Who cares about doctrine?
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Who cares about doctrine?
First of all DOCTRINE simply means teaching
When used in Church it refers to those core teachings we believe
We live in a day when doctrine has become an unpleasant word, even among evangelical Christians. Admit it: When you hear the word “doctrine,” does it evoke positive or negative feelings in you? A person who holds strongly to doctrine is viewed as difficult and divisive. Often such people are arrogant, thinking that they are right and everyone else is wrong. They are not usually regarded as kind and loving.
We live in a day when doctrine has become an unpleasant word, even among evangelical Christians. Admit it: When you hear the word “doctrine,” does it evoke positive or negative feelings in you? A person who holds strongly to doctrine is viewed as difficult and divisive. Often such people are arrogant, thinking that they are right and everyone else is wrong. They are not usually regarded as kind and loving.
The popular cry of our day is, “They will know that we are Christians by our love, not by our doctrinal agreement.” Thus we are encouraged to set aside all doctrines that divide us and come together on the basis of our common love for Jesus. Tolerance and unity are the most important thing. Look where doctrinal de- bates have led us, into centuries of shameful division among those who believe in Jesus Christ. Life, experience, and feelings are what matter. Theology is stuffy, dry, and dead.
The main problem with such thinking is that it brings us into direct conflict with Jesus Christ!
Who cares about doctrine?
1.JESUS ● ● 2.You SHOULD ●
Who are the Sadducees?
Note this question is initiated by the Sadducees … Not Jesus
Sadducees came from a small group of aristocratic families … they were the “Old Money” if the Jewish Nation
This is the Only exclusive meeting between Jesus and Sadducees in Gospels
What they believed:
•They only believed in the first five books of OT
They didn’t believe in angels or demons
They didn’t believe in angels or demons
•They didn’t believe in heaven or hell
•They didn’t believe in life after death
•They didn’t believe in the immortality of the soul
•They didn’t believe in the resurrection of the body
Do you wonder why they came into such conflict with Jesus?
Edwards, J. R. (2015). The Gospel according to Luke. (D. A. Carson, Ed.) (p. 576). Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.; Nottingham, England: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Apollos.
An absurd question
Levirate = Latin Levir = Husband’s brother
Levirate marriage was a practice whereby a man was obligated to marry a childless widow of his brother in order to preserve the name and memory of his deceased brother and to ensure the establishment of his deceased brother’s inheritance within the family line (; ).
“If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.
The practice is first mentioned with reference to Onan () who, in order to annihilate the line of his brother, refused to have a child by Tamar, wife of his deceased brother Er.
The Book of Tobit tells the story of a woman who married seven men and remained childless (3:7–15)—a story that may have inspired the tale proposed by the Sadducees.
The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel according to Luke A Challenge to the Teacher’s Eschatology (20:27–40)
Levirate marriage was a practice whereby a man was obligated to marry a childless widow of his brother in order to preserve the name and memory of his deceased brother and to ensure the establishment of his deceased brother’s inheritance within the family line (Gen 38:8; Deut 25:5–6). Various forms of this custom were practiced throughout the ancient Near East; in Judaism, Mishnah tractate Yebamoth develops it fully. The practice is first mentioned with reference to Onan (Gen 38:8–10) who, in order to annihilate the line of his brother, refused to have a child by Tamar, wife of his deceased brother Er. Tamar (Gen 38) and Ruth (Ruth 3–4) actually violated prescribed sexual morality to ensure the preservation of their genealogy through levirate marriage. The Book of Tobit tells the story of a woman who married seven men and remained childless (3:7–15)—a story that may have inspired the tale proposed by the Sadducees. The custom of levirate marriage was not devised (as were polygamy and concubinage, for example) for the expressed purpose of allowing a man to have more than one wife, nor to condone sexual promiscuity or immorality. Rather, Levirate marriage was a compensatory social custom designed to prevent intermarriage of Jews and Gentiles and to preserve honor and property within a family line in cases where a woman’s husband was deceased.88
The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel according to Luke A Challenge to the Teacher’s Eschatology (20:27–40)
In the minds of the Sadducees, wit and common sense are sufficient to dispel the superstitions of resurrection and life after death. Their question presumes that the world to come is essentially a materialistic extension of earthly life, including the married state, although under more glorious conditions.
