We Must Have Sound Doctrine Series

“WE MUST HAVE SOUND DOCTRINE” 1 Tim. 1:1-11

FBCF – 6/13/21

Jon Daniels

INTRO – Start w/ a quote from R.C. Sproul that I shared last week in first sermon in this “How to Do Church” series: “Without right doctrine, right living is impossible. We have not really understood Scripture if we are not changed as a result of our study.”

No one here today would go build a house or a building without making sure that the foundation was solid. When we built our FLC in Monticello, we had to do extensive soil testing on the property where we were going to build the building. Absolutely necessary to do this in any type of building project to make sure that the soil can support the load of the building being built. There are different types of tests that examine different properties in the soil. But all of those tests are designed to make sure that the foundation for the building will be solid so that the building will be constructed properly & will be able to fulfill its purpose. Doesn’t make sense to build a building if the ground beneath the building won’t support it.

In the same way, it doesn’t make sense to try & build a life if the ground beneath that life won’t support it. Lots of folks try to do that – emphasis on the word “try”.

- Try to build friendships w/out a solid foundation

- Try to build a marriage w/out a solid foundation

- Try to build a family w/out a solid foundation

- Try to build a business or career w/out a solid foundation

- Try to build a church w/out a solid foundation (remember we aren’t talking about a building when we talk about the Church)

- Even try to build a relationship w/ God w/out a solid foundation

FBCF needs to be serious about “Making Much of Jesus.” And in order for us to do that, we’ve got to make sure that our foundation is firm. Hymn #263 in my 1956 Baptist Hymnal is “How Firm a Foundation” which says: “How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word.”

Sound doctrine that is solely based on the Word of God is the foundation on which we must build our lives, individually & corporately. Last week, we established that the Church is the “pillar of truth” – we hold up the truth of the Gospel - & the “foundation of truth” – we are built on the truth of the Gospel. Now this week, the 2nd sermon in this “How to Do Church” series is entitled, “We Must Have Sound Doctrine.”

- Doesn’t sound flashy

- It’s not a self-help, “How to Have a Better Life in 3 Easy Steps” sermonette

- It’s just simple, basic, solid, Biblical truth

- And we’ve got to have it – We must have sound doctrine.

EXPLANATION – 1 Timothy 1:1-11

Reminders:

- Paul is author of this letter

- 1 of 3 letters that are known as the Pastoral Epistles (2 Timothy & Titus are the other 2) – Written to help church leaders know how to “do church” in the right way according to the Bible.

- Also interesting to note that these are Paul’s last 3 letters, all written in the 60’s AD w/ 2 Timothy being his final letter. A person’s last words can sometimes be their most important, most remembered, most weighty. The fact that Paul’s final words had a lot to do w/ the Church ought to tell us something about the importance of the Church & its place in the world.

- 2 Timothy 4:7 – “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” I so want that verse to be true of me when my life is coming to an end. And I so want it to be true of each of you, too!

- The only way we can fight the good fight & finish the race is IF WE KEEP THE FAITH! What is “the faith”?

o It’s the Gospel, the unadulterated truth of the Word of God, the truth about God the Father, God the Son, & God the Holy Spirit. It’s the truth about salvation & eternal life - that Jesus Christ is the only Savior of the world, the “Way, the Truth, & the Life” (John 14:6), “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29), whose name is the ONLY name that will save people from their sins (Acts 4:12).

o “The faith” is our belief system, our doctrine, our message that we proclaim to the world. And we must “keep” it – guard it, protect it, watch over it.