A while back I listened to the great Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones preach through a series called “Great Biblical Doctrines.” I love doctrine. By doctrine, I come to know Christ. Through living it, I manifest a Christlike character. Far from being “head knowledge” only, learning doctrine ignites my heart in love for Christ and to obey Him more fully in all things. One cannot pursue holiness (2 Peter 1:15-16) without knowing what or Whom you pursue.
Lloyd-Jones began his series of 81 sermons on the great doctrines of the Bible in 1952, finishing in May 1955. He preached them on Friday nights, and by the end, the 2000 person capacity of the room was exceeded and they had to find a larger room to hold all the people interested in hearing these great truths. Far from the sometimes heard sentiment “Doctrine bores people”, Christians are eager to hear about the decrees of God, and love getting to know Him better.
Dr Lloyd-Jones said way back in 1953 in his sermon as part of the Great Biblical Doctrines series “The Lord Jesus Christ”, the following, which is something people say to me and around me all the time:
Begin Lloyd-Jones quote:
“I am anxious that I should deal with the case of anybody might be present and whom may think and say, ‘Well, I don’t have much time to be interested in Doctrine like this. I’m just a simple believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.’ My friend, if you take up that position, you’re utterly unscriptural. It was because such simple Christians were ready to believe false teachers, and DID believe false teachers, that so many of these Epistles had to be written with their stern warnings against the terrible danger to the soul of believing these wrong teachings and false ideas concerning the Person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Continue Lloyd Jones quote:
“It is not enough to say ‘I believe in Jesus Christ’. The New Testament asks you a question when you say that. It asks, ‘What do you believe about Him? Is He man only or is He God only? Has He come in the flesh or hasn’t He? What is the meaning of His death? What did He do?’ The New Testament is concerned with definitions. I suggest that there is nothing that is further removed from the teaching of the New Testament itself than to say ‘it’s all right as long as you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ that it doesn’t matter very much what you say about Him in detail.’ It is the detail that is the most important and vital to our whole position.”
—end Lloyd-Jones.
I recommend the series. Please enjoy the series Great Biblical Doctrines here:
I think most Christians probably have heard the hymn Holy, Holy, holy. The refrain is
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty! God in three persons, blessed Trinity!
Your mind is humming it right now, isn’t it? 🙂
Our finite minds can’t grasp the notion of one person in three persons. So we don’t usually delve into the mystery of the Trinity. We don’t ponder it so much. It is a doctrine that just is.
“Theologian J.I. Packer noted that the Trinity is usually considered a little-thought-about piece of “theological lumber” that no one pays much attention to. But whatever your level of understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity, one thing you can know for sure: The Triune God is unchangeably committed to including you in the wonderful fellowship of the life of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit.” (Source).
The concept of the Trinity is mentioned a lot in the New Testament. I was surprised when I started thinking about this and studied it, there are more verses that mention it than I thought.
Jesus is teaching. “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” (John 14:7).
Philip asks, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus replied, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own, but the Father, as He remains in Me, does His works.” (John 14:10).
As our pastor taught, this is a concept called mutual indwelling. He explained in his sermon,
“He said something similar in chapter 10, verse 38; know and understand that the father is in me and I am in the father. That’s the language of mutual indwelling. What Jesus had been teaching them all along was his unity with the father. He is so united with the father, the best way to express it is mutual indwelling. The father dwells in him and he is in the father. Now that doesn’t mean that Jesus and the Father are identical in personhood. After all, according to verse 12 here, He was going to the Father, which indicates a distinction between them. And so their oneness doesn’t mean they’re identical in all respects, but to see Jesus is to see the Father in essence.
It is a mystery how all three Persons of the Trinity are one but separately they are three individual people, with their own wills, purposes, tasks. But God is one. I am glad He is a mystery. I would not respect a God I could understand. He has deigned to stoop to our level of understanding in magnificent ways. He gave us His word. He gave us His Son. He gave us the Holy Spirit to indwell us. He raised up the prophets. He have us this world in order to see his wonderful works. He gave us providence, where we can see in hindsight how He takes care of us.
Mutual indwelling as a term describing the relationship among the persons of the Trinity is an easy to understand term. Theologians also use a more technical term, perichoresis or circumincession.
