Balancing Act

In a church we belonged to some time ago, there was an associate pastor who would occasionally preach and often taught Sunday School. As my husband and I would discuss his teachings on Sunday afternoon, we would see that he always came down with one lesson: “trust and obey.”

For the record, this is a great lesson to learn. We must trust God, and Jesus was clear that it is in our obedience to His commands that we demonstrate our love for Him (John 14:15). Trusting in the Lord and obeying His word are essentials of the Christian faith.

But, is there more? Is that all there is to what the Apostle Paul calls “sound doctrine?”

The external appearance of trusting and obeying is not always a good indicator of the underlying motivation that comes from our hearts. Humans, even Christian humans, do a lot of things for ungodly reasons. The more doctrine we know and understand, the more motivated we become to trust God with whatever work(s) or issues He puts before us.

1 Timothy 1 even lets us know that understanding sound doctrine helps us understand what not to do, but to stand against.

When Paul was writing to Titus about the qualifications of an elder, he gave him this admonition, “He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” This is the standard for good Christian living (not just for elders).

Later (Titus 2:1) he said to Titus, “But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.”

In Acts 20:27, Paul was talking to the Ephesian elders and said that he had not shrunk form declaring to them “the whole counsel of God.” He emphasized their need to keep watch for “fierce wolves” that would come in among them  and their responsibility to protect the flock.

Do we hold ourselves to these standards? The standard of knowing and living by sound doctrine? Even being concerned about who/what is coming into the flock?

Paul was certainly a man who put his “sound doctrine” to work. He was not an “Ivory Tower theologian” who never rubbed shoulders with others or was above getting his hands dirty, as he worked diligently to keep the Gospel in front of people. He was a man who ministered the love of Christ to the poor but was willing to call out sin when he saw it, and peach the Word for the general edification of anyone he met.

I see balance. Paul did not “just” study and teach the Word of God. He did what it says, even when, to those outside the faith, it looked unbalanced.

Is there balance in our lives? Do we study the Word and do what it says? Or, do we think we can study the portions we like and do whatever those passages say, but leave the rest for the elders to worry about?

How sound is the doctrine by which we live ?