Personal from
Joseph Tkach
Personal from
Joseph Tkach"I don't want to study doctrine," a member said. "I'm tired of doctrinal arguments. I want sermons to be short and inspiring--I don't want them to be doctrinal."
I can understand the feeling. Doctrinal arguments can certainly be wearisome, and doctrine can turn people off.
Yet I must point out that we still need doctrine--not in the sense of arguments, but in terms of understanding our faith. A doctrine is a teaching, and the important teachings of the church are those relating to truth about God.
Our teachings and beliefs about Jesus Christ are doctrines. They are truth about God and the foundation of all that we do.
Enduring Christian faith is not built merely on good feelings, on brief moments of sensing God's presence in the beauty of the creation, or on a short inspirational story once a week.
Good feelings and moments of inspiration are indeed wonderful blessings, but without enduring faith that is built on knowing and understanding truth about God, those feelings alone cannot lead us into the changed life of unity and reconciliation with God that comes through knowing and believing in Jesus Christ.
That is why doctrinal instruction is important, and why members need more than just, for example, a 10-minute sermon once a week. We are dealing with eternal truths and ultimate realities, as well as the less important, but seemingly more urgent, matters of day-to-day life.
What Jesus has done for us, as well as how that affects us and the way we live, must be explained again and again, continually, week after week, from many different angles, expounding again and again the many different biblical lessons, prophecies, instructions and stories that God has provided to teach us about it.
Some of our congregations offer discipleship classes as well as sermons. The classes are more doctrinal and explanatory, with opportunity for questions and discussion. They may be geared toward specific groups, such as new Christians, teenagers, pre-teens and others.
Then, the sermons are shorter, with more of a motivational orientation, based on a short passage of Scripture. The sermon includes plenty of solid instruction, of course, not just platitudes and nice thoughts.
As Christians, naturally we want to understand our faith, and it is the role of our Christian leaders and teachers to help us do so.
Christians realize that faith in Christ goes much deeper than just good feelings and inspirational platitudes, and we enjoy and appreciate being fed in all the good things the Word of God has to offer.
How valuable the worship service is to us depends largely on how much spiritual nourishment we are getting during the week. Are we opening ourselves to God's instruction in prayer, Bible study and small group fellowship?
When we are seeking God in these ways, we are also more interested and excited about listening to sermons. The more time we spend with God the more we have a hunger for God. Christ is, after all, the most important thing in our lives and in our future.
I am convinced that doctrine is important--even though not all doctrines are equally important. At times in the past, it sometimes seemed as if earthquakes were just as important as the resurrection of Christ.
Perhaps they seemed more relevant to daily life, but in actuality, Jesus' resurrection is always more important to us, even if we are in the middle of an earthquake. The doctrine of the resurrection is always relevant--especially when death is a real possibility! That is why all sermon and Bible study instruction needs to be rooted in Jesus Christ.
I think our history illustrates the need we have to learn doctrines, especially to have a clear focus on Jesus Christ. All Christians need a strong doctrinal foundation that will help them discern crucial teachings from fringe ideas.
Some Christians are attracted by New Age teachings or the teachings of quasi-Christian cults because of a lack of doctrinal grounding. We need to give attention to doctrine, because only doctrine gives us a defense against heresies that are often preached with enthusiasm and confidence.
The early church had a great need for doctrine. The New Testament is filled with doctrine--with information about Jesus Christ and the difference he makes in our lives. But not all biblical teachings are of equal importance. For example, the teaching that the apostles numbered 12 is not as important as the teaching that Jesus was raised from the dead.
The early church developed a short list of doctrines they felt were essential for new believers to know and accept. Different regional churches had slightly different lists, and in time these lists became more standardized. They are now called creeds, from the Latin word for "I believe." These creeds were simple statements of belief. (See "The Apostles' Creed," pages 8 and 9.)
Our church also has a Statement of Beliefs, developed through much discussion in our doctrinal team. This provides a relatively brief list of doctrines, even though it doesn't include everything. (We do plan to add a statement on worship because of its importance in Christian life.)
But even our Statement of Beliefs is longer than a list of what is essential to Christian faith. The doctrinal team has therefore developed a shorter list of 10 essential beliefs, which we are calling a Doctrinal Summary.
We believe:
* In one holy, loving, all-powerful and gracious Creator God who exists in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
* That the Bible is the inspired and infallible Word of God, the ultimate authority for all matters of faith and practice.
* That Jesus Christ, born of the virgin Mary, fully God and fully man, is both Lord and Savior.
* That Jesus Christ suffered and died on the cross for human sin, that he was raised bodily on the third day, and that he ascended to heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father.
* That Jesus Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead and reign over all things.
* In the ministry of the Holy Spirit, who brings sinners to repentance, who gives eternal life to believers, and who lives in them to conform them to the image of Jesus Christ.
* That Christians should gather in regular fellowship and live holy lives that make evident the good news that humans enter the kingdom of God by putting their trust in Jesus Christ.
* In the spiritual unity of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.
* That salvation comes not by works, but only by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
* In the resurrection of the dead, the saved to the resurrection of life and the lost to the resurrection of judgment.
This list may be more suitable for public relations, local brochures and visitors. These are the core doctrines.
Friends, I hope that these doctrines never become boring and never seem irrelevant. Granted, we human speakers can sometimes make them sound boring and irrelevant, but the doctrines themselves are vital for us all.
These are short and inspiring doctrines. I for one am thankful that God has given his truth that is worth teaching again and again, as we follow the Teacher, Jesus Christ.
Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 1999