-QUESTION: What is doctrine?
Second, there is doctrine which is not profitable. We are specifically told that we should teach “what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it benefit those who listen” (Eph. 4:29 NIV). This verse clearly implies that there is doctrine which is not helpful to those who listen. Teachers and preachers should challenge themselves with the question, “So what?” to determine if what they are saying is profitable to the hearers.
Third, there is doctrine which is profitable. The Bible says that “all Scripture … is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). The Bible is profitable for more than merely knowing, because by itself “knowledge puffs up” (1 Cor. 8:1), and Bible knowledge is no exception. But biblical knowledge becomes profitable when it is used for rebuking, correcting, training and equipping us for every good work. Doctrines are of value only if we can apply them!
We can easily become occupied with mere points of doctrine instead of with becoming the people the Lord wants us to be – which is what doctrine is for!
Answered by Alan Crosby
With permission to publish by: Sam Hadley, Grace & Truth, 210 Chestnut St., Danville, IL., USA. Website: www.gtpress.org
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