•Jesus sheds light on the situation - vv:34-40
In Matthews account Jesus begins his response by addressing the reason for the absurdity of their question:
But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.
You dont know your Bibles … Nor do you know the Power of God … In essence you deny BOTH
Not very warm and fuzzy words to say to religious GUYS
Neither marry or are given in Marriage
Eternity is not just a continuation of the present life … only on a higher scale
In Eternity we will know each other, and will maintain our identities
There will be no more death (v:36) … no more procreation … or marriage
This leads to a mystery that has caused some anxiety. We think, “I want to be with my husband or my wife for eternity.” This passage makes it appear as if life in heaven is somehow less than life on earth. But that is precisely backwards. We will not love less in heaven but far more. On earth our love is inevitably mixed with all the baggage that comes from living in a sad, fallen, mixed up, messed up world. And it’s not just the world that’s messed up. We’re messed up too. On earth even our noblest moments are tainted with self-interest. In heaven with our selfishness removed and our bad habits and irritating mannerisms removed, our love will be deeper than anything we have known on earth.
What, then, of our loved ones? Our children . . . our family . . . our wives and husbands? Will all that be gone? No, but it won’t be the same or even similar. All that we have known will be lifted to a higher plane.
Equal to Angels = WE dont become angels (No wings, or halos - Gratefully)
Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
We will share in the Image of Christ … as such we will be higher than angels (Redeemed)
In what sense will we be equal to angels ---
Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: Luke 9:51–24:53 i. Answer: This Life is Not Like the Next (20:34–36)
The resurrected are immortal, and relationships in that age are different from relationships in this age (on the change in body, see 1 Cor. 15:52).
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
And are “sons of God”
Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: Luke 9:51–24:53 i. Answer: This Life is Not Like the Next (20:34–36)
Those resurrected into new life will be “sons of God” and “sons of the resurrection” (Luke 6:35; Schweizer, TDNT 8:347–49, 355), which is another way to say that they participate in the age to come and have an immortal life (Tiede 1988: 349).
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: Luke 9:51–24:53 i. Answer: This Life is Not Like the Next (20:34–36)
The question is an absurdity, not because resurrection is a problem, but because the Sadducean understanding of resurrection is grounded too much in life as it is now. The afterlife is a different and much greater kind of existence.
Jesus concludes his teaching to the Sadducees by making sure that they know that the resurrection is a scriptural teaching … an Old Testament one ...
He could have referenced
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
But instead He goes to one of the first five books of the OT … the Torah … He simply refers to it as “that passage about the bush”
And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
Exodus 3:2-
Doctrine Matters Because …
1.We understand what it means to be “considered worthy” by God (v:35)
How do you get considered worthy, accounted worthy, counted worthy to attain to the age to come and to the resurrection of the righteous if you’re not righteous? Only by grace. Only by the Gospel. Only by Christ. Only by faith alone in Christ alone. That's how you’re accounted worthy to attain to the age to come and the resurrection of the righteous because none of us are righteous, no not one! So even in this answer, Jesus relates the resurrection to the Gospel. And He says, “If you’re going to enjoy this resurrection you've got to be counted righteous. Since you’re not righteous yourself, you will need another righteousness in order to be counted righteous.” And even in this passage He's pointing to that imputed righteousness which is ours only in Him.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
Romans
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
Romans 3:21
Have you believed? Placed your personal trust in Christ alone … If you have you are “considered worthy by God.
2.We recognize that “right now counts forever.”
Gladiator - Russell Crow’s character “Maximus” makes a great statement “What we do in Life, echoes in eternity”
RC Sproul (wrote in 70’s) - We live in a culture that places the stress on “right now.” It’s called the “Pepsi Generation”; we are told to live life with “gusto” because we “only go around once.” Short-range goals, pragmatic methods of problem solving, a quiet hysteria to make it happen “now,” all point to modern man’s despair regarding the future. The unspoken assumption is that it’s “now or never” because there is no ultimate future for mankind.
