MIND YOUR DOCTRINES, PLEASE!!!

The purpose of the Christian doctrines is not for the sheer pleasure of incessant reflections, but as the word 'doctrine' signify - 'instruction' - it is given so that those who have received the doctrine or let put it in another word, so that those who have been instructed should put into practice what they have been instructed to do.

In Hebrew 6:2 , we read about the "doctrine of baptisms" which could literally mean the "instruction of baptisms" from the Greek word, "didache" meaning "instruction".

Classic example, in good schools students are given series of instructions ("doctrines" so to speak) that they have to carry out in the laboratory or in the work-field. In christian life we are equally given series of doctrines - read "instructions" - so that we may understand and practice successfully our Christian life.

This is why biblical doctrines are highly emphasized by knowledgeable Christian leaders. They know very well that if the doctrines - read instructions - are incorrect, then the resulting belief and the practical Christian life of those who hold those incorrect doctrines - read incorrect instructions - will almost necessarily be wrong headed.

We also see St. Paul the apostle making an admonishing when it comes to the type of doctrines people hold onto and their rather long term or short term destructive consequences,

"Now the Spirit explicitly says, that in latter times some will fall away from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons," - 1 Timothy 4:1 KJV.

The sadness in this statement is that some people who had previously had faith will no longer have faith. They will lose their faith or to keep the biblical expression they will "fall away from the faith". In that very statement the stumbling block that will make them "fall away" are identified, and one of them is the type of doctrines they had received. It is important to mention that the word here translated as doctrine is the Greek word "didaskalia" which unsurprisingly means "teaching".

Doctrines seem to be inextricably linked to instruction and teaching, which give us the hint that there is a form of learning the hearer of doctrines is experiencing. If the learning is sound, the resulting belief will be sound, if the learning is unsound then the resulting belief will unfortunately also be unsound.

So the question for you will be, what kind of doctrines do you hear? Who is giving you your instruction? The Lord Jesus advised well,

"Think carefully about what you are hearing." The Gospel of St. Mark 4:24a (ERV)

Our burden should also go for people who get misled into false doctrines through teachings that ought not to be taught (Titus 1:11). And many young minds to my personal encounter have fallen victim of false doctrines. The tragedy with that is that they end up lacking their capacity to even think what they hear. So the problem is no longer how could they think carefully about what they continuously hear as Jesus requested, but rather the question is how can we even make them think in the first place.

The scripture give us many form of advises about how to go about it, and i would like to share with you one of them,

"[The Elders should be] holding fast to the faithful word as he was taught, that he may be able to exhort by sound doctrine, and to convince those who oppose it." - Titus 1:9 EMTV  

The biblical answer to the problem is:

a) for those who are in charge of the younger in the faith to first be acquainted with the trustworthy doctrines taught by the Biblical writers. My advise will be: read the scriptures and don't try to find excuses for your favorite preachers when they say something that you know is in opposition to what the scripture says. I know that our propensity is always to give a charitable hear to those we are fascinated with, this is what makes it very difficult to not find excuses for them when what they say are demonstrably wrong from a biblical perspective. However those born of the light should never sacrifice truth and integrity at the altar of falsehood for the sake of misguided charity. Remember the first Christians each time you find it heard to stay true to word, "What do you think is right? What would God want? Should we obey you or God?" Acts 4:19 ERV.

This trustworthy doctrines mentioned above is also called the "sound doctrine". Trust that doctrine above all your favorite teachers and preachers. Stop finding excuses for what is clearly not right and anti-biblical. If you start finding excuses, you will end up with even more excuses and the finality is that you will prohibit and inhibit your thinking ability to even function correctly let alone function at all. My experiences with people who hold firm to false beliefs is that they show an amazing capacity to make contradictory and self defeating statements without even blushing. Everybody around them may notice their incoherence save themselves. That is the sadness of a hardened heart.

b)  Then come the next step which many will feel reluctant to practice but which is important as an antidote to stop the hemorrhage, they need to go head on against the opposing view and convince them. The Greek word translated here into convince is "elegcho", which also mean to "rebuke" or "tell a fault". By the way, this is sound doctrines right here - you can safely practice it. I know i do!

Our youth are always in danger of embracing falsehood for many pertinent reasons, one of them is peer pressure. Peer pressure is when we let our peer think for us, instead of us thinking carefully about what we hear. The danger with peer pressure is that this leads to severe indoctrination which are hard to break.

But we can get comfort with this blessed promise that nothing is impossible for God and God is able to rescue the lost among us.

"For with God nothing shall be impossible." Luke 1:37 KJV