Doctrine Matters

 

"Then the Sadducees stepped forward - a group of Jews who say there is no resurrection after death.  They posed this question: 'Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will be the brother's heir.  Well, there were seven brothers.  The oldest of them married and then died without children.  So the second brother married and the widow, but soon he too died and left no children.  Then the next brother married her and died without children.  This continued until all the brothers had married her and died, and still there were no children.  Last of all, the woman died, too.  So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection?  For all seven were married to her.'  Jesus replied, 'Your problem is that you don't know the Scriptures, and you don't know the power of God.  For when the dead rise, they won't be married.  They will be like the angels in heaven.  But now, as to whether the dead will be raised, haven't you ever read about this in the writings of Moses, in the story of the burning bush?  Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said to Moses, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'  So he is the God of the living, not the dead.  You have made a serious error.'" Mark 12:18-27 (NLT).

 

Doctrine matters.  You would never believe this was so when you hear some people talk today.  We are often told that we should not be so concerned about Bible doctrine and concentrate more on getting along with others.  In fact, we are told that we shouldn't be concerned with whether or not someone else is teaching error so long as they are sincere.

 

This point of view is simply wrong.  It does not agree with Jesus' own teaching or example.  In our text above, Jesus not only corrects the mistaken doctrinal views of the Sadducees regarding their erroneous beliefs concerning the resurrection of the dead, but he publicly chastises them for not knowing the Scriptures.

 

You see the Sadducees did not believe that those who died would resurrect from the dead.  They believed that once you died it was all over.  There was nothing more after that.  So they come up with an elaborate, hypothetical scenario to try to trap Jesus into agreeing with them that there is no resurrection of the dead.  But instead of falling into their hypothetical drivel, Jesus stands his ground and tells them, "Your problem is that you don't know the Scriptures."  Then he shares scripture with them that rebuts their mistaken views.

 

Beware.  Those who do not wish to follow the Scriptures often concoct hypothetical situations to throw at you to try to get you to compromise your Bible-centered beliefs.  I don't know how many times I've had someone deny the plain teaching of the Scripture that baptism is for the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit by coming up with a hypothetical situation where baptism would seem impossible (See Acts 2:38).  "What if a person believes in Jesus but is lying in a hospital bed and can't be baptized?" they'll ask.  Or "What if a person gives their life to Christ but is in a desert where there is no water?"  These types of scenarios are just like the hypothetical trap that the Sadducees presented to Jesus, and we must not fall prey to them anymore than Jesus did.  We must leave possible hypothetical situations up to God and his mercy and teach scriptural truth accurately in the meantime.  Presentations of such hypothetical situations are not usually sincere attempts to learn the truth, but stubborn attempts to maintain error and persuade us to abandon obvious Biblical truth.

 

Instead, we must stand our ground as Jesus did.  We must point out error and refuse to be drawn into such useless debates.

 

Now in order to point out mistaken beliefs, we must know the Scripture as well as possible.  However, we don't have to be a Bible scholar or theologian to do this.  We only have to make it a point to read the Bible regularly.  The more we read the more our minds will be saturated with God's truth on various issues.  And the more our minds are saturated with God's truth, the more easily we will be able to identify and correct doctrinal mistakes - both ours and others.

 

 

Paul wrote, "Work hard so God can approve you.  Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15 (NLT).  The NASB translates the phrase "correctly explains" with "accurately handles."  But however you translate it, the plain truth here is that God wants us to handle his word with care so that our beliefs more closely reflect God"s thoughts on the issues at hand.  In this way, we will better understand how God wishes for us to live.  Sound doctrine leads to sound living; erroneous doctrine leads to erroneous living.

 

An erroneous view of baptism can lead people to not even seek baptism or to be baptized in an unbiblical way.  An erroneous understanding of marriage roles can lead to a husband or wife acting wrongly towards his or her spouse and even divorce; a mistaken view of how to raise children may result in a child rebelling or refusing to believe in God; a erroneous view of how to handle money and material possessions can lead us to a life of slavery to debt and much misery and despair. 

 

What we believe matters!  Doctrine matters.  Erroneous doctrine leads to erroneous living and sound doctrine leads to sound living.

 

A woman once came to me in mental torment.  She mistakenly believed that Christians cannot know for sure if they are saved.  She had a correct view that God requires us to keep the faith until death; however, she had made a serious error in her view of God's grace and faithfulness.  The Bible not only teaches that we must keep the faith, but also that God gives us everything we need to keep it!  It also teaches that we can definitely know we are saved here and now (See 1 John 5:13).

 

After sharing several scriptures with this woman, her worry disappeared and her anxiety calmed.  She began to rejoice in her salvation.  She became more positive and confident in sharing Jesus with others.  Her newly adopted sound doctrine led her to sound living.

 

Doctrine matters.  We must never forget this.  We must also be willing to point out error when appropriate opportunity presents itself to us.  We must not hesitate to challenge beliefs that are apparently mistaken.  By doing so, we show love for the person who may be trapped in error.  Or, we may learn that we are the mistaken one.  In either case, it is a win-win situation if everyone concerned is truly seeking truth.

 

A caution is in order here.  Don't waste your time arguing with people like the Sadducees.  All they wanted to do was argue with Jesus and cause harm to his kingdom.  They had no intention of changing their views.

 

We will often come across such people.  They will argue anything and lapse into endless hypothetical situations, not to learn, but to perpetuate the argument.  When you encounter such people, lovingly point out the truth, but don't fall into the trap of continual argument.  You will be wasting your breath and energy that is better spent elsewhere.  Instead, simply share the truth and move on

 

Paul wrote, "Don't get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights.  The Lord's servants must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone.  They must be able to teach effectively and be patient with difficult people.  They should gently teach those who oppose the truth.  Perhaps God will change those people's hearts, and they will believe the truth." 2 Timothy 2:23-25 (NLT).

 

Doctrine matters, so speak the truth.  But do it kindly and learn to abandon quarrels that are going nowhere.