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“Contrary to Sound Doctrine”

Allen Dvorak
11/03/24 - Sun PM

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(Transcribed by Congregate. Always check document for possible errors and inaccuracies in automated transcriptions.)

Is an opponent to you in some various ways, you can still seek the best interest of that person even though they are not seeking yours.

The word is the same in Ephesians five and Matthew five.

But people don't understand that love is manifested by action in our society.

Love is a feeling thing.

It's an emotional thing.

And so if we get goosebumps about someone of the opposite sex, we're in love with them or a husband may say at some point, I really just don't love her anymore.

And the solution to that is start, that's your responsibility as a husband is you need to love your wife.

Someone says, but I don't feel it's not about feelings.

It's about a choice.

It's about the decision to seek the good of your wife, whether she's submissive, whether she's pretty, that doesn't matter.

Your responsibility is to love her.

That's God placing that responsibility upon you as husbands and that love is manifested as we try to learn and then seek what is in the best interest of our spouse of our wives.

Jesus said here in John 173, that love can be recognized by obedience to his word that is loving Jesus is clearly manifest by obeying his words, keeping his commandments.

And he didn't say it once.

He said it four times in the space of just a few moments, God has manifested his love in action passage we're all familiar with for God so loved the world.

What that He gave, he acted, he sent his son to die for us.

Part of that redemptive plan that was spoken of in the prayer.

In first John, the fourth chapter verses nine and 10.

The apostle John again says in this, the love of God was made manifest among us that God sent his son into the world.

How can you know that God loves you?

He sent his son for you.

And this is love, not that we've loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son to be the propitiation for our sins.

John 316 0 all over again, love is manifested in action.

Well, what did the scribe mean?

Then when he made his comment about loving God and one's neighbor is more than whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Here's what he said.

He said.

And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding, with all the strength and to love one's neighbors, oneself is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Please understand the scribe is not saying that whole burnt offerings or any kind of sacrifice that God had commanded in the Old Testament.

You don't have to worry about that.

Just love God.

That's not at all what the scribe was saying.

And I think you probably understand that.

I believe that what the scribe is trying to say is that ritual.

And that's what burn offerings and sacrifices were.

They were acts of obedience and they would be repeated in many cases that those rituals cannot be divorced from love.

Otherwise, it's just burning flesh, it's just dead animals.

It's just bloodshed for nothing.

Those sacrifices need to be the expression of one's love and respect for God.

One's faith in God that would cause him or her to obey the words of God.

God's not looking for sacrifice just as a ritual.

He's looking for sacrifice as an expression of love.

That is what the scribe was trying to say, I believe.

And I think that was an astute observation by this individual.

Well, I want to talk about another idea that I think is also common among religious people.

And I'm gonna try to describe this view, false view, even though I'm not going to address every detail of the view.

Doctrine is not important for fellowship, that our fellowship is just based on our belief in Jesus as the Son of God.

And then beyond that, whether we use instrumental music or not, is irrelevant, whether we believe certain things or don't believe those things.

That's really all that's doctrine and gospel and doctrine are two separate bodies of information, our fellowship according to this view, as it's expressed, sometimes our fellowship is really based on the gospel upon our common ground or belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.

And once we've established that once we agree on that, then we are free to, to disagree about church organization or the work of the church or the worship of the church in various ways.

The important thing again is our relationship to Jesus as it's expressed in believing in Him as the Son of God.

And so, differences in doctrinal views and practices are not impediments to broad fellowship.

And I have to tell you this is very appealing to a lot of people because what it says is that we can consider others many others to be in fellowship with us because we do believe that Jesus is the Christ.

They believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God.

Jehovah's witnesses don't, but many groups do well.

What about the different doctrines that they, I don't worry about that?

That's not the basis of fellowship.

And you can see how that really just opens the door to broad fellowship as I've described it, we need to say a little something about the meaning of doctrine.

And I suspect this is not new material for most folks, but the word doctrine as it appears in our English translations is really the result of two words.

There are two words in the Greek that are translated Doctrine.

Although sometimes even in the same translation translation like ESV, the, the these words may be translated teaching.

And the reason for that is that both of these words have their foundation in a cognate verb.

The verb did daco, which means simply to teach.

And so Didi and Dido Scalia, those are two words that both refer to teaching.

Vine actually gives a couple of different definitions.

He says sometimes these words are used in a active sense or a passive sense.