Perichoresis is “the mutual intersecting or “interpenetration” of the three Persons of the Godhead and may help clarify the concept of the Trinity. It is a term that expresses intimacy and reciprocity among the Persons of the Godhead. Perichoresis is the fellowship of three co-equal Persons perfectly embraced in love and harmony and expressing an intimacy that no one can humanly comprehend. The Father sends the Son (John 3:16), and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and was sent by the Son (John 15:26)—another example of perichoresis, with the result that God’s people are blessed,” says GotQuestions.
“Though one Person or another may be emphasized in a particular work, no one person does any work exclusive of the other two persons, for as the classic dictum states, “the external works of the Trinity are undivided.” ~John MacArthur, Biblical Doctrine.
Our comprehension of this doctrine will always be beyond our mind’s finite grasp. But by faith we know the unity of the Godhead is perfect, the works of the Trinity are ongoing, the Trinity’s essence is shared perfectly yet without blurring each person’s distinctions.
Hebrews 1:3 says- And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.
The God-head’s fellowship has opened up to include humans. Our fellowship with God becomes possible after we repent and by faith we are saved through grace. Then, as JI Packer says:
fellowship becomes a possibility; and it is only as the Holy Spirit enables us to speak to others, and others to us, in such a way that Christ and the Father are made known through what is said, that fellowship is made a reality. When we seek to enjoy fellowship together, we should do so in prayerful dependence on the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, whose office it is to reveal Christ to us. ~Source, God’s words : studies of key Bible themes, JI Packer
Reading this by Michael Reeves from his book “What does it mean to fear the Lord?”
That large-heartedness is actually the overflow of a tender-heartedness toward God. It means that those who fear God have to use another much-misunderstood word—a jealousy for God. Such righteous jealousy should not be confused with selfish envy: it is a love that will not let go of the beloved or make do with substitutes. As God the Father is jealous for his beloved Son, and as Christ is jealous for his bride, the church, so too those who fear God find in themselves a loving jealousy for God. Adoring him, they cannot abide his glory being diminished or stolen. False teaching will distress them, not because it contradicts their views but because it impugns him. Self-righteousness becomes loathsome to them because of how it steals from the glory of his grace.
Actress and TV personality Oprah Winfrey was raised in church and knew the Gospel (presumably) but one little word set her off on a trajectory downhill to perdition. She was put off by the verse in Exodus 34:14,
—for you shall not worship any other god, because the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God—”
She didn’t want to follow any God who was jealous of her. She said such a statement didn’t “feel right in my spirit”. She wanted “more than doctrine.”
Isn’t that where it all starts, ‘wanting more’ than the eternal word God already gave? Going on feelings rather than digging in to His word?
Of course Oprah’s is a total misunderstanding of the verse. If only she’d asked the question, ‘what does it MEAN to be a jealous God’ maybe she wouldn’t have made a false god for herself.
But people who are not saved look for reasons NOT to submit to God. They are unwilling to take up their cross. They do not count the cost. They want to retain their pride, or come to God on their own terms. They are stiff-necked with a bias confirmation- they use their weak excuses to confirm that ‘I knew all along God was a fraud.’
But deep down they know the opposite. Romans 1:18-20 says, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
God is not jealous OF us, He is jealous FOR us. God wants us to be in fellowship with Him not for His benefit, but for ours.
Are you in fellowship with Jesus today? He who put on the flesh of man, came from glory to live the sinless, righteous life we could not? Then die for our sins so as to absorb God’s wrath for the sinful ones like us? This is an incredible thing, the most incredible plan, event, and doctrine in all the universe. Believe it today and repent, casting your sins upon Jesus and asking for forgiveness of them. He will forgive and you will be blessed by the protection of a God who is jealous for you.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires…(2 Timothy 4:3)
Do you notice that word “endure”? The verse does not say “they will not like sound doctrine…” It does not say “they will not enjoy sound doctrine…” It doesn’t even say “they will not accept sound doctrine.” It uses the word endure. When you endure something, you writhe. You wish you were not there in the midst of it. If anyone has ever undergone physical therapy, you know that you have to endure it but if you could you would shoot out of the gym so fast you’d be like a speeding bullet. If anyone has ever had to get a root canal, you know that you endure it. You do not seek it, you do not like it, and if you could, you go away from it.
That is the process by which lukewarm Christians, fake Christians, and unholy pastors feel about the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. To be sure, the true Gospel of the Risen Savior is full of warm fuzzies. He loves us. He prospers us. He sends angels to us.
