnation of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Certainly that incarnation involves such doctrine as His virgin
birth for He was the holy Son of God, come into our world of sin, and come as
the Bible says He came - through the virgin's womb. He was GOD with us. Thus is
clearly expressed His essential and unique deity, and
the central purpose of His coming in the flesh is elsewhere expressed in I John
3:8, "... For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might
destroy the works of the devil." And, of course, the place where that
victory was accomplished was at
Hence there is clearly implied in the doctrine of Christ not only His virgin
birth, not only His unique deity, but also His atoning work on the cross. This
doctrine is so vital that John says that anyone who does not confess to it is a
deceiver and an antichrist! Furthermore, the believer must mark out such and
refuse to bid such God speed for fear of being included in the indictment of
having become a partaker of his evil deeds.
In this day of increasing ecumenical emphasis, such a sober warning should
give the greatest pause!
Both Sound Doctrine and Sound Behavior Commanded
Now, no review of the Bible's emphasis upon the importance of sound doctrine
would be complete without noting the relationship between sound doctrine and
sound deportment. Without being facetious, we may say that there are many who
are orthodox who are not orthopaedic!
They are sound in the head but unsound in the feet, Somehow
they have never been able to connect their correctness of doctrinal adherence
with a soundness of character and behavior.
The New Testament does not neglect the emphasis upon the connection between
the two. Perhaps no passage of the New Testament is clearer here than Titus 2.
In the very heart of a prolonged passage on behavior and conduct Paul exhorts, "But
speak thou the things which become sound doctrine ... In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity,
sincerity ... " and "exhort" others "that they may
adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all
things."
It is not only important to adorn doctrine, but it is equally important to
adorn sound doctrine by a godly and exemplary life.
When all of these Scriptures are surveyed and scrutinized, one cannot escape
the inevitable conclusion that the very greatest importance is placed in the
New Testament upon holding to and preaching sound doctrine. It is necessary in
order to be true to the Faith once for all delivered unto the saints; it is
essential to the building of a proper foundation for a strong superstructure of
Christian living; and furthermore, it is the very substance of our message to a
lost world.
Now, of course, we are face to face today with severe theological struggles.
From the very beginning Satan has attacked the truth of God and sought to
confuse men on what God's revelation really is. It is not my purpose, nor am I
qualified, to trace here tonight the historical pattern of the theological
struggles of the Christian era. Suffice it to say that the old battleground of
liberalism where severe struggles have occurred has changed somewhat and we
find ourselves facing the same old enemy but on a new front. We speak today not
of liberalism as the foe to be faced and fought, but rather we speak of
neo-orthodoxy.
But on whatever front and whatever the change in weapons appears to be, we
know that the real enemy is still the same, and the target of his hatred is
still the same. Satan is our foe and God and all those associated with Him are
still Satan's objectives. Basically the target of Satan's attack is the Bible,
because in that Book is God's clearest revelation of Himself.
