Articles
Importance of Doctrine
Some religious people say doctrine doesn’t matter. They say believing in Jesus is all that matters. This is said by those who profess faith in the same Bible, the same God, and the same Lord in an attempt to sweep away obvious differences in what they teach and practice.
The Bible reveals that doctrine, (that is, what one teaches about Jesus, worship, and His church) is important. Paul emphasized this truth to the young preacher, Timothy.
In 1 Timothy 4:12 he wrote, “Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. In verse 16 he said, “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.”
In chapter 6 Paul told Timothy to withdraw himself from men who did not teach or consent to the doctrine he had been taught because such men were corrupt and destitute of the truth.
Instead of dismissing religious differences as unimportant, we ought to be striving for unity based upon the one truth given to us by divine revelation.
