“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.
o It’s the “sound doctrine” that we must have.
APPLICATION – Our Church FAMILY must be grounded in sound, Biblical doctrine.
Paul used the words “sound doctrine” in v. 10. The word “sound” means “healthy; accurate.”
- An unhealthy church has moved away from healthy doctrine.
- A careless church has moved away from accurate doctrine.
Reasons we need sound doctrine:
IT COUNTERS HERESY
- A colorful magazine w/ happy people on the cover shows up in your mailbox. As you leaf through it, you see that the “church” that sent it to you in their mass mailing states that you HAVE to be baptized in order to be saved. According to their beliefs, if you’ve not been baptized, then you’re not saved & you’re headed to hell. What do you do w/ that?
- Some friendly people come to your door to give you some materials from their “church” & want to talk to you about their beliefs. They say that they’re Christians, but their version of the Bible says that Jesus was “a god”, not God the Son, the 2nd Person of the Trinity. What do you do w/ that?
- A couple of nice, clean-cut young men on bicycles stop to talk to you. They say that they’re Christians, but they have some other books that they say are just as important as the Bible. What do you do w/ that?
- Your teenage son/daughter comes in & says that a friend of theirs goes to a church that’s supposed to be a Christian church, but they believe that a homosexual man or woman can be a pastor. What do you do w/ that?
- DR Bozeman last week – Unitarian website
One of the reasons that we need sound, healthy, accurate doctrine is that it counters heresies like the ones I mentioned. This is one of the main reasons that Paul wrote to Timothy – to counter the heresies “any different doctrine” that some were trying to teach. Paul told Timothy to “charge” these false teachers not to teach heresy. “Charge” – military term – to give a direct order. Paul wasn’t playing around w/ heresy, & we can’t either. The way that you counter heresy is by knowing, teaching, standing on, & living out sound doctrine. And when false teachers are found in the church, order them to stop or order them to get out.
IT CAUSES STABILITY – My daughter, Rachel, was a cheerleader in junior high, high school, & at Hinds. And my granddaughter, Addie, is on a competitive cheer squad. Both of them are the flyers – the cheerleader on the squad who gets put up at the very top of the formations. So, I’ve been to more cheerleading competitions that I can count as a daddy & a granddaddy.
The only way that a flyer can safely do her stunts is if she’s got a good base – the cheerleaders on the bottom of the stunt who are holding her up & catching her when she’s tossed at the end. Without that solid, stable base, the flyer is in danger of getting seriously injured. Scientists measured the impact of a cheerleader being dropped after a flyer toss at 2000 lbs of force. By comparison, a hit by an NFL linebacker is 1800 lbs of force.
We as Christ-followers are in danger of getting seriously injured if we don’t have a stable base. Attacks on the Church are coming & will get more intense. A stable, solid base of sound doctrine will provide a place for us to stand when those attacks happen.
- Sometimes these attacks are silly distractions – v. 3-4 – “false doctrine”, “myths & endless geneaologies” – Don’t pay attention to them or get distracted from God’s plan.
- Sometimes the attacks are direct attacks – v. 18-20
Our sound doctrine will keep us focused & not distracted. Our sound doctrine will keep us standing strong & courageous against those who are spewing vile, blasphemous ideas & teachings.
IT CREATES UNITY – Unity in the Church is one of our most important components. It is something we must constantly pursue.
- Jesus prayed for His followers to be one & “may be brought to complete unity” (John 17:21, 23). Reason: “So that the world may believe that you [the Father] have sent me.” Their unity was based on Christ’s own unity w/ the Father.
- Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:4-6 – “There is one body & one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God & Father of all, who is over all & through all & in all.”
- Ephesians 4:3 – “Be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
- 1 Corinthians 1:10 – “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, & that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind & the same judgment”
Unity in the Church speaks volumes to the watching world. And DIS-unity in the Church definitely speaks to them! We can have different opinions on minor, tangential issues, as long as we don’t form groups & cliques within the church along the lines of those opinions. But we must be in unity on issues of sound doctrine!
- The unchanging truth of the Gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
- The unchanging truth of the God-breathed, infallible, inerrant Word of God.
- The unchanging truth of the power of prayer
- The unchanging truth of the Church, the Body of Christ.
- The unchanging truth of the marching orders for the Church to go & make disciples of all nations; to be Christ’s witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, & to the ends of the earth.
Truth is that if we are focusing our time & energy on staying in unity on THOSE things that make up our sound doctrine, we won’t have time for arguing about those other, less important things! Sound doctrine creates the unity that we MUST have in the Church!
IT CULTIVATES COMMUNITY – Community is when a group of like-minded people come together around a common cause that builds fellowship, trust, & strength among the group. Sound doctrine is that common cause for us in the Church.
- That community start in your own personal life as you take seriously the need for YOU to know sound doctrine.
- It continues in the home. Article: “Parents have a sobering, God-given responsibility to instruct their children in the Word.” Every Christian parent has this responsibility in their own home. (https://www.challies.com/articles/the-training-ground-of-sound-doctrine)
- It’s also the responsibility of the Church to train others in sound doctrine. Pastors have a huge responsibility to make sure they’re preaching & teaching it. And church members have a responsibility to hold each other accountable to it.
The sense of community we enjoy within the church FAMILY is not JUST b/c we like each other. It’s b/c we come together & rally around our sound doctrine.
CONCLUSION/TAKEAWAYS – Vicki & I visited Mama yesterday. Mama is 82 yrs old, as solid as anyone I know in sound doctrine w/ as strong a grasp on the truth of the Bible as any pastor I know. Sitting at Airport Grocery in Cleveland eating lunch. As we talked about this sermon series, about the state of our nation, state of our world, the state of the church, & where sound doctrine comes into all of this, she said, “I believe it all comes down to this verse: ‘Choose you this day whom you will serve…But as for me & my house, we will serve the Lord.’”
That’s where sound doctrine begins & ends. Who will YOU choose today?
