Unity and Sound Doctrine (Part 1)
Scriptural unity is founded upon sound doctrine and a local church cannot have true unity without building its foundation on the truth of God’s word. A good example of this is explained in Ephesians 4:11-16
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head -- Christ -- 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
This passage is filled with a lot of great doctrine; however, I have underlined the points that I feel apply to this message. Keep in mind that it is the responsibility of leaders to teach sound doctrine to the church so that the body can have unity of purpose in ministry and not be tossed back and forth by every wind of doctrine that becomes popular at the moment. The body is unified when it is edified by love based on sound doctrine (or the truth of scripture); however, division is caused by false doctrine. Look at Romans 16:17-18
17 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. 18 For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.
Keep in mind that this is a command. We are commanded several times in scripture to identify those who teach contrary to the doctrine delivered through scripture and avoid them. I will also discuss this in detail later in this study as well. Also keep this in mind – doctrine either creates unity or causes division. Sound doctrine creates unity among those who honor scripture and false doctrine creates division. The ultimate goal of this study is to look at scripture to understand basic sound doctrine. The Bible tells us that, by God’s divine power, we have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness. This has been delivered to us through the scripture. While there may indeed be a small handful of grey areas that are not fully explained, the majority of scripture is crystal clear and leaves little room for disagreement. When it comes to doctrine and how we are taught how to live and have fellowship with God, I believe all of scripture is clear. The only areas that are cloudy are a few minor points where we only see a snapshot of a situation one of the apostles are addressing. When it comes to godly understanding, salvation and knowing God, the Bible gives us clear understanding and sound doctrine.
Many believe in error that we should never judge doctrine or determine what is right or wrong. The scripture pulls no punches in dispelling this misunderstanding and as we move along in this study we will see that there can be little doubt that we are not only called – but commanded to judge doctrine and guard what is acceptable in the church. One passage that clarifies this is 2 Timothy 4:1-5
1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
Look at the primary commands found in this passage: preach the word, convince, rebuke, exhort, teach, be watchful, endure, do the work, fulfill your ministry. For some reason it is difficult for people to accept the fact that we are called to rebuke and convince people who are contrary to the word. We are commanded to do these things because there is a right and there is a wrong. It is true that one day God will sort it all out; however, God has given us a charge to hold to truth and defend the truth here and now. How do we be watchful and stand firm even when the time comes when sound doctrine is not popular even in the church?
To Judge or not to Judge
Before we move on it is necessary to stop and define what it means to judge. People often mis-define the word judge. In our culture, the word judging has become synonymous with the word condemnation. Even people who do not believe the scriptures will quickly quote one phrase of Jesus anytime their ideas or actions are questioned – “Jesus said, judge not lest you be judged”. Did Jesus teach that we are not allowed to judge? Quite the contrary. The teaching of Jesus as well as the rest of the New Testament commands us to judge. Even the passage quoted above is completely out of context. In Matthew 7, Jesus is rebuking hypocritical judging. You will be judged by the same measure you are judging; in other words our very words will be our own witnesses against us.
The word ‘judge’ does not mean to condemn someone. When judging, some will continue on to condemnation, but that is not the meaning the scripture puts on judging. There is a difference between judging and being judgmental. Scriptural judging is to evaluate an action, doctrine or idea and determine if it is right or wrong. In John 7:24 Jesus explains:
"Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."
Notice that we are given two instructions; 1. Don’t judge according to appearance; 2. Judge with a righteous judgment. The word ‘judge’ is the Greek word ‘krino’ which means: to pick out, separate, approve and to evaluate between right and wrong. This is not condemnation but rather, it is an evaluation between two options. We are called to evaluate and make a judgment between right and wrong based on a righteous standard. There is only one right way to judge – a righteous judgment. Every other judgment is according to human standards. If I am the source of judgment, I will judge based on personal preference.
Why do many, many people label things as evil or sinful that the scripture does not identify as sinful? It is simply human nature to label something as wrong if it does not appeal to my personal taste. This goes for music, style of teaching or preaching, clothes, hair styles and any number of things that have been used to create judgmental statements over the years. Some believe it is a sin to wear working clothes to church even though in the book of James, the scripture states that when we evaluate someone based on clothing, we have “become judges with evil thoughts”. Evaluating something as right or wrong based on personal preferences is equal to judging according to appearance and is condemned by scripture.
