Skip to main content

Love or Doctrine?

There are churches where getting everything "right" and grimly holding onto the letter of it is the most important thing and just as you think you have grasped the sum total of things you must hold to the goalposts seem to move and more important things are added.  Another sort of church is the one that majors on "love" but falsely so called often being a wishy washy thing that sets out not to offend anyone no matter what is at stake. Now I regard doctrine highly but it probably can't be something of which you can grasp the totality.  When it comes down to it love is an important part of doctrine.  When the Bible talks about love and it being the greatest of, "faith, hope and love," in 1Corinthians 13 we need to look at the meaning of the  word  "love" used there.  You see the Greek language in which Paul's letters are written has three words for "love", "Eros," "Philio" and "Agape"  (pronounced Aga-pay)  The first is romantic love and the second brotherly love, but Agape is sacrificial love, love that gives even when it hurts.  So the wishy washy churches need to have a love that is prepared to upset people if that will bring them nearer to Jesus.  What good is agreeing with people if you know they are wrong and in danger?  They need to be alerted to their danger not molly coddled into a state of cosiness headed for eternity unprepared. Similarly our brothers who have been majoring in doctrine need to see the application of what they are teaching and they need to look at the doctrine of sacrificial love and live it out to their close colleagues as well as those with whom they don't see eye to eye.  What is the point of battering those who don't see what you mean if you are just antagonising them in a way that pushes them further from the truths you have been blessed with. Let them see the application not just the letter A gracious loving brother is more likely to be listened to than someone who is so very sure of his beliefs and shows no humility. How sad to know so many precious truths of the gospel and yet not know the joy that the application brings.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How do you cope with depression?

There are two main types of depression, reactive, which is a reaction to your circumstances and endogenous, which is a part of your makeup and not entirely affected by your circumstances. I get the second type. When I am depressed I like to sleep a lot, this is probably not a good thing as depression can lift if you do not have extra sleep. It is all very well knowing that , but acting upon it is another thing. Exercise is also beneficial. Some sorts of depression can be lifted by taking these measures, but some people need medication. You need to get to know your doctor and develope a relationship with him/her where you feel you can trust their judgement. Do look for help as there are lots of possibilities out there. It is not good to spend long stretches of time on your own. Talking with other people will often help lift your spirits, especially if they are people who have gone through this experience themselves. Maybe you need to join a self help group. Avoid people who tell...
Post a Comment
Read more

Section A

I've posted off my work for section A. Now to get on with B. Onward and upward as they say. It does feel good to have completed A, progress is being made.I think my tutor is more nervous than I as to the outcome, but then I am his first student. We are learning from each other.But then that should always be the case. It's an adventure we go on together.The course seems to be suiting me alright but I feel there are a lot of potentially excellent local preachers out there who are put off by the study. Something should be devised to include these good people, we can ill afford to do without them, especially as the numbers of ministers is dropping. What did Wesley do? You don't need a degree, or even A levels to preach. You need a call, and a close relationship with God.
6 comments
Read more

Reasons to learn a new language

I have been learning Russian for about a year.  There were times when I felt like giving up, but   something would come along to cheer me up and I redoubled my efforts.  But why do this at 70?  When I had already started learning I heard a programme about dementia and apparently learning a new language, it is claimed helps to put off the onset of dementia.  So there, indeed, is a good reason. It is one thing to learn to read and write a foreign language but speaking it and understanding it when spoken is another thing.  So how do I help myself with these things.  One thing I do is to listen to Russian on my phone.  Even when it is in the background I believe my brain is receiving it.  Just as a baby learns to speak from being surrounded by the spoken word in the home so if I listen eventually it will have a good effect.  I have the Bible recorded in Russian.  I was brought up on the Bible and know quite lot of the Bible and so ...
Post a Comment
Read more