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No Other Doctrine But Right Division
by Pastor John Fredericksen
For
many years a family in a northern state lived on the banks of a river.
As time passed, more children were added until the total was ten, plus
the mother and the father. Each year as winter approached the father
would gather the children to his side and, in no uncertain terms,
explain that no one was to ever go out on the ice. One Monday, three of
the children decided to walk across the frozen ice as a shortcut on
their way to school. Some of the older children begged them not to, and
reminded them of their Dad’s stern warning. “Nothing is going to happen
to us. Just leave us alone. We’ll be just fine.” So off the three
children went. Because the water was more shallow at first, the ice was
quite thick. So, with a false sense of security, the three children
began to run. Suddenly, the ice beneath their feet began to crack, and
all three plunged into the icy water, never to be seen again. In a
spiritual sense, many of God’s children are doing something very
similar.
When the Apostle Paul writes to Timothy at Ephesus, he says, “I besought thee…that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine” (I Tim. 1:3). What
one is taught doctrinally is of the utmost importance. That’s why
Timothy was to be very careful himself to “hold fast the form of sound
words which thou hast heard of me” (II Tim. 1:13), then “the same commit
thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (II Tim.
2:2). If Timothy, and those teaching with him, were consistent about
teaching no other doctrine other than what Paul taught, this
sound doctrine would “save” (or deliver, I Tim. 4:16) all who heard it
from spiritual error. But the opposite was also true. If anyone taught
or exposed themselves to doctrines which were contrary to what Paul
taught, it would have devastating effects. In other words, it would be
like playing on thin ice.
What doctrines were so precious and important, that nothing else was to be listened to? No
sermon or article can adequately articulate all of the important things
that the Apostle Paul taught. However, let’s take a look at a number of
things that we must hold dear to our understanding, and consistently
demand from the teaching of anyone that we sit under. We learn from
Romans 6:14 that we are “not under the law, but under grace.” The
practical impact of this is that we do not try to implement portions of
our Bible that were written exclusively to Israel. From Romans 11:13 we
see that Paul is “the apostle of the Gentiles.” Peter,
James, and John wrote Scripture, but confined their ministries to the
nation Israel. Their writings dealt largely with the tribulation or
millennial kingdom. Only Paul claims to be, or calls himself, the
apostle of the Gentiles. He further urges that we are to “be followers of me” (I
Cor. 4:16; 11:1; Phil. 3:17). So, someone who is sound in doctrine will
recognize Paul’s letters as the exclusive “commandments of the Lord”
for believers today (I Cor. 14:37).
Our apostle had no tolerance for anything other than the pure “gospel of the grace of God” (Acts
20:24; Gal. 1:6-12). He demanded that it always be taught in a crystal
clear manner. That meant salvation being proclaimed as a gift of God’s
grace, apart from man’s works, and received through faith in the death,
burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ (I Cor. 15:1-4; Eph.
2:8,9; Rom. 3:24-28). Beyond this, Paul taught that he was not sent to baptize,
“lest the Cross of Christ should be made of none effect” (I Cor. 1:17).
Today there is only “one baptism” (Eph. 4:5 and that is the baptism of
the Holy Spirit which places us into the Body of Christ at the moment of
salvation (I Cor. 12:13). Once saved, we are eternally secure,
because we are “sealed” with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit “unto
the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30). Our security is not based on our
performance but in the power of God. Paul also taught that miraculous signs such as “tongues” and “prophecies” have been “done away” with by
the completion of Scripture (I Cor. 13:8-11). Therefore, any today who
would claim special revelations from God, or miraculous powers, are
deceivers. Today God uses His written Word to provide all that we need
for our doctrine and daily walk.
Paul asked some of his converts “if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward“?
(Eph. 3:2). They needed to understand that the days in which we are
living, and the program we are under, are different from anything at any
other time in history. In the preceding chapter, he explained that “in
time past” Gentiles were not a part of God’s dealings. Israel was His
exclusive focus of outreach, and Gentiles were rarely saved, and only
then by becoming a Jewish proselyte. “But now” (Eph. 2:13) Gentiles “are
made nigh by the blood of Christ.” Paul summarizes the above doctrines
and more, by telling Timothy that “rightly dividing the Word of truth” (II
Tim. 2:15) is the only way to be approved unto God. It is not enough to
teach about “Jesus,” nor to teach general Biblical principles for
“Christian living.”
Parents
are very wise to refuse to allow their children to attend other
churches or youth groups, where these basic Pauline doctrines are not
understood or consistently taught. This may not be easy or popular, but
the Scripture warns us about exposure to wrong doctrine, and tells us to
avoid it. If all believers would follow this practice they would not
only be obedient to Scripture, but also avoid being “tossed to and
fro…with every wind of doctrine.”
What happens when we listen to unsound doctrine? Three things can happen. One, we can become a spiritual “shipwreck” (I
Tim. 1:19). Hymenaeus is an example. He had “swerved” and “turned
aside” (I Tim. 1:6) from the sound doctrines of Paul, believing and
teaching others that the resurrection had already past. Two, we can “overthrow the faith of some” (II
Tim. 2:18). This happened continually to the converts of the Apostle
Paul. The Galatians were so “bewitched” that they no longer understood
the gospel that saved them, and they desired to go back under the Mosaic
Law. The believers at Colosse, though saved, ceased to properly esteem
the Lord Jesus Christ as their “Head,” and began the practice of
worshipping angels (Col. 2:18-19). Three, believers can “depart from the faith” (I
Tim. 4:1). This certainly does NOT mean they can lose their salvation.