Our command is to judge with a righteous judgment. It is absurd to say that we are not allowed to judge. Life itself is a non-stop series of judgments. Every decision we make is a judgment. When it comes to spiritual matters, we must have something greater than ourselves to make a sound judgment. Simply put, righteous judgment is judging according to scripture. In truth, I am not doing the judging at all but instead am looking at the judgment God has made and evaluating how an action or doctrine aligns with what God has already revealed. In John 12, Jesus said that He does not judge because those who reject the word already have that which judges them. The word is the judge, our role is to evaluate whether something is in agreement with the Word or is in disagreement with the Word. The time will come that the word will be the final judgment against all who reject truth; however, we are also commanded to test and prove what is acceptable on this side of eternity.
When it comes to judging (or evaluating according to God’s word), the Bible gives us specific commands. While many have the misconception that we are commanded not to judge, we can see clearly that we are given six specific areas as to how we are commanded to judge.
We are to judge ourselves first
I believe that self evaluation must come first. The whole purpose of doctrine is to teach us how to live and walk in godliness. We in turn take our personal experience and use it for a testimony to equip others to walk in godliness. If we lose sight of our goal to walk in faith, what can we possibly do to help another walk in faith? A personal testimony is not a declaration of perfection, but it is a witness to how God is working or has worked in our lives and we in turn have the desire for others to also walk in faith. We assemble so we can draw from and reach out to others so that we can walk in unity of faith with the purpose of ministry. Look at these passages concerning self-evaluation:
Matthew 7:1-5 1 "Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 "And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 "Or how can you say to your brother, ’Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 "Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Romans 2:1 1 Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.
1 Corinthians 11:31-32 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
Do not miss this important point in Corinthians – our judgment is adopted from God. We judge so that there will not be condemnation. A person who is judgmental or condemning points down at those they feel are in error. In reality, we cannot lift ourselves up while using righteous judgment. Righteous judgment does not point down but reaches out. When we see someone walking outside of God’s word, we reach out with the desire to draw them back. Righteous judgment is pleading with someone to walk in the faith we are experiencing while reaching out a hand of encouragement. Paul expressed this very thing in 2 Corinthians 5:20
20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.
I care, therefore I am pleading both to God that He will draw someone and pleading to the person to respond to God. Righteous judgment is founded upon love while human condemnation is founded upon self-importance.
We are commanded to test
We are instructed not to believe everything that claims to be of God. It is our responsibility to use a righteous judgment by evaluating what God has revealed to what is being presented as truth.
1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,
1 Thessalonians 5:21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.
If we obey Jesus’ command and judge with a righteous judgment, we will not be one of those led astray by deceiving spirits. Keep in mind that false teaching would not be deceiving if it did not sound good. Satan always wraps his lies in truth. The lie mixed into truth is still a lie – in fact, even the whole doctrine becomes a lie. The Bible is filled with warnings to ‘beware, be on guard’, and to watch out for deception. A wolf in sheep’s clothing would not be a deception if he didn’t look like a sheep. In truth, many false teachers will do everything they can to look like they are teaching truth until they have gain the trust of the sheep. At this point they will slip bits and pieces of deception into the doctrine and use the trust that has been built to gain a foothold in which to begin the slow shift of doctrine away from the truth. This is the sign of the last days – deception will be common and the people of God will not hold to sound doctrine but will allow themselves to be led by the false teachers.
Let me say again that if it didn’t sound good, no one would be deceived. Deception by definition is to make someone believe a lie is truth. It will be packaged as truth, surrounded in truth; however, it is still a lie. The difference between the word of God and the deception Satan used to entrap Eve was one word. God’s word plus….is no longer God’s word.
The first thing a false teacher will do to gain acceptance is throw doubt on God’s word or our ability to understand God’s word. A false teacher does not want you to evaluate his or her doctrine against scripture. The apostle Paul praised those who received his teacher but first searched the scriptures daily to see if what they were being told was true (Acts 17:11). The apostles praised those who judged their doctrine against scripture but a deceiver will work hard to discourage the people from doing the same.
It is a command by God, repeatedly stated throughout scripture that we are to judge doctrine. We cannot evaluate and test doctrine unless we stand firm on the Word and evaluate everything to the whole counsel of God’s word. God does not condemn judging doctrine, He commands it to be done. Those who are deceived are deceived because they were first in disobedience to this basic command.
