Good doctrine … there I said it … the “D” word. It seems, in many churches, we’re afraid of the word and of calling many biblical concepts by their traditional or biblical names. I understand the value of making preaching and teaching relevant. But have we gone to such lengths to avoid using biblical terminology that we have become a generation of biblical illiterates?
According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, doctrine is, “a set of ideas or beliefs that are taught or believed to be true.” Biblical doctrine is made up of the ideas and beliefs that the Bible teaches to be true. It’s the Bible carefully studied and understood.
Good doctrine matters because what we believe about God, His sovereignty, and His dealings with those He loves, determines how we’ll respond to the tests and trials of life, among other things. It also determines whether we witness, how we interact with others, especially our spouses and children, and whether we have peace at the end of our lives. Good doctrine matters more than we know and bad doctrine, even when it sounds very appealing, has a nasty downside.
The Bible is full of promises for those who will trust in God. One of God’s promises is very important for those going through tests and trials. But this promise has good news and bad. And if we don’t understand it, we can make our trials much worse. Perhaps, even last longer.
“Why me?” It’s a question we so often ask. Why is this happening? And why is it happening to me? Why now? Why my kids, my family, my job, my health? But … are we asking the right “why question”?
And from our New Testament reading:
We’ll talk about some very familiar verses from Romans. Most of us have likely shared these verses when talking to others about the gospel. Some of them have even been turned into what is commonly called the “sinner’s prayer.”
But is there a danger to praying the “sinner’s prayer” or “asking Jesus to come into your heart”? If so, how can we avoid it and not mislead others by giving them a false assurance of salvation?
There will be times in all of our lives when life doesn’t make sense. It may be because of sickness or tragedy, the loss of a relationship, or watching a child walk away from the Lord. It may be because of someone else’s sin or just our circumstances, but there are times when life is hard. Maybe you’re going through one of those times right now.
Whatever your difficult circumstances or mine, how should we respond? And if we’re doing well right now, what can we do to be ready when challenging times come?
Does God use tests and trials, including those caused by others, for our good? That can be a challenging thought for many of us.
How do you respond when someone sins against you? Do you get angry? Defensive? Do you allow it to justify sinning in return? If God allows us to be sinned against at times, what do we need to understand about our responses and how we should respond so we can benefit from our trials?
We’ve all been there. Maybe you’re there right now. You’re going through a trial yet God seems nowhere to be found. And you find yourself wondering why.
You believe His promise to never leave you or forsake you. You believe God answers prayers. But … silence.
We’ve all been there. Maybe you’re there right now. You’re going through a trial yet God seems nowhere to be found. And you find yourself wondering why.
You believe His promise to never leave you or forsake you. You believe God answers prayers. But … silence.
Suffering … we don’t like to think about the possibility that we might suffer. Yet, tests, trials, tragedies, suffering, and persecutions come to us all. We will probably never be completely prepared for tragedies and intense suffering. Those things often knock the wind out of us at least for a while. But is it possible to have the kind of spiritual foundation that will keep us from being completely knocked down by suffering? If so, what can we do to prepare?
It’s been said that either you have just come out of a trial, are presently in a trial, or are about to go through one. Trials expose our hearts. They remove the dross from our lives–those things which keep us from bringing glory to God as we should. But there are things we need to understand about trials and our responses.
It’s been said that either you have just come out of a trial, are presently in a trial, or are about to go through a trial. That thought can stop us in our tracks because we don’t like trials. At least I don’t and I don’t think I’m alone. But God uses tests, trials, and suffering in our lives as a divine squeeze to let us and others see what’s in our hearts. J.C. Ryle said, “What you are in the day of trial, that you are and nothing more.” Trials show us what we are really made of!
