333 Words

333 WORDS….

In our quest for spiritual gain, doctrine should never trump relationship…. that is to say, one’s determination to know truth should be less than knowing the Truth, including truth about The Truth…. or said another way, being doctrinally sound is good but being relationally sound is better, much better.

For most evangelicals (etcetera), there was a dismal moment when He was discarded for an it. Our very first days in Christ were full of the wonder of Him. For many, it didn’t take long for evangelicalism (or whatever) to turn one’s focus from Him to one of many its, one of the its being evangelicalism itself and another being an inordinate (disproportionate, irrational) need to be doctrinally correct.

(Are you experiencing meager fruit? A skewed loyalty is the reason. If you don’t expel your it and reinstate Him on life’s throne, meager will continue to be normal and approaching judgment day will be an embarrassment.)

Doctrine police often cite Ac17:11 which speaks of the “noble” Bereans who “searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” to rationalize their obsession to be doctrinally flawless. However, those townspeople “searched the scriptures” to determine if the Nazarene was indeed the promised Christ, not to intensely defend/decimate doctrines such as eternal security, the reality of hell-fire, end-time prophecies, and many etceteras.

1Cor8:1: “Knowledge puffs up.” Knowledge puffs the professor, the plumber, the poet, the prosperous and the poor. And misaligned christians. The itch to know for the sake of knowing is less than virtuous. Only the ego is enriched.

The religious love to expound their stuff to the less informed. Not so the fervent.

Knowledge actually comes more readily to those not obsessed with it, those occupied with Jesus. That’s because more of Christ equals more of “the Spirit of Christ” who “will guide you into all truth”.

Ps119:11: “Your word have I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against You.”

A pure motive for learning is to serve Him rightly.