We are commanded to approve
In this modern age, almost anything goes in the church. The attitude of many are to just let God work it out. In the end God will indeed work it out; however, He has given us a charge to test and approve what is to be acceptable in the church. Not only are we to evaluate what is false, but we are also COMMANDED to judge and determine what is acceptable. We are commanded to approve what is good according to God’s word.
Philippians 1:9-11 9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, 11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Romans 2:18-20 18 and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, 19 and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law.
These two passages clarify that we approve what is excellent based on discernment and our discernment is founded upon the knowledge of scripture. Only by this can we be without offense and therefore inherit the promise that we will be filled with the fruits of righteousness. The fruit of righteousness is only produced by God (See John 15). Good fruit comes from God by God when we are walking by faith in the truth of God. It is our responsibility to know God’s will and approve what is excellent. We only know what is excellent by knowing the will of God as revealed in scripture.
A common argument presented to the church to gain approval contrary to scripture is that the Bible can be interpreted many different ways. This a false statement. Look at the following passage in 2 Peter 1:
19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
Let us first clarify the word prophecy so there are no misunderstandings. Prophecy does not mean to predict or foretell; the word prophecy or prophetia means a discourse emanating from divine inspiration to declare the purposes of God. This can mean rebuking and instructing the wicked, comforting God’s people or revealing the truth of God.
The interpretations of the scripture can be clearly understood as we have seen in earlier passages. God has revealed them through Christ and taught to us by the Holy Spirit. Scripture is made into false doctrine when it is taken out of context or made subject to ideologies outside of the Bible. A passage taken out of context or not viewed in consideration with the scripture as a whole can be twisted into a meaning never intended. When someone is influenced by philosophies, religious ideas and other beliefs outside of scripture, they often take their preconceived ideas to the table when they begin examining scripture. If someone has already determined what they will believe, they will interpret everything under the presupposition they have already determined to accept. Anything that does not agree with what they already believe will be ignored or explained away.
If someone examines scripture in light of scripture and they are a believer, I am convinced that the doctrine of scripture will be self-evident. 1 Corinthians 2:14 teaches us that we understand the scriptures through the Spirit of God and the believe has been given the power to understand. This is also reaffirmed in John 14:26a: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things”. It is affirmed a third time in the passage we look at shortly in 1 John 2:27 where the scriptures state that the anointing of the Spirit teaches us as we abide in him. As long as we abide in Christ and allow the Spirit to speak to us through the scriptures, our doctrine will be sound.
We are commanded to expose
If we adopt the attitude that we will wait for God to work it out, we are in disobedience to the commands of scripture. Look at the following passages:
Ephesians 5:6-9 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them. 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),
Ephesians 5:10-11 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
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15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Galatians 1:6-9 6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
We are commanded to: let no one deceive you, do not be partakers with them, walk in the light, find out what is acceptable to the Lord, have no fellowship with what is of the darkness, expose them, understand God’s will. All of these things center around the revealed word of God. In Galatians we are commanded to count as accursed anyone who brings in any doctrine different than what has already been revealed. The word accursed comes from the Greek word ‘anathema’ which literally means to be condemned by God without hope of redemption. If the apostle Paul himself were to return and preach a contrary message, we are commanded to reject him and his message.
False teachers often come with a new revelation while in truth there is nothing that can be added that has not already been revealed. Even the message of the gospel was in complete agreement with the Old Testament. In Luke 24 Jesus shared with the men walking to Emmaus. He presented the gospel message concerning Himself by showing them the Old Testament writings of Moses and all the prophets so they could see the consistent truth of God. God did not begin a new plan but instead fulfilled the plan that was from the beginning. It was veiled until it was fulfilled through the cross and now it is open for all to see and believe.
There is not a new doctrine hidden in the scriptures that needs to be revealed by teachers with a special ‘anointing’. We are all priests to Christ and all have the power to understand scripture because of God’s Spirit within us. We are not dependent on any man to teach us. Look at 1 John 2:26-27
26 These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. 27 But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.
This sounds familiar to this modern era. The scripture warns that there will be teachers trying to deceive you but we are not to be swayed by them. Even in John’s day, some claimed to have a special anointing and they alone had special revelations from God. However, the scripture states that if you have God’s Holy Spirit, you have the anointing and it abides on you. You are not dependent on man but the Spirit teaches you the truth from God’s word when you abide in Him. There is not a new revelation but all has been revealed. Look at Colossians 1:
26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.
