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Georgia 
Volume 1    No. 2                                                                                                      April 17, 2000

The Crucial Importance 
of Sound Bible Doctrine
Is doctrine important? Some people say they don’t want to get into the subject of doctrine, they just want the simple gospel without doctrine. This is a total impossibility. The briefest explanation of who Jesus is is doctrine. The briefest explanation of the “Plan of Salvation,” whether the true Apostolic plan of salvation delivered by the first preacher of the newly-born Church in Jerusalem and confirmed throughout the Book of Acts and re-confirmed throughout the Epistles or the mis-application of several verses to teach a “believe and you’re eternally saved no matter what you do,” Plan of Salvation, it is still doctrine. You cannot acknowledge Jesus as “…The Christ of God” (Luke 9:20), without being involved in doctrine.

Put in simple terms anyone can understand, the word “doctrine” means “teaching” or “understanding”.
When you explain that before God created the world, He knew He would create mankind and that mankind would sin and need a savior, that is doctrine.

When you explain that because Eve and Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, all mankind came under a curse of sin, that is doctrine.
Hearing God tell Eve and Satan that the seed of the woman would bruise Satan’s head and Satan would bruise the heel of the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:14, 15), that is doctrine.

When Abraham told Isaac that “God will provide Himself a Lamb,” (Genesis 22:8), that is doctrine, whether seen as speaking of the immediate ram caught in the bushes or of the later time when John the Baptist cried out, “Behold the Lamb of God…,” (John 1:29,36), that is doctrine.

When Jesus was talking to Nicodemus in John chapter 3, that is all doctrine and verse 16 in particular, along with verses 15 and 17 is strong doctrine, explaining the love, grace and mercy of God to mankind.

So now, having seen that any religion at all, and especially any Christian teaching is, in fact, doctrine, let us go on to see what the Bible, not I, not what any other man more recent than the original Apostles and Paul taught or teaches, but what Jesus Christ and those who were with Him and often heard Him say, “Why reason ye…Do ye not understand?” believed, understood and taught, preached and practiced.

In Galatians 1:8 and 9, the Apostle Paul makes a very powerful statement on this subject. He says that even if He says anything contrary to what he first preached, or if an angel from heaven comes preaching anything other than what he at first preached,we are to consider him or the angel as accursed. This is often mis-applied by modern preachers to make their own teachings seem infallible, but this is clearly NOT what Paul is saying. So where do we find Paul’s original teachings? ONLY in the Book of Acts. All the Epistles were written to people who had, according to the Bible, already believed the message of their sinfulness and that Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, paid the whole price for their salvation, repented of their sins, been baptized in water in His name and received the Holy Spirit baptism in an effort by the Apostles Paul, James, Peter and John to correct errors of excessive legalism on the one hand and excessive misuse of grace to continue in sin, on the other hand. and applying it instead to the sinner who has never known Christ as an explanation of salvation. The Apostle Paul speaks directly to this abuse of his doctrine several times (Gal. 1:8,9; also: Rom. 6:17; 10:16; 16:17; Eph. 4:14; 1 Tim.1:3, 11; 6:3; 2 Tim. 4:3,4; 2 John 1:9) and the Apostle Peter really gets on it in 2 Peter 3:13-16.

So what was the doctrine first preached and taught in the first ever Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in Jerusalem? What was this doctrine that the Apostle Paul said to consider anyone accursed who did not preach it?

What can I say more than I have already said? I received a packet of information or rather misinformation from an organization that promotes itself on the radio and elsewhere as defending the real truths of Christianity which included: “Is the ______ Church a Christian Church?”, “The Essentials of Christianity”, “Practical Apologetics: Bringing Baptism into Biblical Balance” and “The Biblical Basis of the Doctrine of the Trinity” (of which I already had a copy and to which I have written a rebuttal to in the past).  As I read it, I kept the following thoughts in mind: How does it agree or disagree with the teachings of Jesus, His original Apostles and Paul? How well does it agree with overall Biblical teachings from Genesis to Revelation as understood by who is writing or speaking to whom and in what context? Is it a direct command from God or is it an explanation of how some aspect of God’s relationship with man is intended to be applied in our lives today?

