What we teach determines whether we and others will be saved or lost: "Take heed to yourself, and to your teaching. Continue in these things; for in doing this you shall save both yourself and them that hear you" (1st Tim. 4:16). Doctrine and teaching mean exactly the same thing. Love, real or feigned, cannot change the truth. Jesus prayed to the Father, "Sanctify them with the truth, the word is truth" (John 17:17). We are told that the gospel is "the power of God unto salvation" (Romans 1:16). We are commanded to "preach the word" (2nd Tim. 4:2). The church is to be "the pillar and ground of the truth" (1st Tim. 3:15), and we are charged "not to teach a different doctrine" (1st Tim. 1:3). Only sound doctrine can keep the church as Christ wants it.
It is becoming popular among some to down-play the importance of doctrine. It is common to hear statements such as, "Doctrine has nothing to do with salvation. Love is what really counts." But contrast that with what Jesus said, " If you love me, you will keep my commandments... He that has my commandments, and keeps them, it is he that loves me... If a man loves me, he will keep my words" (John 14:15,21,23). The only way to show love is to obey the doctrine of Christ. The apostle Paul tells us to "speak the things which befit sound doctrine" (Titus 2:1). A major reason the church is in trouble in so many areas today is a disdain for the commandments of God (Hebrews 5:9, Rev. 22:14).
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