The second purpose for doctrine according to the Timothy verses is that it separates for us what is right and what is wrong. This is where the Oprahs of the world get confused. To them being told what is right and what is wrong is somehow, "beating them down." Last night Oprah actually said, "I can beat myself up enough." I would respectfully disagree. We do not beat ourselves up nearly enough. If we did, we would see positive change in our lives more frequently. And the real core of this issue is that God does not tell us right from wrong for His amusement but for our betterment. The child who gets spanked for crossing the street by themselves doesn't get hit by the next car if they learned from the chastisement. The cold hard reality is that man has been recreating God in his own image since time began. But when you do that you are merely making it all up as you go along. I've tried being my own God. I am not very good at it. But to the Oprahs of the world, they still think they are. God teaches us:
And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can't. I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. I have discovered this principle of life--that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. Romans 7: 18-21 (NLT)
But as long as we live by the Word of God, He will always let us know what is right and what is wrong. Knowing that He only has our best interests in mind. It is possibly the most devious of lies the devil has ever concocted to convince people that the very heart of the love God has for us is translated into punishment by the world. To convince people that God is "beating us down" when in reality He is protecting us with His great love.
The final purpose for doctrine from the Timothy verses is that it prepares us for the great works God has planned for us to do. Within this purpose we find the true selfishness of the Osteen motivational creed. At the heart of it, it is only YOUR best life NOW. It has nothing to do with other people and it has nothing to do with eternity. It is self-centered at its core. Once you have been saved you realize that it is not longer about me it is about Him! It is about His plans. It is about the fact that God would not see anyone suffer and would see all come to repentance.
Pastor Joel last night said that he tries to stay away from all the rules and regulations. The implication being that doctrine somehow has become a dirty word. A society that does not adhere to basic doctrine does not care if people are murdered. Does not care if there is rampant adultery. Doesn't care if theft is celebrated and lying is a way of life. The sad thing is that we live in that society today. The adulterer doesn't want to hear that he is wrong. The thief doesn't want to hear that he is wrong. The mega church Pastor who doesn't preach the full Gospel doesn't want to hear that he is wrong. Don't want to get beaten down by all those rules and regulations. Here were the parting words to the Ephesian elders from the Apostle Paul:
"Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. Acts 20: 26-27 (NIV)
Pastor Joel said last night that his vision was to cast a net of hope out across the whole world. To assure them that God loves them. That God wants the best for them. And he is absolutely right in saying that. But that is NOT the whole will of God. The Bible is the will of God. The doctrine that shapes our lives is the will of God. To cast aspersion upon it is not wise. Because our Christianity should cost us something. King David once needed a plot of land to make an offering unto God and the owner offered it to him for free; after all who charges the king?
Then the king said to Araunah, "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God with that which costs me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 2Samuel 24: 24 (NKJV)
And if you boil it down, the Osteen-Oprah mantra is selling a Christianity that costs us nothing. Where the very thing God warns us to watch closely is mocked into being a beat down of rules and regulations because at our heart we all want to rebel against what God says. In our key verse today Paul tells Timothy to watch his doctrine because he knew that it is doctrine that will lead you away from the lies of this world. It is doctrine that will discern right from wrong. It is doctrine that will prepare us for the purpose God has for us. That isn't cheap; it isn't dirty. For the record I do not question Pastor Joel's motive. I never have. But as my pastor likes to say, you can be sincere and sincerely wrong. I don't want any blood on my hands.
God is love but God is also wrath. Ask Sodom and Gomorrah. If God is only love then sin becomes irrelevant. If sin is irrelevant, then there is no need for a Savior. That is how you remove Christ from Christianity. That is how you reinvent God in your own image. Beloved I pray you realize today that there is no new age spirituality that will get you into heaven. There is no motivational speaker so good, or so powerful that he will be able to motivate you into heaven. There is no net of hope that can be cast wide enough to catch you and snatch you up into heaven. You best life is not now. It is only when you follow the one true God and have a relationship with Him. I do not say that with any malice towards anyone, such as Pastor Joel. I say that because God said it. Guard your life and your doctrine closely beloved. What you believe is not a dirty word. It is the Word of the Lord.
Reverend Anthony Wade January 9, 2012