Please bear in mind that the context of what I am about to say here in this sermon is to one who criticizes any who do not agree with their theology as being cultic, and is NOT necessarily what I would say to a lost sinner that I meet on the street or in the seat in a church where I am preaching. But I do see it as crucial that I tell that lost sinner what the Bible truly does say in the correct setting and context precisely as Jesus and His original followers did.

We should read and understand all scripture in its context or the setting in which it was originally spoken or written. This is the most important thrust of Followers of Jesus Christ Fellowship. But I see so much of various theologians saying this about context and then using scriptures written to people who had, according to the Bible, already believed the full Gospel message. They were already experienced in the message of their sinfulness and that Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, had already paid the whole price for their salvation, had repented of their sins, been baptized in water in His name and received the Holy Spirit baptism. In an effort by the Apostles Paul, James, Peter and John to correct errors of excessive legalism on the one hand and excessive misuse of grace to continue in sin on the other hand, they wrote many explanations of the great grace of God and the needfulness of holy living. Many modern preachers, instead quote these scriptures to the never-born-again sinner who has never known Christ as an explanation of salvation. The Apostle Paul speaks directly to this abuse of his doctrine several times (Please reread: Gal. 1:8,9; also: Rom. 6:17; 10:16; 16:17; Eph. 4:14; 1 Tim.1:3, 11; 6:3; 2 Tim. 4:3,4; 2 John 1:9 and2 Peter 3:13-16).

I cannot speak as for the other Apostolic Doctrine (so-called Oneness) organizations, because what I have received has as likely as not come directly from hearing a scripture mis-applied by some big-name denominational radio preacher and the Holy Spirit reminding me of several scriptures that while those verses are of course agreeing with what that verse SAYS, totally contradict the conclusion of meaning of that verse given by that preacher. (And this also sometimes happens when I am listening to other “Oneness” preachers as well!) I am aware of many, such as Brother _________, now a resident in Washington state, who spent more than 20 years as a missionary in Africa who, as a result of his own studies and prayer came to much  the same conclusions as I concerning the Godhead and plan of salvation and who later went, independent of any large organization, with just friends and fellow-Christians supporting his ministry in the Philippines, where I first met him. I also know several who studied the Bible while in prison and because they were confused by the various doctrines people came in preaching to them, cried out for God to show them His way and they saw the original teachings of the Apostles as being the one and only right way.

When I go on missionary trips to the Philippines, former Soviet Union or wherever God sends me, I do not teach MY doctrines. I have none. I have only those clearly set forth in the Bible. And when I go, I go in power and the authority of the Holy Spirit of God to teach these fine folks, “I have no doctrine of my own. I am here to help you avoid the confusion of all the different people who will come here as they hear that the door is opened and they will come teaching all kinds of doctrines. At first they will seem right, but as you study the scriptures yourself or another preacher, teacher or missionary comes and teaches something different you may begin to ask ‘What is the real truth?’ I am here to help you to know how to study the Bible and arrive at the truth of what God is saying through His word in any and every case by understanding principles of Bible study. Do NOT believe me just because I say God sent me nor because I come from ‘Christian’ America’. I could be telling you lies, whether intentionally or not.

The Bible says to "…Search the scriptures," (John 5:39) and to "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Tim. 2:15)Pastors love my message, regardless of their denominational connections, because I do not get into any specifics until the principles of study are firmly established. I do not try to get people to get out of any organization, but to begin teaching only what Jesus and the first apostles taught, preached and practiced within that organization. If the organization then does not like what their own people see as true in the Bible, and if those people take the clear and distinct teachings of the Word over denominational dogma that is between them and their denomination.