But the True Gospel is also full of truth, the unpalatable truth that the lawless cannot endure: we are sinners. Rejection of the remedy for your sin means you will spend eternity in torment, apart from God. That there is nothing good in us. That we are fallen, craven, and deserve judgment. No, they will not endure that. So they don’t.
Instead they seek teachers to tempt us with what the devil has always tempted us with, and tempted Jesus too: health, wealth, fame. They may find it in some “preachers” and in some “churches”, but it is for a season. Most do not find prosperity in health, wealth and fame. The only ones becoming famous and rich are the false pastors who urge the hapless and desperate to send money.
A watered down gospel removes the book-end to the love parts that they seek. That other book-end is judgment. They will not endure sound teaching that His holiness involves love but it also includes righteous judgment.
“I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance. “They will say of Me, ‘Only in the LORD are righteousness and strength.’ Men will come to Him, And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame. (Isaiah 45:23-24)
The true word absorbed by submissive believers is sweet. But it is also sometimes accompanied by a bitterness felt by even the most beloved of followers, even the most obedient of disciples. Sometimes the true word is hard to hear and bitter even for believers, because it reveals to us the true state of our sinfulness and the fate of those who refuse His hand, those mockers and scorners whom we mourn over-
I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. (Revelation 10:10)
The only way to endure the knowledge of judgment that is coming is to rest on His truth and His promises. Those who do not rest in that truth, bitter as it sometimes is, do not endure it. Not only have they stopped asking the Spirit for wisdom, but they simply stop ingesting the sweet Words of the LORD and they flee away, being unstable in all they do.
If you seek sound doctrine but have had a hard time finding it, I encourage you to enjoy the teachers I have been enjoying.
Alistair Begg is a good one. He is at Truth for Life. RC Sproul at Ligonier.org S. Lewis Johnson at Believers Chapel John MacArthur at Grace to You tells it like it is, compassionately. Many people don’t like that he tells it like it is, but what he tells is the word of God, from the Bible, demonstrating once again that people can’t/won’t endure the word of God applied to their heart and mind.
Has solid preaching become an endurance test for you? Or are the hard but truthful words uplifting to you and filling in every way? If you have recently changed churches because the pastor is “a little too Bible thumping for my taste”, or have you drifted away from regular worship lately because the sermons are too long, too convicting, or demand endurance on the part of your deceitful heart, then ask yourself if you are really just trying to accumulate a teacher in accordance with your own desires, and are wanting your ears tickled with a less filling but great tasting sermon. If so, you may be at risk.
Should we pray for false teachers? Are false teachers and heretics the same thing? Can a false teacher repent? Can a heretic repent?
I’m asked these questions now and then. Since I do a third of my ministry here as discernment, it’s logical I get asked discernment type questions. I’ve wondered the same thing myself. I’ll answer in three parts. I’ll look at false teachers, then heretics, then whether either or both of them can repent.
First, let’s look at the question:
What is the difference between a false teacher and a heretic? Is there a difference?
God’s truth, it is the only thing that matters, the sole standard by which we live.. Yet from the beginning, satan has energized people (or serpents) to pollute the truth.
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned. (2 Peter 2:1-3)
The distinctions between what makes a teacher false and what makes a heretic can be muddy. Suffice to say, both are bad, but heresy is worse. Here, Mark Jones at Reformation 21 wrote:
What makes someone a heretic?This topic may be more important than we might think, especially in the world of online discourse. There is a distinction between willfully committing a soul-destroying heresy and committing a theological error.
Yet also this:
To call someone a “false teacher” is to say they are unsaved (see 2 Peter 2:1). …
But then again, Jones said, All heresies are errors, but not all errors are heresies… I understand heresy in the way described by George Gillespie, a Scottish commissioner to the Westminster Assembly:
Heresy is a gross and dangerous error, voluntarily held and factiously maintained by some person or persons within the visible church, in opposition to some chief or substantial truth or truths grounded upon and drawn from the Holy Scripture by necessary consequence.
The key words above are “voluntarily” (not ignorantly) and “factiously” (not quietly, but “stubbornly” [see Ames]) in terms of the manner in which a heretic promotes his or her view(s). Conversely, we may hold to an error, but (thankfully) that error is not sufficiently severe enough that it overthrows the fundamental articles of the Christian faith. –end Mark Jones quote.