Our Christian assertion is that there is more to our lives than “now.” If there is not, then even the “now” is meaningless. But we say now counts. Why? Now counts because we are creatures who have an origin and a destiny that is rooted and grounded in God.
Our Christian assertion is that there is more to our lives than “now.” If there is not, then even the “now” is meaningless. But we say now counts. Why? Now counts because we are creatures who have an origin and a destiny that is rooted and grounded in God.
Did I write “rooted?” Why is that word so important? Recently we’ve experienced a cultural phenomenon of epic proportions. The televised drama, Roots, has already had a shaking effect on our people. Can we explain the national reaction to Kunta Kinte and racial strife? I don’t think so. Neither does Alex Haley. Roots typifies a problem that transcends race. It is the problem of identity for all of modern man. Who am I?
Did I write “rooted?” Why is that word so important? Recently we’ve experienced a cultural phenomenon of epic proportions. The televised drama, Roots, has already had a shaking effect on our people. Can we explain the national reaction to Kunta Kinte and racial strife? I don’t think so. Neither does Alex Haley. Roots typifies a problem that transcends race. It is the problem of identity for all of modern man. Who am I?
The question of identity can never be answered merely in terms of the present. To know who I am involved a discovery of my past (my origin) and at least a glimpse of my future (my destiny). If I am a cosmic accident springing from the dust and destined for more dust, then I am nothing. I am a joke — a tale told by an idiot. But if my ultimate roots are grounded in eternity and my destiny is anchored in that same eternity, then I know something of who I am. I know I am a creature of eternal significance. If that’s so then my life counts. What I do today counts forever. Now, the “now” means something.
The question of identity can never be answered merely in terms of the present. To know who I am involved a discovery of my past (my origin) and at least a glimpse of my future (my destiny). If I am a cosmic accident springing from the dust and destined for more dust, then I am nothing. I am a joke — a tale told by an idiot. But if my ultimate roots are grounded in eternity and my destiny is anchored in that same eternity, then I know something of who I am. I know I am a creature of eternal significance. If that’s so then my life counts. What I do today counts forever. Now, the “now” means something.
Your Now Matters … what you do … what you fail to do
And if there is no life after death, then those of us who believe in Jesus have been profoundly deceived. We are, to borrow a phrase from the Apostle Paul, of all men most to be pitied. If there is no life after death, then we have believed a fairy tale, a nice story that has no real meaning. If there is no life after death, why pray? Why believe? Why live for Jesus? Sometimes I hear well-meaning Christians say, “Even if it’s not true, Christianity is still the best way to live.” Count me out. If it’s not true, then I want no part of it. I know some people say that Christ is so wonderful that even without heaven, it’s good to be a Christian. Listen, if this life is all there is, then what you call “Christ” is just a figment of your imagination. To borrow some words from Shakespeare’s Macbeth:
If there is no life after death, then those of us who believe in Jesus have been profoundly deceived.
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
I offer three concluding applications:
(1) Don’t buy into the current trend to sacrifice core biblical truth on the altar of love and unity. We must be kind and gracious in our manner and we must not quarrel over minor issues. But we do not truly love others if we compromise the core truths of the gospel for the sake of unity. Biblical love cares enough to warn about false and damnable doctrine.
(2) Work at deepening your theological understanding. The word “theology” scares the average church member today, but it should not. Remember, Paul didn’t write Romans, the high water mark of New Testament theology, for seminary students. He wrote it to strengthen a congregation of normal believers. If they could wrestle with Paul’s theology, so can you!
(3) If you do not understand the basic truths of the gospel, don’t pretend that you do. Talk to someone who can help you today! Your eternal destiny is at stake. If you believe false doctrine about how to get to heaven, being sincere won’t help you on judgment day. Many in false cults are sincere, but dead wrong. If you believe in a faulty way to heaven, you won’t make it. “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved” (). You should care about doctrine because Jesus did and your life here and hereafter depends on holding in faith to sound doctrine.