Determining Doctrine

Introduction

Psalm 78:9–37 KJV 1900

9 The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, Turned back in the day of battle. 10 They kept not the covenant of God, And refused to walk in his law; 11 And forgat his works, And his wonders that he had shewed them. 12 Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. 13 He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; And he made the waters to stand as an heap. 14 In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, And all the night with a light of fire. 15 He clave the rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink as out of the great depths. 16 He brought streams also out of the rock, And caused waters to run down like rivers. 17 And they sinned yet more against him By provoking the most High in the wilderness. 18 And they tempted God in their heart By asking meat for their lust. 19 Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? 20 Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, And the streams overflowed; Can he give bread also? Can he provide flesh for his people? 21 Therefore the Lord heard this, and was wroth: So a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger also came up against Israel; 22 Because they believed not in God, And trusted not in his salvation: 23 Though he had commanded the clouds from above, And opened the doors of heaven, 24 And had rained down manna upon them to eat, And had given them of the corn of heaven. 25 Man did eat angels’ food: He sent them meat to the full. 26 He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven: And by his power he brought in the south wind. 27 He rained flesh also upon them as dust, And feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea: 28 And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, Round about their habitations. 29 So they did eat, and were well filled: For he gave them their own desire; 30 They were not estranged from their lust. But while their meat was yet in their mouths, 31 The wrath of God came upon them, And slew the fattest of them, And smote down the chosen men of Israel. 32 For all this they sinned still, And believed not for his wondrous works. 33 Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, And their years in trouble. 34 When he slew them, then they sought him: And they returned and inquired early after God. 35 And they remembered that God was their rock, And the high God their redeemer. 36 Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, And they lied unto him with their tongues. 37 For their heart was not right with him, Neither were they stedfast in his covenant.

Body

We cannot derive our doctrine based on what we believe to be right and wrong

A lot of people do

“I don’t believe you need to go to church. You can worship God right at home”

“God doesn’t judge me, and He doesn’t require me to change who I am. He accepts me and loves me just as I am. After all, He created me this way”

We can feel things very powerfully, and a lot of erroneous preaching and teaching make good sense, but they’re just not scriptural

We also cannot derive our doctrine anecdotally

Is receiving the Holy Ghost God’s will for everyone, or no?

Not everyone receives the Holy Ghost

Can I conclude that I must be misinterpreting scripture?

Can I conclude that the Holy Ghost must not be for everyone?

Does God want to confirm His word through us with signs following, or no?

We certainly don’t see that very often!

Have we misinterpreted scripture?

Does God promise to provide all our needs? Will He?

Why do we live like He won’t?

Why do we worry and stress and fret about money if this is true? Because we define that as “being a good steward”. “We fret because we care”

Why do we profess with our lips the promises of God but in our hearts we deny those very promises?

We could talk of Divine Healing, any miracle, provision, anything really that doesn’t involve my own ability or intellect.

When the situation is well in our control, we are free to trust in God and praise Him for His provision, blessing, etc.

When the situation escalates well beyond our control, we begin to worry and stress out, just as if we had no promise from God whatsoever!!!

Comment on scripture text

Despite everything God had done for the nation of Israel, they continued to mistrust Him.

They refused to walk in God’s commandments and insisted on having everything their way

They only sought God when His anger was stirred and judgment ensued. But even here their hearts were far from God.

They never had any desire to serve God

They only sought relief from judgment

Because of their unbelief and their rebellion, God could not bless them, and so their lives were consumed in vanity

As Christians, I think especially in the western world, we pay lip service to scripture and to God, but He is not really our Lord

When things come to a head, we are quick to take back the throne. We’ll give it back when we’ve taken care of the situation

Are we willing to do what God says to do…no matter the cost?

Will we give Him “our” money? All of it?

Will we give Him “our” time? All of it?

Are we willing to subjugate our legitimate needs to obey the command of God?

These are NOT hypothetical questions. These are question God demands an answer for!

We’ve heard missionary story after missionary story about God’s protection, God’s provision, God’s healing and delivering power, God casting out demons, raising the dead, healing the sick, filling thousands with the Holy Ghost.

What do we see in the United States?

We thank God for doctors, and for medical technology

We thank God for the financial blessings we enjoy here

We thank God for the quality of life we enjoy here

What do our brothers and sisters thank God for in third world countries?

God’s healing power

God’s ability to supernaturally provide

God’s blessings upon His people

COVID revealed some things to us in the United States

A lot of Christians trust in doctors more than they trust in God

A lot of Christians will succumb to fear and paranoia rather than stand on the covenant promises found in scripture.

The majority of us will NOT believe the report of the Lord, and will instead listen to the enemy and to those who hate God.

Mark 7:6 “6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”

We have to choose whether we will accept the biblical doctrine of Scripture as it stands or permit ourselves to refashion it according to our fancy. We have to choose whether to embrace the delusion that human creatures are competent to judge and find fault with the words of their Creator or whether to recognize this idea for the blasphemy that it is and drop it. We have to decide whether to carry through our repentance on the intellectual level or whether we shall still cherish our sinful craving for a thought-life free from the rule of God. We have to decide whether to say that we believe the Bible and mean it or to say it and look for ways whereby we can say it without having to accept all the consequences.

If the human mind is set up as the measure and test of truth, it will quickly substitute for man’s incomprehensible Creator a comprehensible idol fashioned in man’s own image; man wants a god he can manage and feel comfortable with and will inevitably invent one if allowed. He will forget (because he cannot understand) the infinite gulf that separates the Creator from his creatures and will picture to himself a god wholly involved in this world and wholly comprehensible (in principle, at any rate) by the speculative intellect. It was no accident but a natural development that made the liberal theology of the nineteenth century so strongly pantheistic. Once people reverse the proper relationship between Scripture and their own thinking and start judging biblical statements about God by their private ideas about God, instead of vice versa, their knowledge of the Creator is in eminent danger of perishing and with it the whole idea of supernatural religion.

J.I. Packer, “Fundamentalism and the Word of God, 1958

If we will not recognize God as being absolutely sovereign in His creation, and in our lives. If we will not recognize the absolute authority of scripture in our lives, then we become the authority. We become the kingdom, and the power, and the glory. In this case, is it any wonder we don’t see the supernatural?

Conclusion

Psalm 78:38–39 KJV 1900

38 But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: Yea, many a time turned he his anger away, And did not stir up all his wrath. 39 For he remembered that they were but flesh; A wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.

IF God has not been your Lord, we can turn to Him now and repent.

Relinquish the throne of your heart to God. Surrender to Jesus Christ and His Lordship in every area of your life.

God will forgive you and restore you and bless you mightily. God will take everything you have, if you’ll give it to Him, and in turn He will give you everything He has.