I eventually do point out that based on a sound principle of Biblical study, the first time a thing happens in the Bible, it usually has the most complete or necessary understanding upon which all subsequent related scriptures must be based. The church actually began as such on the day of Pentecost with a Holy Spirit spectacular drawing the crowd by the sound as of a rushing mighty wind and the cloven tongues like as of fire sitting upon the heads of the 120. Admittedly, many of these were scoffers at first  and certainly unbelievers, but they were also devout Jews. Therefore, regardless of what country they had been living in, they still understood the common Hebrew-related language of devout Jews of that day (generally, Aramaic) just as devout Jews from Israel, Russia, Chile, America and Japan can meet and still communicate in a Yiddish language today. Also, Peter said these hearers were dwelling in Jerusalem. Since they were living there, they had to be able to communicate in the common tongue. Therefore, the speaking in tongues by the 120 was, just as the Bible states, “glorifying God“, not each of the 120 preaching a sermon to someone who spoke a particular language. It remained for Peter to preach the sermon and turn the key in the lock of the Kingdom of Heaven. (See Matthew 16:19.)

At the conclusion of his sermon, they were “…pricked in their hearts and said to Peter and the rest of the brethren, What shall we do?” Now in John 3, Nicodemus’ last words to Jesus were anything but belief, as Jesus pointed out in verse 12. Therefore, John 3:15-17 is NOT the plan of salvation since Nicodemus did not appear to really want to know how to be born again or saved. His questions were those of a religious leader curious about a different doctrine.  But these people in the second chapter of Acts did believe and because they had already believed, the Holy Spirit was able to use that belief to “bring them under conviction” or to prick them in their hearts. They DID ask what they must do and Peter gave them God’s Plan of Salvation in Acts 2:38. The very first time it had ever been given, but surely not, according to the book of Acts, the last! We see that plan of salvation demonstrated in action in whole or in part in Acts 2:41; 8:12-24 & 27-39; 9:17,18; 10:44-48; 11:15,16; 16:12-15 & 31-33; 18:819:1-6 and 22:10-16. Since there are so many scriptures that prove the correctness of this doctrine, how dare various modern preachers teach anything different?

But to make sure, based on the context of knowing what is being said to whom, knowing that Paul was writing to believers in Rome, Galatia and Colosse who had all already experienced baptism based upon all the scriptures related above, Romans 6:3 and 4, Galatians 3:27 and Colossians 2:12 cannot possibly be mere symbolism. Nor can the scripture 1 Corinthians 1:14 rightfully be used to discount Paul’s preaching of baptism, as some attempt to do, since there is abundant scriptural evidence that Paul did baptize or oversaw baptisms twice in Phillipi (Lydia’s household and the jailer), plus in Corinth and in Ephesus. In the light of Galatians 1:8,9, who cares if the late Charles Spurgeon did or did not get baptized or what he taught about it no matter how great and oratorical were his sermons? What does it matter what that great reformer, Martin Luther, or for that matter, John Calvin or the Wesley brothers taught?  What really matters is what did Jesus and His immediate followers teach, preach and practice?

Many, if not most modern-day preachers make the assertion that we who preach what the Bible preaches “...in concert with other cultic groups, distort passages such as Acts 2:38 to defend this deadly doctrine.” What is deadly about it? Obviously, the early church believed it was necessary to salvation as is demonstrated over and over in the actions of preachers and new believers throughout the book of Acts. Belief cannot save. No scripture taken in its Bible context ever says “Belief = Salvation” directly or indirectly! EVERY recorded conversion in the book of Acts also mentions water baptism and by clear implication as well as long-standing and fully authenticated historical sources, it was done in the name of Jesus Christ or the Lord Jesus Christ exclusively until at least about 150 A.D.

