In the years after my conversion I have been given the tremendous privilege of being taught early the great doctrines of the faith. Doctrines, precepts and Bible truth that an average church goer today would not know until, by God’s providence, learns of it late in life.
These truths have been a great comfort to me. I have learned early on that promises of Scripture can do little if those promises are not realized to be found on the foundation of the truth of Scripture, the nature of God, the eternal holiness of His person, and the unbending efficaciousness of His decrees. If divorced from these fundamentals among others, the claiming of promises would only turn into wishful thinking. If not willingly, unconsciously and subtly, and I am convinced that such is the case in modern Christendom today. A faith no different to claiming promises of the pagan “gods”, where all is exercised in superficiality and emotion.
There are four core of truths of Scripture that I find to be critical for the present day Christian to know of, all of which has been the foundation of the faith of saints of old that bled and died for Christ as well as those in the present pressing on in the service of exulting His name. These truths include:
- The Supremacy of Scripture/God’s Word (Sola Scriptura)
- The Sovereignty of God
- The Holiness of God
- The Gospel of God
Some would suggest that these truths are already well known in Christian society today, that it is already engraved in the minds of all Christian folk from cradle to pew—I would suggest otherwise. It is my experience that many do have an understanding of these truths, but the question to be asked is do they have a Biblical understanding of these truths? That in itself presents a great chasm of a difference. And that would be very telling on how a Christian goes about his Christian life in everyday living. I see this first hand in the lives of my friends and loved ones, which I am sure is the experience of many others as well all over the world.
Scripture not given it’s proper place in Christian life or ministry would lead to all sorts of heresies and would in essence bring about un-Christian thoughts as well about the nature of God’s sovereignty and holiness as well as His gospel. A proper understanding of the teaching of Scripture is the hinge where all other facets of Christian living and practice hangs upon. A mistake here would lead, and have led in the past and in the present many people to despair and bondage to heresy.
An erroneous and/or insufficient understanding of the Sovereignty of God leads to suffering and despair. Without having a biblical understanding of God’s sovereignty, many modern pulpits today, in their subtlety bind the consciences of men and women all over the world into a form of legalism, which presents itself as a great and inviting precept but in truth is a deception and places the person into the bondage of works righteousness.
An erroneous and/or insufficient understanding of the Holiness of God leads to to ungodliness and an unrepentant life. That is without having a proper and Biblical view of the Holiness of God we do not and can not see the seriousness of sin before God, we do not see the great offense of our iniquities against His glory, thus we see little or no need at all to subject and prostrate ourselves before Him in repentance. (Though it can be said that there are “godly” people who do not have a sufficient understanding of the Holiness of God—in most cases it us but a moral preference that is cultivated not true Biblical godliness that is brought about by true repentance having seen the weight of God’s Holiness.)
An erroneous and/or insufficient understanding of the Gospel of God is one that is most dangerous since it implies an erroneous view of the attributes of God, which includes the aforementioned: God’s sovereignty and holiness. If we take seriously what Scripture says in Paul’s letter to the Galatians, error in this area makes one worthy of anathema (fit for burning for the glory of God). Why? Because in the final analysis of things—it is nothing less than a trampling underfoot of God’s precepts, God’s nature and God’s Word. Also, an erroneous Gospel will not and can not save no matter how sincere a person is.
By the grace of God, I will present these truths in a series of posts that they may be understood and be seen in the actual importance that must be given them. In a sense I will be writing about what I believe and why I believe them. Why they are important to me and why I think they are important to be taught and told and be engraved upon the minds of Christian men and women again and again, and how they changed my life personally.
It has been months since I’ve written an article worthy of posting here on ND so I covet your prayers that these coming posts would be spiritually profitable for all those who would be reading.
It all hinges on Sola Scriptura. If you have that right, the others will likely follow. But if you have it wrong, you'll lose everything else within a generation if not sooner. Did you see the post on the 9Marks blog about why conservatives lose in denominations like ELCA, Episcopal USA, or PCUSA. Because they agree to disagree with the liberals while the liberals fight to the death for their convictions. Let us be kind and not quarrelsome but also firm, bold, humble, and not back down
Thank you for commenting, and welcome to ND!
Amen brother, when Sola Scriptura is denied all sorts of heresies enters the Church and Christian thought. That is a sad reality that the next generation suffers, and will take generations too to recover.
I read about the ELCA issue after you posted your comment. It's no surprise to me that it finally happened. You can only last so much with that much diversity in theology and still remain as a single denomination (apart from the RCC).
“Let us be kind and not quarrelsome but also firm, bold, humble, and not back down”, Amen.