The Bible speaks a great deal on false prophets (Old Testament), false teachers (New Testament), and false doctrine. Every New Testament book except Philemon warns or says something about falsity.
As to the difference between a teacher teaching falsely and a teacher who is a heretic, for example, there’s Pelagianism (a notion that original sin did not taint human nature) which is a heresy, but teaching that one must eat or not eat certain foods is a theological error. It’s a false teaching but not necessarily a heresy that makes one outside orthodoxy.
A biblical example is Peter briefly ‘behaving’ falsely. Because his behavior had a teaching component, his behavior undermined the Gospel. Therefore, Paul said he must oppose Peter to his face. Denny Burk said, “In Galatians 2, Paul says that he opposed Peter for not being “straightforward about the truth of the gospel” (Galatians 2:14).”
As a side note I’ll mention here that Peter’s brief foray into falsity was a behavioral action. He was impacting the truth of the Gospel by his behavior- he withdrew from the Gentiles, not sitting with the Gentiles out of fear of man. Often when I write about a truly false teacher’s behavior, her defenders come out of the woodwork screaming that her behavior is an untouchable component because it’s (supposedly) ‘private’, i.e. separate from her teaching. No.
‘Stop judging our favorite false teacher’s behavior and lifestyle! It’s none of your business!’ Oh, yes it is, screeching harridans. Yes it is…
A Bible teacher’s or minister’s behavior is never separate from their identity in Christ, life AND doctrine matters, as Peter’s brief deviation into falsity shows and Paul’s immediate reaction to it.
Apollos briefly taught falsely. “Apollos was a man mighty in the scriptures who taught accurately about Jesus but who nevertheless was only familiar with John’s baptism. In Apollos’ case, his deficient teaching was an error of omission.” ~Denny Burk
Neither Peter nor Apollos could really be termed a false teacher because their theological error was brief and they immediately corrected themselves eagerly with open heart and with humility.
False teachers exist on a spectrum. They can be detected of course by examining their teaching, but if they have been confronted with truth to slay their error and they take some time to consider this, pray. If they take a long time and come out the other side with still believing and teaching the falsity, then they are false. If Peter and Apollos had continued teaching what they taught, after a while we must accept that they are not correcting their error and are false.
When is a false teacher a false teacher? It’s when he teaches falsehood. And the chief characteristic of his teaching is falsehood. ~RC SProul
In modern times, we have seen several known false teachers claim to repent. Naïve Christians should be wise as a serpent but harmless as a dove in these matters. Too many people take these claims of a false teacher’s supposed repentance at face value without a proper measure of wisdom and patience to see of they truly correct over time.
Costi Hinn here with a 1-minute tip on how to detect if a teacher’s repentance for teaching something in error is real or not. Remember, the chief characteristic of a false teacher is that their teaching is identified with error, i.e. “its chief characteristic.”
I would just add that I think there is in the New Testament a clear reservation of that title [false teacher] not just for one who teaches falsely but for one who is uncorrectable and who resists correction. ~Al Mohler
Next part: Heretics, what is heresy and what makes a person a heretic?
If you’re on social media for any length of time, and you post anything mentioning doctrine, or speak of doctrine itself, invariably someone will make the comment that I put in the title “Preach the Bible not doctrine” (which is an actual quote from someone, though not aimed at me). Or they may say if you mention a commentary, “All you need is Jesus, not doctrine,” or “Read just the Bible, not theology.” “I prefer teachings of God to teachings of man”. That last one irks me in its self-righteous piety.
These are not right responses.
The Bible in 2 Timothy 3:16 makes the claim of itself, All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness,
The word in Greek used there for ‘teaching’ IS doctrine. Strong’s explains,
1319 didaskalía (a feminine noun derived from 1321/didáskō, “teach”) – properly applied-teaching; Christian doctrine (teaching) as it especially extends to its necessary lifestyle (applications).
We grow in the faith through teaching and learning. What we teach and learn IS doctrine, which is simply a teaching then applied to life.
If you explain who Jesus is, you’ve just explained the doctrine of Christology. If you say you’re a sinner, you just mentioned the doctrine of Hamartiology. If you say ‘I can’t wait for Jesus to return’, you’ve just delved into the doctrine of Eschatology.
From whence do you obtain this knowledge of Christ, sin, or His return? The Bible, through doctrine. AKA teaching.
