Is Doctrine Dead?

Our Church has been going the the book of 1 John. This is a tough book with themes that can seem repetitive. It is a fabulous book and one that needs to be preached over and over again. I personally have never heard a series on 1 John when I was sitting in the pew as a young believer. This weeks text is taken from 1 John 2:18-27. In this text John says "See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you." That one bit from verse 24 says a lot to the modern/post-modern church. It reminds us that we have a Christian obligation to understand the basics of the Christian faith with as much depth as possible.

We are living in a time when people of any Church background do not understand their Church background or the basic tenets of the faith. Doctrine can seem like such a dry and scary word to many, but it is a word that needs to be elevated by Church Leaders and understood by them. When the Leaders of any Church do not know, understand, and teach basic doctrine the Church is left with a group of people who are bringing in their interpretation of what scripture means to their lives instead of understanding scripture and applying it to their lives. Those of us who are called to lead must teach the basics of the faith to our people because we are obligated to do so. In 1 Timothy, Paul charges his young disciple to keep the basics of the faith and to teach it to the congregation he is Pastoring. This charge remains!

When our Church is done with its series in 1 John we will be moving into the Doctrine of Salvation until the beginning of December. Every year I take one aspect or category of Doctrine and turn it into a Topical Series using a given complete text for each sermon. This is a simple task that allows the congregation to grow and gives freedom to the Preacher to piece the Bible together on a given but yet important matter. The sheep are hungry right now and they need to be fed! They have had enough milk and it is time to give them some steak!