#doctrine

Reformed Theology: More than Five Points

The last few years have seen a great resurgence of interest in Reformed theology. It went from very much in the background of Christianity to being very much in the mainstream. Suddenly it was on the cover of Christianity Today and TIME and was the theme of hundreds of books and blogs. People across the world were discovering the ancient doctrines of grace and building a new and widening community of Reformed believers. These were exciting days. But ever since …

Four Sources of Discord in Your Church

Every church is at every time in danger. Every church is in danger of disruption and disunity when Christian turns on Christian or Christian turns away from Christian. In Paul’s letter to Titus he offers four sources of discord and warns us to avoid them (“But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.”). Here, for your consideration, are four sources of disunity that may just exist in your church. Foolish Controversies. …

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Know Your Doctrine

“Doctrine divides,” the young man explained. “Of course it’s important, but God cares far more for our deeds than our creeds. Doctrine divides, but love unites.” Could he be right? Is doctrine a force for division meant to bow before the primacy of love? “I find doctrine boring,” the husband confessed. “I don’t have any interest in hearing about theology. Just tell me what God wants me to do, and I’ll do it. I’m a doer, not a learner.” Could …

Hymn Stories: My Jesus I Love Thee

My Jesus I Love Thee” is a sweet expression of love for the Savior that flows directly from the author’s experience of the Savior’s love for him. A remarkable thing about “My Jesus I Love Thee” is that it was not penned by an aged and experienced hymn-writer like so many of our favorite hymns. Rather, it was originally written as a devotional poem by Willam Ralph Featherston, a teenager who had recently come to faith. Not much is known …

Dislike of Dogma

It has been a bit of a theme in my life lately–the timeliness and relevance of words spoken or words written many years ago. Such is this case with this quote from the pen of J.C. Ryle, who wrote about the dislike of dogma that was so powerfully present in his day and age. Here is what Ryle had to say, words that could as easily be written about our day: [Dislike of dogma] is an epidemic which is just …

Ruined For Anything Else

Aileen and I were once members of a church that, after a few years of existence, began to de-emphasize doctrine. Some of the pastors seemed to reach the conclusion that “doctrine divides” and that the church really just needed to focus on evangelism and on “action.” They seemed to determine that a sound theological foundation held in common was unattainable and unrealistic. Therefore, doctrine should be laid aside and the church should rally around the things we had in common—a …

Biblical Teaching on the Doctrines of Heaven and Hell

Some books receive titles that are a little bit mysterious, only hinting at what the book contains. There are others that just give it all away in the title. Biblical Teaching on the Doctrines of Heaven and Hell pretty well says it all. Edward Donnelly simply turns to Scripture to see what God says about these important doctrines of heaven and hell. Heaven is a popular subject at the moment. Randy Alcorn’s book Heaven has over 300,000 copies in print …