I’ve often struggled with formulating a pithy response to someone who says to avoid doctrine or commentaries. I follow a man named Mckinley Caughman on social media. He often is engaged in apologetics regarding Calvinism. The other day he showed a photo of his hand holding a book on Calvinism and stated he was reading it on his break. The very first reply to his post was the quote in the title. In all-caps no less (which is the equivalent of shouting):
Mckinley Caughman replied to that in a way that I think speaks well to the issue. Here is his response:
“Sound doctrine is important because our faith is based on a specific message. The overall teaching of the church contains many elements, but the primary message is explicitly defined: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures [and] . . . he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). This is the unambiguous good news, and it is “of first importance.” Change that message, and the basis of faith shifts from Christ to something else. Our eternal destiny depends upon hearing “the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation” (Ephesians 1:13; see also 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14).“
How do you know what the message IS unless you learn it or been taught it? And there you’ve gone and done it, dabbled in doctrine.
The word doctrine simply means “teaching.” And it’s ludicrous to say that Christ is anti-teaching. The central imperative of His Great Commission is the command to teach (Matthew 28:18–20).
I hope that clarifies some things for you. The same goes for commentaries. Some say that “Commentaries are not Scripture, Scripture is Scripture.” Yes, read the Bible, first and foremost. But Jesus didn’t raise up pastors, teachers, and theologians who produced great works only to have them sink into obscurity right away. No, they are there for the edification of the saints. We benefit from their knowledge. Plus, their works provide a chain of history extending back to the beginning, which is also worthwhile.
Don’t you ever use reference materials in any of your other studies? Look at a published academic paper when you were in college? use an encyclopedia or Google to look up something? Use a dictionary or thesaurus? These are reference materials. So are commentaries.
So don’t be afraid to read a commentary or be put off by people who make you think that ‘doctrine’ is somehow a nasty word. Here are a few quotes,
Because of the perspicuity (clarity) of Scripture, the central message of the Bible can indeed be understood through simply reading the text, with no outside helps. But that doesn’t mean we can’t benefit from assistance. In fact, instead of preventing beneficial study, good commentaries can protect us from heretical interpretations, correct our personal biases, and help us come to the conclusions God intended when he wrote his Word.
Because of these barriers that can confuse the text for us, we need the help of people who have spent years studying the historical and literary contexts to help us. A good commentary or study Bible comes alongside us to help us unravel these mysteries so we can better understand and apply God’s Word.
1. Connect with God. This, of course, is our ultimate goal. God has chosen to communicate to us through his Word. Commentaries are singularly focused on understanding God’s Word and are written by men and women who have dedicated their lives to it. This is not just about mastering information, it is about letting God’s message penetrate our hearts and minds so we become more like him.
Some things in the Bible are illuminated by the Spirit through concept. In these cases, there isn’t a specific Bible verse that says, THIS IS THE ANSWER YOU’RE LOOKING FOR! The answer is gained by being part of the great sweep and scope of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Some doctrines are learned from a concept rather than an explicit verse spelling it out. In these cases, the Bible student needs to make a logical conclusion. Paul spoke often of reasoning together, (Acts 17:2, Acts 17:17) and using terms like “so then”, or “therefore”. This was his way of announcing a conclusion was imminent.
This is called “necessary inference” and you come to understand it by inference.
My literal, autistic brain always saw things in black and white. I like it that way.
Only problem was, for the first 43 years of my life as a heathen, I sought and looked and searched for a match-up of a life manual that would agree that things were spelled out starkly. There HAD to be a place where there was no gray area. Non-Christians LIVE in the gray areas. Gray areas were my downfall. I knew that somewhere there was ‘right’ and ‘wrong.’ My mother always used to yell at me, particularly when we had moral conversations, “Don’t be so dogmatic!” But there is a right and a wrong…isn’t there?
Dogmatic: characterized by or given to the expression of opinions very strongly or positively as if they were facts.
(The Non-Christian world doesn’t believe the Bible is a fact. They believe it’s opinion).
Dogma: a doctrine or body of doctrines concerning faith or morals formally stated and authoritatively proclaimed by a church
When I was graciously saved, I learned that the Bible is that manual. Further, things were starkly spelled out in black and white. There were two sides to things. There is a right and a wrong. Furthermore, I learned that there’s-
black and white love and enmity in and out narrow and wide light and dark righteous and lawless justice and injustice lost and saved heaven and hell
There is no gray area. (I am not speaking of things not spelled out in the Bible where we use Christian liberty). There is no gray area. Gray areas, fence sitters, anything lukewarm…Jesus spits out of his mouth in a righteous vomit. (Revelation 3:16).
