It is good to be reminded why doctrine matters. Let me do it this way:
Is your relationship with your spouse warm if he or she cheats on you? Is it warm if your spouse spends money yall don't have? Do you desire intimacy with your spouse when they yell and scream at you? Do you feel warm if your spouse doesn't meet your expectations when it comes to celebrating your birthday?
These are silly questions. Of course things are not warm if there is unfaithfulness, financial chaos, or harsh reprisals in your marriage. For there to be warmth, there are certain boundaries that must be established that guide the marriage relationship. Without these guiding buoys that define the relationship there cannot be a lasting relationship, never mind warmth.
There are countless guiding truths that keep your marriage relationship healthy and warm: we do not sleep with other people, we do not kiss other people, we don't snuggle with other people, we don't go to dinner alone with a member of the opposite sex, we don't have ongoing personal discussions with members of the opposite sex. And those are just a few of the guiding truths in just the physical arena of your marriage that keep things healthy and warm. I didn't even mention the guiding truths in the financial arena, handling of conflict arena, raising kids arena, gender roles in the home arena, commitments outside the home arena, etc.
Your marriage relationship cannot thrive on feelings alone. There have to be understood boundaries, truths, and guiding principles that mark out the playing field on which the relationship plays out. And as you know from the conflict in marriage, you and your spouse need regular reminders of what these things are and why you have them until they are ingrained in both of you.
This is the role of doctrine and theology in the life of the Christian. Your relationship with God cannot thrive on feelings or enthusiasm alone. Doctrines are the understood boundaries, truths, and guiding principles that mark out the playing field on which your relationship with God plays out. Without doctrine and theology, we cannot properly understand God and thus we cannot have a lasting relationship with him. These doctrines need to be taught and re taught to us--what we believe and why--until they are ingrained in us.
The challenge of doctrine and theology is that it requires thinking at a bit of a deeper level. One cannot grow in the knowledge of doctrine without studying God's Word. It requires effort and years of learning that builds upon itself. A mind set of Christianity that favors quick results and feeling good does not produce a student of the bible. It produces shallow spiritual waters and petty thinking.
Doctrine matters. It is worth learning because it is very, very important to walking with the Lord over a long period of time. It is not just for those who went to seminary. Those who went to seminary and are now pastors are simply those called by God to devote themselves full time to learning these things in order to pass them along to the other believers in the congregation.
Imagine if your spouse said to you they were no longer interested in the guiding principles and truths of your marriage relationship and just wanted intimacy. Imagine if the next time your spouse makes a financial move you disagree with or don't understand and you say you want to discuss it, that they say, "no, I'm not interested in discussing our principles of money management, I just want warmth and intimacy with you." Talk about dysfunctional.
Don't succumb to the prevalent mind set today that we need a focus on relationship and not doctrine. Doctrine taught properly is what produces a sustainable relationship. Decide you are not going to believe you already know enough. Commit to being a student of the bible. Join a church where the pastor systematically teaches the Scriptures and not merely different presentations of John 3:16 and life improvement tips. Commit to learning the Word of God over a long period of time. Be patient and settle into a lifetime of learning. Get a good bible. Get a notebook. Take notes. Ask questions. Study.
And as you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, you will have an intimacy with Him that those who don't want to go deeper won't ever experience.
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