What Do You Believe?
What Do You Believe?
(A reminder to myself)
Is your doctrine biblical? Political? Personal? Professional? Spiritual?
Are you easily persuaded against your morals, principles or beliefs? Do you take a stand for them?
Here’s a harder question, are your beliefs biblical?
Doctrine is just another word for belief.
For over forty years I had no idea. I lived solely for myself and this world. I lived for my own desires and wants. I was selfish, self-centered and addicted to alcohol and tobacco. I had ethics, not morals. I believed in myself and not a relationship with God. I was easily influenced by the things around me. Don’t get me wrong, I own my bad decisions.
That was then and this is now. Now I prefer a walk with God. I prefer to pursue Him with every thread of my being. I choose to relinquish my life to Him daily. I choose to be obedient to God. And yet, I still struggle.
So many times we can become easily persuaded, or in some cases, adapted, to what is going on around us that our doctrine becomes diluted or polluted.
We may begin to allow ourselves to be surrounded by behaviors that we wouldn’t normally tolerate, such as profanity, sexually suggestive clothing, vulgarity or idolatry.
We may follow trends that don’t align with our beliefs, allow inappropriate media into our lives, find ourselves attracted to ideology or even allow others to weaken our testimony.
There are things around us every day that we ignore or tolerate that go against every thread of our biblical principles, or what we should believe. And we allow it or dismiss it.
Many times judgement is confused for separating ourselves or taking a stand for our beliefs. And this is how our doctrine becomes weak. We shouldn’t judge. Jesus didn’t judge the sinners, He taught them. Jesus judged the Pharisees because they were teaching false doctrine.
Matthew 23 (entire chapter)
Biblical doctrine is divisive. It’s meant to be. It’s mean to separate us from the world. This doesn’t mean you can’t love someone while showing them the way to Christ. We should love the sinner, just not the sin.
Our two greatest commandments are to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, mind, soul and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Sometimes this love for others is to embrace them with our biblical doctrine.
As my friend Allen once said, we are the only Bible that some people may ever read. But if we put a cover on the book it’s hard to tell what it’s about.
When people see us, do they see us addicted to tobacco, socially using alcohol or using profanity among friends? Do they see us being prideful, vain or losing our temper with our spouse?
Some argue specifics and context in the Bible when it would be simpler to just deny yourself and pick up the cross. I personally see this as the case for alcohol. Wouldn’t it be easier to glorify God by denying yourself, rather than showing pride by having to argue a point that you believe the Bible makes so you can drink a beer? Just saying.
We should be proving our love for Christ every single day by trying as hard as we can to live up to our biblical doctrine. I mean after all, Jesus gave His life for our sin.
Stop excusing away bad behavior because you’ve watered down your doctrine.
Love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength.
“Wherefore Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch not the unclean thing; And I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, And ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”
2 Corinthians 6:17-18
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
1 John 2:15
Go out and prove your love for God. We can’t expect others to stand for Christ if we won’t even get up.