Give Thought to Doctrine

Evangelist, Billy Graham once stated that he was questioning someone about church attendance.  The response was, "I go to such and such church. They don't believe in doctrine or anything."

I heard a very similar statement made at a youth meeting.  The leader said, "Just preach and teach Jesus.  Don't worry about doctrine." We had better give thought to doctrine when teaching about Jesus.  Is He the Virgin born Jesus, or some other?  Is He the resurrected, ever living Jesus or the Jesus who is declared by some groups to be dead, forever dead?  Is He the total Savior or just a partial Savior?

When the Bible is emphasizing its own value and purpose, notice the very first emphasis: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness..." (II Timothy 3:16)  And then the apostle says to Timothy, "Preach the Word."  Wonder if Timothy preached doctrine?  Hmm.

Our beliefs, especially our doctrinal beliefs, will determine our behavior. When someone says "Don't worry about doctrine," they are waving a flag over their Biblical illiteracy.