1 Tim 4:6 In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.
As a growing believer, I hated the word "doctrine". That word sounded like bondage and legalism.
That was because what most churches call doctrine seemed to me like a set of personal dogmas borne out of wrong interpretation of scriptures yet they made it binding on people.
Now I know better. In the course of growing( still growing) in the Lord, I discovered that bible doctrines are different from different from church dogmas.
Church dogmas are man-made rules, they're the making of men. They're not universal. True bible doctrine is fundamental and universal. It cuts across denominational lines.
Dogma divides but doctrine builds.
What is doctrine? A doctrine is that which is taught. It is a belief or set of beliefs that are fundamental.
Institutions and government of nations have doctrines they expect their subjects to live by.
In God's kingdom, we have bible doctrines which are fundamental to our faith in Christ. Those doctrines are to shape the life of everyone in God's kingdom.
Paul charges Titus, “You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1). Why is sound doctrine so important?
Your walk with God is based on the accurate understanding of sound doctrine. What you believe affects what you do.
Oftentimes, I see people bothered about why we have proliferation of churches without a marked increase in godliness among the people that profess our faith.
We only need to check what is taught in most church centres. True doctrines of the bible properly taught and explained always lead to godliness.
If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; (1 Timothy 6:3 KJV).
New Living Translation of that portion of scripture reads this: "Some people may contradict our teaching, but these are the wholesome TEACHINGS OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. THESE TEACHINGS( doctrines) PROMOTE A GODLY LIFE (1 Timothy 6:3 NLT Emphasis mine)
The central message of the bible is Christ. As apostle Paul said, the teachings( doctrines) of the Lord Jesus Christ promote godly life.
Where there's dearth of godliness, there's dearth of doctrine.
Knowing sound biblical doctrine is to your spiritual life what balanced diet is to your physical body.
The moment you start learning sound bible doctrines, your life will begin to conform to the image of Christ.
If you're often confused about the truths of scriptures and tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, that may be a pointer to the lack of sound doctrine in your life.
Knowing sound doctrine is the only way to ascertain truth in a world of falsehood.
To get a good supply of sound doctrine, stay under teachers that value the teaching of scriptures from the pulpit.
Do not seek after sensational and motivational sermons that blend human philosophy and psychology with scriptures.
Let's leave business trainings for business schools. The new testament church is God's training school where bible doctrines should be taught.
That's what you should seek to learn so that what is missing in your faith can be supplied.
Father, I receive the grace to learn sound doctrine in Jesus name