Morally, according to God’s law, there is a right and a wrong. God sets the Law. He is judge. He alone determines who is a transgressor.
In these postmodern Christianity days, we are so used to hearing about “my truth and your truth” we forget there is THE truth. (John 14:6). We’re so used to hearing about “the ‘hermeneutic of humility‘ where [t]he idea was to interpret God’s Word but stop short of coming to any definitive conclusions that would exclude alternative interpretations,” we forget that the entire Gospel is one of exclusivity- it excludes any other means of attaining heaven, excludes any other interpretation of how to get to heaven, and excludes any person who rejects Christ. We keep hearing about this famous “nuance” in interpretation that we forget that the Bible, thanks to the perspicuity of scripture and the aid of the Holy Spirit, can be and should be clear.
Sadly, this week someone said to me of the end time doctrines, also known as ‘Last Things’ or ‘Eschatology’ that “only the Father knows for sure.” Well, He knows how things will end because He ordained it, and He told us in the Bible. He didn’t spend 65 books speaking clearly and whiff it at the end, muddying the waters and petering out with a whimper of confusion and mystery.
We wrap too many clear doctrines with layers of gauze that should not be there, making the crystal, sterling, shining doctrines of God dim and shrouded in enigmas. In some cases, when it comes to our assurance of God’s will, His righteousness, and His intentions for His people, absolutely be dogmatic! God is the only God! He is holy! He will come again! We are all sinners! There is a hell! The end will come! Be clear and firm.
Here are some resources on both the Doctrines of God, and the perspicuity (clarity) of scripture. Strip back those layers and see God and His works for what they are, clearly amazing!
pdf called The Night Watches by John MacDuff here, exploring, The Glory of God, The Immutability of God, The Omnipotence of God, The Omnipresence of God, The Wisdom of God, The Holiness of God, The Justice of God, The Love of God, The Grace of God, The Tenderness of God, The Patience of God, The Faithfulness of God, The Sovereignty of God, The Providence of God, The Word of God, The Ordinances of God, The Spirit of God, The Promises of God, The Warning of God, The Chastisements of God, The Invitations of God, The Consolations of God, The Paths of God, The Secret of God, The Name of God, The Favor of God, The Jewels of God, The Judgment of God, God’s Banqueting House, The Presence of God, God’s Closing Call.
My church service in Sundays goes from 2-2:45 (Sunday School), then the main service from 3:00-4:30. I love the afternoon schedule. It gives me time to prepare my heart in the morning, arrive unrushed at church, and enjoy the day in a different way than the usual10-12:30 timing of other churches.
On the way home from church one Sunday I stumbled onto a radio station which I had not heard before. Driving home from a sweet service filled with good music, I want to keep that atmosphere going. It’s hard with today’s radio programming.
In being frustrated one day with the quality of radio stations I had set on my buttons, I took some time to really search around and found WWQE “The Life”. It’s a Dove-award winning station. During my drive home there is a particular show called Gospel Vinyl Gold. These are Southern Gospel songs from the 50’s onward that are considered classics.
I love older Southern Gospel songs, I always have. That is strange because I didn’t grow up in the South and I didn’t become converted until I was 42. Even as a newbie I liked these older songs. The radio station played some good ones.
Newer songs are good too. Matt Papa and Keith Getty write good lyrics. Some of these are included in the new hymnal John MacArthur and others created called Hymns of Grace. I am not against new songs. But oftentimes newer songs leave out important doctrines.
I wrote previously about a song I heard back along while driving that struck me so much I had to stop the car. It was a song of eschatology, where the rapture happened and a father was left behind. The man turned out to have been having a dream, but the song focused on the scripture from Matthew 7:21-23 where (in his dream) he discovers he is a false convert. He faces Jesus and Jesus tells him ‘Depart from me, I never knew you.’ When the man in the song awoke to discover it was only a dream, he hastened to fall on his knees and really repent.
My pastor friend posted this morning from Patheos (a site I don’t generally recommend for women) and the section of that online magazine called Church for Men. The article was titled, Where did the Call-to-Repentance Songs Go? by David Murrow.