And uh if you're really interested, did he suggest that the primary, the prominent use of Didi or is that which is taught and did the art or the act of teaching or instruction?

But they're used almost interchangeably.

I'm not sure how definitive those distinctions are.

Both of those words refer to either the teaching, the active teaching or that which is taught and sometimes they're even translated teaching.

But as you noted from the title of our study this evening, we wanna talk about sound doctrine.

And so I want to say that the word that's translated sound most frequently is a word that simply means to be healthy, to be sound in good health.

If it's used as a participle, it's a verb, but it's used as a participle in some of the passages that we'll look at.

And when it's used in that agit way, it just refers to being healthy doctrine that is healthy or sound, we may not use that terminology anymore.

In our secular speech, we used to talk about someone whose health, health was sound, what we meant was they're healthy, their body is doing well.

But doctrine is also described as sound or healthy.

For instance, in first Timothy six verses three and four, here's what Paul writes.

If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words and that word sound is this word Uh ju I know that means healthier or to be in good health and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching, that's the word to do Scalia that accords with Godliness.

He is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing.

He has an unhealthy craving.

I think Paul is, is making a pun here to be honest with you because the word sound means healthy.

He says if somebody has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil, and suspicions, he's puffed up and understands nothing.

So Paul talks about sound or healthy words.

He talks about teaching that accords with Godliness when we use the expression sound doctrine.

What does that imply?

Well, it implies that there's doctrine that is not sound, that is not healthy.

And I'm gonna suggest four passages that would give, bring out that particular point that there's sound doctrine, but that there's also doctrine that is not healthy, that is not sound.

And the first passage here in first Timothy one verses nine and 10, the last phrase there of course, is what we want to look at.

But verse nine begins understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane for those who strike their fathers and mothers for murders, the sexually immoral men who practice homosexuality.

Excuse me, I misread that the sexually immoral men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine.

So Paul has listed a number of things that he considers to be contrary to sound doctrine.

So any of these terms would describe behavior that is not according to sound doctrine would be unhealthy teaching if we were to uh follow it to practice it in second Timothy four and verse three for the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves, teachers to suit their own passions.

And that may very well be part of the motivation for this whole idea that doctrine is not important because we can agree on some very broad basic about the identity of Jesus Christ.

He's the messiah, the Christ, he's the Son of God.

But you know all that doctrine that you find in the New Testament that kind of gets in the way sometimes of what people want to do the way they want to live.

And so they just kind of minimize the importance of that.

Let's focus on Jesus and who Jesus is.

But I would remind you that Jesus says, you can't really separate me from my message.

If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

Another passage here in Titus chapter one and verse nine, you probably recall that Titus one, at least in the beginning of the chapter is talking about qualifications for elders and one of the qualifications for elders is that he needs to be a competent teacher.

He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine.

Elders need to be able to teach sound doctrine.

That means they've got to understand what sound, what's healthy, what's according to the apostles teaching, the inspired revelation of the New Testament.

And also here's the other thing also to rebuke those who contradict it.

So Paul says, there will be people who will teach other doctrines, doctrines that are contradictory to sound doctrine.

And elders need to be able to rebuke that to silence those kinds of teachers by making their error clear to others in the second chapter of the same epistle chapter two and verse one.

But as for you, Paul says to Titus teach what accords with sound doctrine.

So Paul says to this evangelist Titus, the doctrine you need to teach is healthy, sound doctrine.

And the implication is that there's other doctrine but it's not sound, it's not healthy.

What does it really matter?

I mean, should we get all worked up about details?

You know, whether we play a piano or whether we just sing or whether we uh do things uh in the work of the church that the early church didn't do.

I mean, we live in a different century, we live in a different culture, all of that.

That's the argument that sometimes people make.

Does it really matter all this doctrine stuff?

As long as we believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God?

Well, I'm gonna show you four more passages and then our study will conclude and these passages make it very clear that it makes a difference what we teach.

I think that's probably not a revelation to you, but it's good to be able to look at the scriptures and say that's what the Bible says about Doctrine.

Ephesians four and verse 14 in a passage in which Paul is talking about the efforts, the things that God has provided for us to mature in Christ as a church.

He says, so that we may no longer be Children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful schemes.

Over the years, I've seen people who've been carried away my winds of doctrine, they heard something that they kind of liked and rather than check to see if it's what the New Testament taught, they embraced it and pretty soon they're defending it and sometimes they're trying to teach others in the local congregation.