Rather it refers to saved believers departing from the sound doctrines
of the Apostle Paul, as their guide for living today. All of this could
have been, and can be avoided if we will simply obey what God says about
allowing no other doctrine to influence us.
In
1970, a woman by the name of Rose heard the gospel of God’s grace and
trusted Christ as her Savior. Soon after she was introduced to a host of
dispensational literature. She was thrilled to see the difference
between Israel and the Body of Christ, being under the law as opposed to
being under grace. She became a well-grounded Grace believer, and even
lead a cousin by the name of Maria into the Grace message. Eventually
Rose began to attend a church that believed in miraculous Pentecostal
signs. When her husband became ill, those in her church told her with
certainty that her husband would be healed of his cancer. They knew this
because they had “heard from God.” Even though she had known God’s Word
rightly divided, exposure to such false doctrine had her so confused
that she believed what they told her and became utterly dismayed when
her husband died.
Maria
became a well-grounded Grace believer also, through years of reading
Grace literature and listening to Grace teachers on tape. She regularly
listened to Christian radio. Several of the preachers on the radio,
though nationally recognizable, had her utterly confused. Some taught
that if you didn’t live in a certain way you would lose your salvation.
Maria spent months in spiritual agony, until she made the decision that
she would listen to “no other doctrine” than that of grace. Only then
was her peace and joy and certainty of salvation restored.
On
October 31, 1983 Korean airlines flight 007 departed from Anchorage,
Alaska for a direct flight to Seoul, Korea. Unknown to the crew, the
computer flight navigation system contained a one-and-a-half degree
routing error. At the point of departure, the mistake was unnoticeable.
One hundred miles out, the deviation was still too small to be
detectable. But eventually the giant 747 strayed into Soviet airspace.
Soviet radar picked up the error, and fighter jets scrambled to
intercept. Over mainland Russia, the jets shot down flight 007, and all
on board lost their lives. This tragedy occurred because of only being a
little off course to begin with. Spiritually we can come to a tragic
end ourselves by swerving off the course of doctrine that is consistent
with the doctrine that Paul teaches in his letters.
Some
will attend other churches and think that it will not have an ill
effect upon them. Surely, they think, I can benefit from grace teaching
and non-grace teaching. Others will read literature, attend conferences,
fellowship in social church events and otherwise generally expose
themselves to errant doctrine. But the effect will be the same as it was
in Paul’s day. The Corinthians began to question the authority of the Apostle Paul. They became confused about the value of working for the Lord, and increasingly carnal in every way. Little by little they became willing to compromise sound doctrine and justify associations that they knew were wrong. Later they became antagonistic and hypercritical of him.
The result was that Paul had to waste valuable time to confirm his
ministry and sound doctrine before them. Unfortunately, some were
unretrievable. In other words, some departed from the faith just like those that Paul warned Timothy about.
Paul warned Timothy in II Timothy 4:3,4 that “the
time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine: but after
their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching
ears: and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be
turned unto fables” (a story or teaching that is untrue). In
the days just before the Rapture, Grace teaching will not be popular.
Even those who know it will begin to think these truths are boring. They
will want something new, exciting, entertaining, something that will
draw crowds. They will want to soft pedal Grace truth, and have itching
ears for other doctrines. Many will abandon a church that stands for
sound Pauline doctrine to attend other “ministries” less worthy of their
loyalty. I wonder if one of the arguments won’t be that what they are
doing makes them feel closer to God. In Grace circles
we are continually hearing this explanation from those who are listening
to doctrines that are not compatible with what Paul teaches. Recently,
one ministerial student, one college student, and one older mature
gentleman commented that attending a non-grace church made them feel like
they were really worshipping God for the first time. The real issue is
how does God feel about what doctrine they are now standing for and
with? Now we are reminded of the Scripture that tells us “unto
whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required” (Luke 12:48).
Those of us who have been privileged to understand God’s Word rightly
divided must stand true to what is true, and to allow our emotions to
soar with the joy of doing what is right.
Early
in aviation history, pilots had to learn the lesson of inertia. When
flying through clouds or fog which prevented them from seeing the
horizon, they could not feel the plane’s wings beginning to bank right
or left. Initially pilots followed the myth of instinct: They believed
they could feel the turn of their plane, and many banked
unknowingly into a spiral dive that ended in a crash. Pilot William
Langewieshe writes, “instinct is worse than useless in the clouds.” The
only way for pilots to fly through the clouds is to rely on instruments
like the artificial horizon gauge. This is a gyroscoped line that stays
level with the earth’s surface and unerringly indicates when the wings
bank left or right. In the early days of this instrument, the biggest
problem fliers had was relying on their feelings instead of this
instrument. When it comes to spiritual matters, our feelings,
experiences, or what is most popular is not a reliable guide for us to
follow. Today God uses the instrument of His Word. It is unerring, if we
are willing to rightly divide it and accept “no other doctrine” than what is taught by the inspired writings of the Apostle Paul. Stand true to Paul’s doctrines of grace.
Does Your Pastor Preach Paul's Gospel
Romans 2:16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
Romans
16:25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my
gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation
of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began.
2 Timothy 2:8 Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel.
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Les Feldick Ministries
30706 W. Lona Valley Rd.
Kinta, OK 74552
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