A Fair Way to Judge Doctrines and Teachings

Hopefully, you accepted the invitation to do a personal study of The Bible and find out for yourself what it says. In doing this, you may have stumbled on verses that seem to contradict your current beliefs or doctrines. If you haven’t, huge congratulations! Perhaps you have been fed with the undiluted word of God. If you have, that’s another matter-especially if they are things you feel strongly about. 

Test all spirits: 1 John 4:1

Regardless of how you feel, remember that God’s word trumps that of any man. Let that thought guide you. 

I recently had a discussion with a friend, an amazing guy who started an internet radio station with N200 for the sole purpose of getting the good news to all nations. He commented that he had not been getting feeds from this blog in his mail box so I tried to bring him up to date. When we talked about doctrines that divide the Body of Christ rather than unify Her the way Jesus wants and prayed, he shared with me something he learnt from Zac Poonen.  

According to him, Zac Poonen said whenever he has to evaluate a a teaching or a doctrine, he asks four questions:

1.       Did Jesus teach it?

2.       Did Jesus do it?

3.       Did the apostles teach it?

4.       Did the apostles do it?

If the said suggestion does not hold up based on any of these, Poonen says he may not be able to state categorically that you have fallen into a sin but he can definitely let you know that he isn’t interested in tagging along.  Simple. If we really believe that The Bible is the only inerrant word of God, this makes perfect sense. Doesn’t it?

My Thoughts

I have been trying to think if it is possible for a true doctrine to fail all four tests. I couldn’t come up with anything except the issue of pastors and private jets. But that isn’t something I’m willing to get in a debate for at the moment.

This guide seems fool proof to me. The next time you are been fed ‘The Word’ from 1^st Opinions, filter it in the light of these 4 points. If it doesn’t hold up, you might want to check again.

In all, remember that the letters kill, and The Spirit gives Life. God answers prayers so if we turn to Him in truth, He is able to make us know what we need to know. Amen

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