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Gospel
versus Doctrine - Is
There A Difference? By
Gilbert Alexander Doctrinal
Matters": -- are
a source of perpetual conflict and division, as some people view them, while
they view "Gospel" as
something on which people can be united. Such artificial separation of the
information given us in the New Testament is both unwarranted and erroneous. The
concept that "Gospel" is
more important than "Doctrine" is
without Scriptural foundation. Please consider carefully the following
paragraphs and the Scriptures cited. Gospel:
-- (God-story
or good story, glad tidings) is a term used for the message of salvation in
Christ ( Doctrine:
-- is
teaching. It is the message taught. Sound doctrine contains the first principles
of the Gospel including teaching concerning repentance, faith, baptisms, laying
on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment (Heb. 6:1,2). It
is of God and thus is
authoritative (Jno. 7:16). It is of Christ,
and thus is authoritative (2 Jno.
9). Doctrine is contained in the Gospel therefore, if one teaches the law of
Christ, he is using the Gospel (1 Tim. 1:8-11). Sound doctrine effects salvation
through faithful obedience to its instruction (1 Tim. 4:16; Rom. 6:17, 18). It
convicts sinners (Titus 1:9; Acts 2:37; Titus 2:1-15) and thus leads people to
repentance. Sound doctrine is recognizable and distinctive, and those who teach
a different doctrine must be noted and avoided (Rom. 6:17; 1 Tim. 6:1-5). Dear
brethren and friends, if you teach people
anything relating to spiritual
things, you are presenting doctrine over
which there is division, whether the subject is faith in God, Jesus Christ, the
plan of salvation, or the organization and work of the church. The all-important
question is: are you teaching sound doctrine according to the Gospel, or are you
teaching things contrary to the truth and without the authority of the Gospel of
Christ? Gilbert
Alexander via the Why
I Want to Believe By
Bob Myhan In
a previous article, this writer made the statement: “The message of the Bible
is such that any rational person will want to believe it.” (April 8, 2007), He
continues to believe this is true. To his mind, those who do not want
to believe the Bible simply do not understand
its message. What
is the message of the Bible? It is, simply, that there is something far better
in store for those who believe the Bible than that which is experienced by all
mankind in this life. Consider the following: “With
gloomy face and grasping hands, death has stalked its prey from the beginning of
man's recorded history. This aspect of man’s experience entered the world with
a note of tragedy as brother, enraged against brother, arose to kill. Since that
introduction, death has held men in fear of its power. But, because of Jesus'
teaching on death and because of what His death means for those who unite with
Him by faith, death comes to lose its fearsome aspect. It is never entirely
welcome but it has lost its power to enslave man by fear.” Biologically,
death means "the cessation of life." When the rich fool's spirit was
called from his body the life of the body ceased and the "goods" that
he had stored up were of no use to him (Luke 12:16-20). The Greek word that is
translated “death” means "the separation (whether natural or violent)
of the soul from the body, by which life on earth is ended." When Jesus
faced death on the cross, He prayed, "Father,
into thy hands I commend my spirit" (Luke 23:46). In death, the
spirit lays aside the physical body. Peter, realizing the nearness of his own
death, described it as the putting off of his "tabernacle" (2 Pet.
1:14-15). James wrote "the body without
the spirit is dead" (2:26). The spirit leaves the body at death,
bringing life and activity to an end on this material plane; but the inner man
does not then cease to exist. Paul, for example, wanted to "depart,
and to be with Christ," but he knew that to "abide
in the flesh" would benefit others (Phil. 1:21-23). The
body of the faithful returns to dust, as does the body of the wicked. But the
spirit of the faithful enters at once into a state of conscious blessedness,
whereas the spirit of the wicked enters immediately into a state of conscious
punishment (Luke 16:19-31). The immortal soul will one day be united with an
immortal, resurrected body (1 Cor. 15:35-50; 2 Cor. 5:1-4). The faithful and the
wicked will then be forever separated (John 5:28-29; 2 Thess. 1:6-10). Loved
ones—separated by death—will be reunited in the resurrection. But
I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen
asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus
died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain
until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For
the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an
archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the
clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Therefore comfort one another with these words (1
Thess. 4:13-18). David
said, concerning his dead child, "But
now he is dead; why should I fast? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to
me" (2
Sam. 12:23). The
apostle John wrote, And
I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is
with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself
will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no
more pain, for the former things have passed away."
(Rev. 21:3-4) Surely,
any rational person longs for an existence free from sadness, pain, sorrow and
death. Of
course, those who believe the Bible believe that the miracles recorded therein
actually occurred. Deists accept the reality of the creation but do not accept
the reality of miracles. However, a miracle cannot be more difficult than the
act of bringing all things into existence. The
following was sent to this writer via email by a self-proclaimed deist: “Testimony,
no matter how much integrity a person has, is not sufficient to prove a miracle
claim. It is much more likely that the person is kidding, made an error in
judgment, or even lying than that a miracle actually occurred. We believe this
because all around us, all the time we see natural law commencing without any
alteration at all. And as far as we know it has always been this way. “If
a man tells me he saw Robert E. Lee yesterday I immediately think he is either
kidding me, that he is mistaken, or that he is lying. For me to believe that he
actually saw the Confederate General Robert E. Lee, the evidence would have to
be of such an unequivocal, unimpeachable, convincing nature that I would have no
choice but to believe it. No testimony rises to that level. Whether it is
testimony from a man from just yesterday about Robert E. Lee or much less
hearsay testimony from 4 anonymous writers from 2000 years ago about a man
coming back to life after being dead for about 3 days.” A
miracle is "an unusual act of God performed as a sign which men can observe
but can neither explain nor perform themselves." By this definition,
creation was not a miracle. But if God can establish order in creation, He can
surely suspend order in a miracle. Of
course, Jesus did not expect anyone to accept the reality of the resurrection on
the strength of testimony alone but gave to the apostles “unequivocal,
unimpeachable, convincing” credentials so that those who heard—honest or
not—would have “no choice but to believe it.” (Acts 4:14-16) & |