They're causing divisions.

Paul says we don't need to be Children pulled this way and that way.

Ok, I've got a confession to make.

I sometimes say things to my grandchildren that are not true.

For instance, just recently, Debbie and I had all four of the kids with us.

Um We were kind of concerned that John and Katie weren't going to ever come back, but we only had him for about a week.

But during that week, we were eating at the table one night and I said, hey, are you all enjoying this meat?

This is kangaroo meat.

Well, the older kids are like, yeah, right.

Go Malachi.

He gobbled that up literally.

And in terms of accepting what I said, kangaroo meat, you know why I remember that because they were at the house today and he was looking at meat and asking if it was kangaroo meat.

But that's Children.

Sometimes you can say something and if you're serious enough and if you really kind of work it a little bit, Children will, they'll, they'll agree, they'll accept it.

I mean, after all, you're older, uh you're an authority figure.

They don't know.

Malachi probably realizes now that Papa can't be trusted, but Paul says don't be Children any longer.

Toss to and fro believing just whatever wind of doctrine blows by you.

And let me tell you something.

There's a lot of stuff that blows through the internet.

A lot of false teaching that goes on.

We need to be cautious about the doctrine that we accept young people.

It would be good before you just grab on to something and embrace it, to run your ideas or the things that you're reading past an older, more mature member of the Lord's church doesn't have to be me or an elder.

It could be other brethren here who are well versed in the scriptures don't embrace just whatever comes your way.

In first Timothy chapter one verse three.

Paul says, as I urge you Timothy when I was come, going to Macedonia remain in Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine.

Paul says it's important which doctrine Timothy would teach, don't teach any different doctrine.

What different doctrine do you think he's talking about any doctrine?

That's not sound any doctrine that's not, has not come from the apostles.

Paul would end his epistle in Romans 16 toward the end of that epistle, he says, I appeal to you brothers to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught, avoid them.

Paul says it's important that you don't teach any other doctrine and watch out for those who are teaching other doctrines.

And he says, avoid them, they're to be disciplined.

And then finally, in first Timothy six verses three and four, we looked at this passage, uh, a little bit earlier, if anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with Godliness, he's puffed up with conceit and understands nothing.

He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions.

If anyone teaches a different doctrine, is it important?

What doctrine we teach, what we practice?

Oh, absolutely.

And the next time someone says, well, I'm just so tired of all this doctrine stuff.

I'm just tired of all this talk about whether we should worship this way or worship that way.

Understand somebody saying that doctrine isn't important.

And the New Testament says, yes, it is, don't be teaching any different doctrine.

Well, how do we know which doctrine is sound?

Read your New Testament, read your Bible and you'll understand what's sound, what's healthy and you'll even know what's not.

Well, let me conclude uh this evening by saying the first thing that we talked about from John 14 is that love and obedience are intimately connected.

We can't love God without obeying him right?

From John 14 verses 1521 23 and 24.

But we also have suggested that God expects us to teach and to practice sound doctrine, which is essentially the teaching of the apostles, the message of the cross, the gospel.

We didn't spend time talking about the erroneous view that gospel and doctrine are two very separate things we could have.

We could have gone to Romans the first chapter and talked about how Paul wants to go and preach the gospel to the Roman Christians.

The argument is made that gospel is preached to people who are not Christians.

Doctrine is for Christians.

But Paul messed up that argument, didn't he?

In Romans chapter one?

And those two ideas that we've talked about tonight, they work together well, to suggest that our obedience is to be to sound doctrine in Romans six chapter in verses 17 and 18.

Paul says, but thanks be to God that you who once were slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching.

What is that?

Well, that's doctrine.

That's sound doctrine.

You became obedient to sound doctrine to which you were committed and having been set free from sin had become slaves of righteousness.

Have you become set from free from sin or are you still enslaved to sin to the evils of the world?

The Bible, of course, offers us in the Gospel, in the death of Jesus Christ, the opportunity to be free from sin and to have hope to have spiritual life and the hope of eternal life with God.

Our father and Jesus, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Are you ready to obey the standard of teaching that you find in the New Testament that tells us how to become Christians, how to have this spiritual life.

If you need to obey the gospel.

This evening, we stand ready and willing.

And in fact, we stand to encourage you as we sing.

If you'll come to the front, we'll assist you in doing that very thing.