IN DEFENSE OF DOCTRINE

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. - Jude 1:3

I'm writing this in response to something I heard come out the mouth of a brother in the faith as he was praying. While the passage above speaks to those who would deny the Lord Jesus completely and lead the saints with them away from from the Lord, I'm quoting this passage in response to those who still believe they are seeking the Lord, but are skirting on the very edge of the narrow way Jesus talks about in Matthew 7, ever so slightly out of alignment, that the deviation from the faith is subtle, but grows slowly.

Let me begin by defining some terms. In the above passage, Jude uses the term “the faith”. In his letter, he's addressing the saints: “those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for [or by] Jesus Christ”. He uses this term “the faith” in relation to salvation. This builds off of what James says in his letter, basically the thought that faith without works is not genuine faith, without which there is no salvation if in fact salvation stems from genuine faith as asserted by Paul in his letter to the Romans. Jude takes it a step further, past salvation and into guarding that salvation, making the statement that there is a faith – one – which we are to hold to.

What does that mean? What is meant by the term the faith. It would seem that it goes past the overarching term of faith, which Paul describes Abraham having, a trust in God, and steps into something more refined.

In 1 Corinthians 16:13, paul puts it like this: “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” The Faith is something that we can stand firm in, hold fast to, adhere to. He goes on to say in 2 Corinthians “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” So The Faith is something in which we are either in or out of. And more than that, there is a measure by which to test whether we are in or we are out. There is an observable difference between those who are in the faith, and those who are not.

What is this quantifiable evidence of The Faith? The term implies that there is a specific set of beliefs to be adhered to. If these beliefs are held, we have The Faith, or are in The Faith. If these beliefs are not held, we are not. There's another word describing specific beliefs that are held. That word is Doctrine. When Jude and Paul use the term The Faith, they are referring to specific beliefs or the doctrines of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Timothy 6:3-4a says “If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing.” Doctrines are the test to which Paul refers in 2 Corinthians. If the Doctrines of Jesus Christ are held, we are in The Faith. If we hold doctrines contrary to those spoken by Jesus (or believe doctrines don't matter at all – which, by the way, is still a doctrine), we are not. Doctrines are important, and they are to be held, highly regarded, observed and protected.

In Paul's instruction to the leaders of the Church, he takes this a step further still. In Paul's letter to Titus, Paul tells him what kind of person should be appointed to a leadership position. Among the criteria is a firm grasp of sound doctrine: “He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” He goes on to tell Titus how to instruct those not in leadership to live godly lives. Among this admonition is the instruction that they are to “[show] all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.”

There's a popular belief right now that faith trumps doctrine. That a relationship with Jesus is more important than the doctrines of Jesus. Beloved, that is a lie straight from the pit of Hell. Without the doctrines of Jesus Christ, there is no knowledge of Jesus Christ. And without a knowledge of Jesus Christ, there is no relationship with Jesus Christ (you cannot relate to that which you do not know). To know Christ, to be in relationship with Jesus Christ is to hold fast the Doctrines of Jesus Christ as spoken by Christ himself, and by the apostles through the inspired written word of the Scriptures.

To reject the Doctrines of God is to reject God. Some might say that they have a relationship with Christ apart from the Doctrines of Christ (The Faith), apart from the teachings and beliefs of the Church (or with teachings and beliefs different from the Church). To those I would say, you have a relationship to someone, but it's not Jesus.

When the doctrines are left behind or altered, The Faith is left behind and all that is left is an unbridled or heretical spirituality masquerading as Christianity. Jesus comes with His doctrines. To embrace one is to embrace the other. Period.