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What If Every Christian Lived Their Doctrine? Recently I wrote an article titled "What If They Lived Their Doctrine?" in which I looked at those who believe in the TULIP. My point was that if people actually lived totally depraved lives, this would be a miserable world. No one would know if they were saved or lost, they would be unable to choose to serve God, and their sins would not actually affect their salvation. This got me to thinking about us as Christians? What if we lived our doctrine? By "our doctrine" I refer to the Gospel of Christ or the doctrine of Christ as used in 2 John 9. This is an important question. In our court of law, there is a principle called the "fruit of the poisonous tree." If evidence is gathered from an unlawful search, then the evidence is poisonous and not admissible in a court of law. This is actually a Biblical principle. "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit." (Matthew 7.15-18). You will notice the negative and positive aspects of Jesus' teaching. We will be able to judge a tree by its fruits. Later on Jesus points out that the world will judge Him by us. In John 13.35, Jesus says that the world will know we are His disciples if we love one another John 17.20-21 Jesus prayed for unity among His followers, why? It would be by our unity that the world will know Jesus was sent by the Father. While doctrinal purity is essential, the fact is the influence we wield is determined by our example. Most of our friends and neighbors upon visiting our services will not understand the doctrinal differences we see as important. They will not care too much about the organization of the church, or the importance of baptism, or acappella music verses instrumental music. They may notice some of those things, but they will probably not be too impressed by them. But they will see us and they will judge what we believe by what they see in us. Therefore, the question, "What if every Christian lived their doctrine?" is an important question. If every Christian lived their doctrine, then division and strife would not be seen among us. "Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." (1Corinthians 1:10) We would study our Bibles to properly understand what it teaches. While there may be some areas of disagreement, they would be in areas of individual application. We would change our beliefs if we found them to be contrary to the doctrine of Christ. There is a reason members of the church of Christ were known as people of THE BOOK. If every Christian lived their doctrine, everyone would have the proper love for their fellowman. Of all the characteristics mentioned by Jesus, it is the element of love that Jesus said that the world would recognize first. "By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13.35). Love cannot be faked or turned on and off. Either we are determined to care about one another or we are not, but true disciples will love their fellowman. This means we will be concerned about those who are spiritually and physically sick. We will pray for one another and help one another. It is this quality that our visitors, neighbors and friends will see first. If every Christian lived their doctrine, none would break the laws of the land. "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God." (Romans 13.1) Unfortunately some Christians are from time to time found to have broken the law. Sins such as theft, murder, fornication, adultery, and others would never be committed by Christians if they lived their doctrine. Unfortunately some have been guilty of these and other sins which were also against the law of the land. Usually this opens up the church to criticism from non-believers. This was one thing mentioned to David when he sinned with Bathsheba and had her husband killed. "However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die." (2Samuel 12:14) Christians are to obey the law of the land unless those laws contradict the Gospel of Christ, Acts 5.29. If every Christian lived their doctrine, none would forsake the assembling of the saints, Hebrews 10.25. Notice that the word is "assembling" and not "assembly". Some want to apply this to Sunday morning services and no other. However, the passage does not say or teach that there is just one assembly. If so, then we ought to only meet one time a week. However, we know that the church at Antioch met for a whole year, Acts 11.26. Also notice that "forsaking" is the sin. Forsaking is deliberately choosing to be absent when one could be present. Every congregation seems to have "Sunday morning only Christians"; that is those who attend just once a week. Most could come more often if they so chose, but they elect not to do so. But if every Christian was "zealous for good works" (Titus 2.14) they would be here unless something or someone hindered them. If every Christian lived their doctrine, the Gospel of Christ would be spreading throughout our community. The Great Commission is a command and not a request. "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16.15) Spreading the gospel is not easy and we may not feel comfortable, but we can and should do so. That does not mean that every Christian has the ability to preach or teach a class, but every Christian has the ability to invite someone to services, hand out a bulletin, or talk about the Bible. If every Christian lived their doctrine, the church would be growing. Within 30 years of Acts 2 the gospel had been preached throughout the world, Colossians 1.23. Our society may not be very receptive to the Bible, but there are some out there still searching for the truth. We can grow if we find them. I know there are Christians living their doctrine and I am thankful for those brethren. You are doing great and are a great blessing to your families, your brethren, and the world. You are the salt and light of the world. Keep it up. There are some Christians who are lukewarm and others who have gone back into the world. I implore you to return to your first love and serve Christ with all your hearth, mind, and soul. -- Dennis Tucker |