Amateur Apologist: Some things should change; others should stay the same
Titus 2:1, “But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.”
In my lifetime, the churches I have attended have moved through a lot of changes. Musical styles, definitions of “worship”, and all kinds of things change regularly. I grew up in a church where women were not to wear pants, makeup, or jewelry. We did not attend movies and we did not go “mixed bathing” in swimming pools, lakes or the beach. Now, some of those teachings were “extra Biblical”, meaning they were extrapolations of men’s opinions based on a naïve reading of the Bible. i.e. one does not have to be at the beach to lust nor is every girl at the beach trying to get someone to lust after her. Most of us are just trying to have a good time.
The modernizing of these teachings is, mostly, a good thing. “Holiness” is not a tradition, a way of dressing, or whether or not we have pierced ears. “Holiness” is a condition of the heart. That is where God is looking, after all (1 Samuel 16:7).
But, my heart has been burdened lately because I am not seeing a move toward sound doctrine in many churches. Just last week I saw a “pastor” of some saltless denomination chastise the President of the United States regarding the LGBTQ+ (hereafter referred to as the alphabets). I have not heard a public rebuke of this woman by any official in “the church”. A few personalities who are Christian have spoken out, but many celebrate that heresy. The Bible is one of the things that MUST stay the same. God is not going to breathe another one (2 Timothy 3:16). It is the Eternal Word by which we are to govern our lives. (Matthew 25)
So, let me encourage you who love the Lord. Speak about your faith, but do so carefully. Be sure that what you speak is completely in line with Biblical Truth. If the doctrine of your relationship with God is based on anything other than the Bible, it is not sound. If the doctrine of your church includes anything that is not found in Scripture, it is not sound. We are to rightly divide the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15). Who is the Word? Christ Jesus, the fully God, fully Man second Person of the Trinity . What is the Truth? Jesus, the Word through whom all things were made. He was there in the beginning and His Word is THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE. That is sound doctrine. (John 1)
May God richly bless and keep you and make His face to shine upon you and your children and your children’s children. Amen.
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