Apostolic Christianity was doctrinal in both shape and substance. Apart from these doctrines, there is no Christian faith. Although apostolic doctrine was central to the life of the earliest churches, this centrality has not always been easy to preserve. Indeed, many of the great reforming moments that came later were really moments of recovery. Lost ways of doctrinal thinking and lost biblical doctrines were retrieved and made central once again. They are today, too. The Spirit of truth was heard in the apostolic teaching.
Now it is heard through Scripture and through those who teach and expound that Scripture accurately. The spirit of error lives on in false teachers. The Spirit of truth and the spirit of error each have their respective audiences. It is the very truth under attack.
They are to persist in this doctrine, follow it, guard it, stand firm in it, and hand it on intact. They do not venture outside of it, for that is where faith becomes shipwrecked 1 Tim. They resist its alternatives. They know this truth is entirely sufficient for life despite uncertainties and suffering. Later, of course, this truth was formulated into the Protestant principle of sola Scriptura. Some of those decisions will include choices about your spouse, marriage, children, finances, friends, careers and many more.
You will have to make choices in spite of your fears, anxieties, and worries. You will know what God wants you to do and you will have His support regarding your decision. Also, listen to good Bible teachers online and learn from them. Whether you read a few verses a day, a chapter a day or more. Just read it. Make reading the Bible a part of your lifestyle. When you are reading it pay attention to what God is saying to you though His Word. Take it seriously. Handling the word of God accurately means to know what it says and how it applies in the specifics of your life.
To do this, you will need to become a student of the Word of God. This means to think about it. What does it mean? How does it apply to me? What is my response it? How does applying this change my thoughts, emotions, and lifestyle? The more we know about God, understand His Word, have insight into His relationships to the world and people, the better we will trust Him, the more deeply will we praise Him, and the more willingly we will obey Him.
Studying the doctrines correctly will make you a more mature believer. If it does not do this, you are not studying it in the way God intends. It does mean they have a heart and hunger for God. They want to honor Him, give Him glory, and bring praise to His name by how they live. To nourish something is to provide the food or other substances necessary for growth, health, and good condition. Think about a baby who is malnourished. The child is not getting what she needs to grow properly, to be healthy and to be in good condition.
If a person is malnourished they are often sick and weak, along with other health problems. It is vital to be well nourished if one wants to grow, be strong and healthy. The same is true spiritually. Every believer can be strong, alert, spiritually healthy, and ready for any battle. Even though Timothy has been teaching the Word of God to others, he was also being nourished by it at the same time.
He was reading it, thinking about it, applying it, discussing it, questioning it, and working out the implications and applications to his life. He was hungry for God and His Word! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings. You feed them from the abundance of your own house, letting them drink from your river of delights. Here is where you study the lives that are described in the Bible.
You learn from them. You let God show you truth from how they lived, how they trusted, and how God intervened in their life. You are constantly feeding yourself on these divine topics. As a result you become stronger, wiser, more mature and well equipped to do and face whatever God would have you to do. Suppose a friend drops by to get your advice about a tough situation at work, problems in their marriage, difficulty with one of the teenage children, or they have received some discouraging news from the doctor.
What would you tell him? How are you going to provide comfort and encouragement? Invite your friend to watch your favorite movie?
Make him a banana split? Pat your friend on the back tell him it will all work out. How about offering something deeper, more meaningful, and something backed by Almighty God instead? Even though this statement is directed to those who lead the church, all believers need to seriously consider three things as it relates to sound doctrine.
First, you are to hold to sound doctrine. In this case, you have a good grip on the Word of God. This is having a strong belief in what God says through the Scriptures. It is being faithful to share it accurately with others. Know the major doctrines and how they relate to your daily life and the lives of others.
You respect it, study it, believe it, and obey it. It is your spiritual nourishment. It is through the Word that you come to understand justification, sanctification, and glorification. It is through the Word that you come to understand the enemy and his powers of darkness, and your own helplessness to resist and overcome sin apart from God.
It is through the Word that you come to understand the nature and the purpose of the church and your own role as part of the local body of believers. So hold firmly to it. Second, you are to encourage with sound doctrine. The term was used of defense counsel in a court of law, the advocate who pleaded the cause of the accused. Third, you are to correct with sound doctrine. I know this is not popular, fun, or easy. I said above that studying doctrine is really just finding out the truth about God.
A friend whose husband is suffering with a crippling and painful illness asks you whether you think euthanasia is wrong, and if so, why. Or somebody asks you why the Bible is against homosexuality. When do you restrain a child? When do you punish him? When do you encourage him? But the doctrines of the Bible give you compass and chart through the storms.
We have to be competent to answer questions. So what do you say when someone asks how God can allow a tsunami to sweep away scores of thousands of people? Your atheist friend sneers at the food laws of Leviticus and asks why God changed his mind; why he lets you eat prawns and pork. Well, if I gave you a test on Bible doctrines, how would you do? You think you could answer all the questions without much difficulty?
But remember, that would only scratch the surface. It would take a thousand lifetimes to explore all that God has revealed about himself in Scripture. Keep growing, keep learning, keep thinking.
Another quote from Peter:.
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