The author is reminiscing about singer-songwriter Ketih Green. Murrow says,
As my wife and I listened to Green’s music, we were struck by how strange his late 1970s lyrics sounded to our 2019 ears. Green employed a lyrical technique that used to be common in Christian music, but is virtually absent today: the call to repentance, or CTR. CTR songs are designed to convict the singer of his own sin. Here are two reasons CTR songs sound so out of place today:
1. While most contemporary worship songs focus on comfort and assurance, CTR songs point out our shortcomings. CTR songs are anything but positive and encouraging.
2. While most of today’s praise songs are sung from the perspective of the disciple, CTR songs are sung from the perspective of God (or a prophet). In praise and worship, we are the speaker, telling God how we feel about him. With CTR, God is the speaker, telling us how he feels about us.
CTR songs are sometimes hard to listen to. Too much CTR can lead to discouragement and even legalism. However, I can personally testify to their effectiveness. Keith Green’s songs were the slap in the face I needed as a young believer.
Slap in the face is a good way to put it. When I heard Sego Brothers And Naomi’s song Sorry, I Never Knew You, it WAS a slap in the face. I was dumbstruck. Lyrics like that catch your attention and re-orient the mind toward eternal things, holiness of Jesus, and our own sin. It’s good to get back to that occasionally.
Bible Studies aimed at women, the publishing industry aimed at the female demographic, the songs aimed at ladies these days, tend to focus on phrases and concepts that assure women of their worth, that they are loved, that they have power and abilities, that they are esteemed, and so on. Where are the songs that call us sinners to repentance? Remind us that we are sinners? Remind us of the eternal consequences of sin? Largely absent.
I agree with Murrow that a steady diet of call-to-repentance songs would lead to dispirited attitudes and/or legalism. But a stead diet of affirming-only songs also isn’t healthy. Those simply puff us up and don’t always point to the real hero, Jesus. We must forget what is past but also remember we are sinners called to daily repent – as the Lord’s Prayer says. (Philippians 3:13-14; Matthew 6:12). We look forward to eternity but examine ourselves now to see if we are in the faith. (2 Corinthians 4:18; 2 Corinthians 13:5).
I told the Lord that I had been
A Christian all the while
But through his book he took a look
and sadly shook his head
then placed me over on his left
and this I heard him say,
“Sorry, I never knew you.
I find no record of your birth.”
Don’t avoid songs with hard truths. Ones that sing of the blood, redemption from sin, salvation. Here are a few:
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
There is a Fountain
The Old Rugged Cross
Alas and Did My Savior Bleed
When we survey the wondrous cross
All for Jesus! All for Jesus!
Doctrine is wonderful. I love doctrine. Doctrine just means “teaching.” But it’s so much more than that also. Doctrine saves, we are delivered by doctrine!
But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, (Romans 6:17).
You see the words ‘that standard of teaching’. The KJV uses the word doctrine. You were delivered by doctrine. God’s teaching saved you. Its usefulness and importance continues after salvation, for it edifies you, strengthens you, grows you, protects you, and more. (2 Tim. 2:24–26; Titus 1:9-11, John 17:17, &etc.).
What is doctrine? In its basic sense, doctrine is any sort of teaching. The Bible, for example, talks about the teachings of men (Mark 7:7–8), the teachings of demons (1 Tim. 4:1; Rev. 2:24), and the teachings of God (John 6:45; 1 Thess. 4:9; 1 John 2:27). Here, we are concerned with divine teaching, the teaching of God. According to one definition, doctrine is teaching from God about God that directs us to the glory of God. This definition provides a helpful anatomy of sound doctrine, identifying doctrine’s source, object, and ultimate end. We will consider these elements of sound doctrine.
We are obedient to the Person of Jesus of course, but we are also delivered by doctrine and we are obedient to the teaching of Jesus.
True doctrine becomes your protection. Doctrine, understood, begins to build your convictions. Convictions become your protection. If you have few convictions, you are very vulnerable. The more sound doctrine you know, the more you move from being a spiritual child to a young man.” John MacArthur, The Master’s University sermon, Delivered by Doctrine.
Doctrine as a word and a spiritual discipline has become tarnished of late. This essay is to try and bring the beauty of doctrine to its rightful place in the Christian life and mind. Here are a few more resources for you, in addition to the links already shared in this essay. What is doctrine? – Got Questions
the-end-time.org 