The truly deadly misunderstanding of belief results in many people receiving “a form of godliness…denying the power thereof…” and are therefore powerless when they face temptations, testings and trials. These "new converts" soon fall away back into clearly sinful practices. “What shall we say then?” asks the great champion of the Grace doctrine. “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:1,2 — written to people already convicted of sin, already baptized in Jesus’ name, already having received the Holy Spirit baptism.) “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The question of whether baptism is necessary to or a sign of is a technical point. It was and remains undeniably a biblical commandment to be obeyed and is likened by Paul to the burial of the old, sinful nature which was crucified with Christ in the act of repentance. Burial can hardly be symbolized by sprinkling or pouring dirt over a corpse and neither can rhantizing (sprinkling) or cheoing (pouring) be symbolic of biblical baptism. Even recent broadcasts of several major radio evangelists show that they are finally coming to realize and recognize the deadliness of the “Belief=Salvation” doctrine and the resulting rapid withering and falling away of believers.

Every person who stands up because they feel conviction of the Holy Spirit and walks down the aisle in a Billy Graham or Harvest Crusade does so because they first believed the message and through that belief, the Holy Sppirit was able to prick their hearts, EXACTLY as happened on the Day of Pentecost. Why is it that preachers today REFUSE to say to these hungry believing souls what Peter said on the Day of Pentecost? Philip evidently told the Samaritans to be baptized and the Ethiopian eunuchsomehow knew he needed to be baptized when they came to a place with sufficient water to go down into. Evidently Paul told all who believed his messages: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” The words are not repeated in the text of  scripture but the evidence that they must have been spoken either directly or indirectly is to be clearly, unmistakably and undeniably found in the actions of the Samaritans, the Ethiopian eunuch, Saul of Tarsus, Cornelius’ household, Paul's sermons to the household of Lydia and the jailer’s household in Philippi, Crispus and Gaius and other believers in Corinth, and the believers in Ephesus. What more cloud of witnesses do I need? Looks like I’m in pretty secure company!
How about you? Do you accept doctrines contrary to what Jesus and His original Apostles down through Paul, and the true Apostolic Pentecostal or Oneness believers and teachers of today insist upon? Are you concerned with maintaining the purity of those teachings which the Bible CLEARLY teaches and avoiding extra-biblical, so-called truths like the trinity and salvation at the instant of belief.

Since we believe Gal. 1:8,9 and numerous other teachings not only by the Apostle Paul, but also by other of the original Apostles we MUST REJECT these extra-biblical teachings and brand anyone else who clings to them as false and heretical or even cultic. And one of the reasons Apostolic believers continue to grow in numbers so rapidly is that people are tired of what is added to the Bible and churches and religions that “…have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof.”

I urge you in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord to repent of any false teachings and begin to preach and teach according to what you cannot help but already know the Bible really teaches. As the great book, “In His Steps” urges, ask yourself, “What would Jesus do?” and “What would Jesus say and teach if He were in your shoes today?”

I feel quite strongly that if I find a fault with a brother in Christ, I should tell him directly the error of his way in a spirit of meekness and love  and never, NEVER quote any of his errors to other people.  Experience has taught me that sometimes the arguments of human logic and persuasiveness may well seem more persuasive than my own and be swayed by his error rather than God’s truth as I explain it. “…neither give place to the devil…”

If there is anyone under the sound of my voice who knows that you have a pet sin or a habit that is not godly, I ask you to repent and pray with me right now.

“Heavenly Father, in Jesus’ name, I come admitting that I have fallen short of Your word and commandments and I am truly sorry. Please forgive me for Jesus’ sake, and help me to live the rest of my life pleasing to You, Lord. Please search me, oh God and know my heart today. Try me oh Savior, know my thoughts I pray. See if there be some wicked way in me; cleanse me from every sin and set me free. Help me to find a real Bible-believing church where they will baptize me, burying my sinful nature with Christ Jesus my Lord and raising me in Him to walk in newness of life. This I ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
 
 

— S. M. S.
Please feel free to write to:

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Other Apostolic web sites:

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