CARRIED ABOUT WITH EVERY WIND OF DOCTRINE

CARRIED ABOUT WITH EVERY WIND OF DOCTRINE

That phrase from scripture comes to mind every time I hear someone say they have changed from one church to another, which I know has completely differing views on the main tenets or beliefs of the church. I understand they might go to a church that makes them feel more welcome, but the beliefs of the church should be non-negotiable if they have been tested by time and approved by scripture. Knowledge of the essentials, which are first and foremost Jesus's life, burial, resurrection and ascension, baptism, communion, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Those beliefs should not only be based on the teachings in the Bible but on the acts of the Apostles and other devout Christians of that day and age. For instance, they met on the first day of the week to break bread (communion) and fellowship. They taught baptism as being important. There was no delay in getting baptized, as shown by the jailer and his family, the Ethiopian traveling in a chariot, and Saul/Paul, the special Apostle. We are to repent and confess before being baptized. Babies cannot do either. Jesus and the Ethiopian went down into the water to be baptized and came up out of the water. Baptism was compared to the great flood when the sins of the people were buried in water, not by a sprinkling of rain. There is always room for discussion on each of those beliefs but the minds of the church people should be of one accord. Otherwise there is controversy, discord, and possibly division. I've seen it happen and heard about it many times. Church hopping without any concern for the truths in the Bible should not be happening.

Ephesians 4:11-16 KJV - "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;" There's plenty of winds of doctrine, cunning men, and deceivers out there these days and they have many venues in which to use their craftiness. Are we prepared? Are we united in faith and knowledge?

2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV - "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." This verse pretty much says it all. It is self-explanatory.

2 Peter 1:20 KJV - "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation." Many claim to know much about the Bible, but if they talk long enough, it is easy to see they don't know as much as they think they do. Deep study of the Bible is the only way to accurately interpret the Bible. Interpretation should follow the Bible, the practices of the first Christians and Apostles, and what other devout Christians believe. We are to be unified in our beliefs, or of one accord, to use the phrase the Bible uses so often. Believing a subject because your grandmother did or does isn't being true to the Bible. Believing it because a charismatic tv preacher says so doesn't make it true. I believe in studying a subject as a whole, by researching every verse that has to do with that subject. It is wrong to pull a verse out of context.

II Timothy 2:15 NIV - "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." In four words: know your Bible well.

II Timothy 2:15 KJV - (my personal favorite version) "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

2 Corinthians 4:2 NIV "Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God." Plain truth is a whole lot better than a health and wealth sermon or a theatrical performance from the pulpit.

Hebrews 5:12 NIV - "In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!" If you are still at a pre-school or elementary level of Bible teaching, if that, you definitely need to get into the meat of the Word, or in-depth study. We are living in a messed-up world today caught in the battle between good and evil and there's a whole lot of evil going on everywhere.

Hebrews 5:13 NIV - "Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness." It is shocking to me how little people know about the Bible, even those who profess to be Christians. They drift from church to church because they haven't built their faith on solid ground. They are carried by the winds of doctrine. The devil knows scripture well. If he were to tempt a person who doesn't know the Bible well, he would have a good chance of convincing them of his lies because he is persuasive and is the father of lies.

Matthew 15:9 KJV - "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." In other words, people go through the motions of worshiping God but teach world views instead of doctrine.

Colossians 4:6 NIV "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." Naturally, you don't want to come on too strong or offend anyone but you want to show confidence in what you believe and you need to know well what you believe and why.

Matthew 5:19 - "Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Make sure you're teaching Christ's commands accurately from the least to the greatest. If you teach the least command wrong, you will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. Note that if one is called the least, there must be levels of acceptance into the kingdom. No wonder the road is narrow that leads to heaven.

Ephesians 4:5 - "... one Lord, one faith, one baptism;" It is important to know which baptism is the one to teach and why it is the one true baptism Jesus requires of all Christians. Babies cannot repent or confess. They have not yet sinned though they were born into a sinful world. Sprinkling does not symbolize being buried with Christ in baptism or the sins of the world being washed away like with their burial by water in the days of Noah when all of the people drowned except Noah and his family. The Bible states that Jesus went down into the water and came up out of it and so did the Ethiopian. The Ethiopian probably had a water bottle or jug in his chariot but didn't use it. 

Speaking of "one Lord," many other gods have entered our country through legal and illegal aliens, but do we welcome them or hold fast to our own one true God? Is our faith in God or is it divided between Him and fortunetellers or lesser gods, which are not gods at all? Are we willing to give up God as the supreme ruler of our country? Perish the thought.

Becky Wall