In ages past, the word was a mystery and was indeed veiled but now it has been revealed to the saints. If you have salvation in Christ, you are a saint and have the power of God, the anointing of God and the truth of God revealed in you. It is by that power that you are commanded to judge with a righteous judgment. Look at 1 Corinthians 2:15
15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.
If you are spiritual (which only comes by abiding in Christ and His word abiding in you – John 15), you have the ability and the command to judge all things. Righteous Judgment is by the Spirit, founded upon the Word, and focuses on reconciliation to God.
We are commanded to confront
Confrontation is not a negative reaction in and of itself; however, we can make it negative. The apostle Paul confronted Peter when his doctrine swayed from the truth (Galatians 2:11-21). Peter and James were intimidated by the Jewish leaders that were pressuring them to conform to the Jewish law and mix this with grace. Their error was causing many immature Christians to be confused and a division began in the church. Paul confronted Peter for the purpose of reconciliation and correction concerning the doctrine of the truth. We know that this criticism was received since Peter later acknowledged Paul had wisdom from God and stated that Paul was his beloved brother (2 Peter 3:15).
A false teacher will be threatened when evaluated against scripture but a wise man will not. The Bible says that if you rebuke a wise man, he will love you but a scoffer will hate you (Proverbs 9:8). Rebuke in love is not harsh and confrontation done in a spirit of reconciliation is profitable. However, if a teacher values their philosophies over scripture, they will hate the person who points out the discrepancy. Even so, we are still commanded to confront. Look at the following passages:
2 Corinthians 11:12-15 12 But what I do, I will also continue to do, that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast. 13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
Titus 1:7-11 7 For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, 8 but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, 9 holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict. 10 For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11 whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain.
1 Timothy 6:3-5 3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, 4 he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, 5 useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.
Ephesians 5: 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Titus 1:13 13 This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,
Titus 2:15 15 Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.
The fact that the Bible teaches this principle so many times in so many books should make it self evident that this is a matter of critical importance. Rebuking is not very palatable in today’s church culture. Confrontation, rebuke and judging according to the word is often called divisive and disruptive. While the Bible teaches that we are commanded to do these things, it is often believed and taught that it is wrong to do the very thing the Bible commands. This alone should help us to understand why the church is conforming to the world instead of persuading the world to conform to Christ. Rebuke can be done in a hostile spirit; however, the foundation of everything is love for God and a love for others. It is not love to allow someone to continue to walk away from God without seeking reconciliation.
To see error and turn a blind eye is not unity and is not love; in fact, the Bible states that to do so is evidence of hate. A father that does not rebuke a child in error hates his son according to Proverbs 13:24. When God rebukes and disciplines us, we are told not to despise this because it is the evidence that God loves us. If God ignores our sins, then we know that we are not His children (Hebrews 12:5). The same is true when we see fellow believers stray from the truth or get caught up in false teaching; we express love toward them by confronting the problem with a spirit of reconciliation. Fear of rejection is not evidence of love for perfect love casts out fear.
To disregard is disobedience
God also pulls no punches when addressing our tolerance to false teaching. Look at 2 John 1:9-12
9 Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; 11 for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.
This passage addresses false doctrine and tolerance to allow it to be taught. Keep in mind that the majority of churches during this era met in people’s houses. I believe this is what John is addressing when warning that if we receive or greet him. Many receive false teachers and provide them a platform to communicate their message. To say that we do not agree but allow it to continue puts us squarely in the middle of the warning of verse 11, we will share in his evil deeds. The Bible also warns that teachers will receive the greater judgment; therefore, we will also be judged for their sins if we allow this to go unquestioned.
We are not allowed to greet them because this is an affirmation or stamp of approval in the eyes of others. God does not give us the liberty to allow doctrine contrary to Christ to go unchecked. Doctrine is the evidence that someone is of God or not. If someone’s doctrine contradicts the scripture, they are not of God regardless of their works, ministry or any other method of evaluation. The doctrine is the sole standard of measure we are given.
While unity is critical to the mission of the church, discernment and doctrine cannot be ignored. It is important that we have biblical unity that is founded on truth and love. Without doctrine, we run the high risk of becoming like the church in the last days and to follow the masses that are lead by Group Think and not Unity.
