[0:00] association. Someone mentions a particular word and you have to respond by thinking or even saying the word that comes into your mind as a response. Well, we're going to play that this morning, although I'm not going to ask you to shout out your answer, but word association. Let's play it just once and the word is doctrine. Doctrine. What came into your mind when I mentioned the word doctrine? Quite possibly dull, boring, maybe intellectual, intellectual, possibly theologian. What do you associate with that word doctrine? Doctrine, or what we believe in, is staggeringly unimportant to many people today and we have to add some
[1:09] Christians as well. We live in a day where Pilate's question, what is truth, is answered, whatever it means to you. What is true for you may not be true for me. So there's no objective truth.
[1:28] It doesn't really matter what is right, what is true, what is false, as long as you believe something. And what you believe may be totally erroneous, but that doesn't matter. Believe what you like, as long as you believe it. Some churches today would almost say this, we don't do doctrine. We go in for experience. And often the entertainment fills the vacuum, as it were, and fun. We've got to have an experience when we go to church. We've got to have an experience when we think about Christianity. Truth doesn't really matter. Doctrine is regarded as old-fashioned.
[2:10] It's dry, it's pointless, it's futile. Throw it out of the window, throw it out of the church, throw it out of Christian experience. It doesn't matter. And so, people become susceptible to the latest craze. They leave the anchor of God's word, and they become adrift on the changing and dangerous currents of human opinion. And they're dragged here and there and everywhere.
[2:38] The Bible, what God teaches, is dismissed, neglected, and other things take its place. And now it's time we've got to our text. So, if you've got your Bible with you, do please turn again to the chapter that was read to us earlier, 1 Timothy, Paul's first letter to Timothy, chapter 1, and I'm going to read verses 10 and 11.
[3:01] 1 Timothy 1, verses 10 and 11. It says, For adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and then it says this, And for whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
[3:27] We're going to think about doctrine. And our first point this morning is this, sound doctrine. Notice the end of verse 10.
[3:40] Whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine. Doctrine means teaching. And maybe teaching sounds less forbidding than doctrine.
[3:53] When you went to school, perhaps many years ago, what happened? You were taught. You went there for teaching.
[4:05] In other words, you went there for doctrine. So, the word doctrine is nothing to be afraid of. It just means teaching. And Paul didn't get very far in this letter before he referred to doctrine.
[4:18] There it is, for example, in verse 3. As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus, that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer.
[4:32] So, doctrine for Paul, as he writes to Timothy, is of vital importance. In fact, doctrine, the word, is used 21 times in the New Testament.
[4:45] 15 of those times in Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus. What is doctrine? It is the essential teaching that God wants you to know and to understand.
[5:04] It's the things that God has revealed. Things which are true and trustworthy. Jude put it very well in his little letter.
[5:19] In verse 3 of Jude, he says this, Dear friends, Although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend, and then he says this, For the faith which was once entrusted to the saints.
[5:40] It's as though God said this, Look, I've got something for you. I'm giving it to you. What is it? It is the doctrine.
[5:51] It is the teaching. It is the truth. Look, it's my truth, and I'm handing it over to you. This is for you. And what do you say when God says that to you?
[6:03] When God brings this to you, and offers it to you, what do you say? You say, No, no, I'm not interested in that. Take your gift back.
[6:16] That would be a foolish thing to do, wouldn't it? What you say is this, or at least what you should say is this, you give this to me, Lord, and I want it, and I need it, and by your grace, I'm going to accept it.
[6:31] It was once delivered to the saints. What do you do with it? You receive it, and you believe it. You take it to heart. What kind of doctrine is Paul writing about?
[6:46] You'll notice that he calls it sound doctrine, there in our text, verse 10. That word sound actually means healthy. The Greek is from a word from which we get our word hygiene.
[7:03] So this is sound doctrine. It is healthy doctrine. It is hygienic doctrine. And this word, in this particular sense, occurs eight times in the pastoral letters of Paul and nowhere else in the New Testament.
[7:20] We could briefly notice some of the other places the apostle uses it. In 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 13, he says this, what you heard from me keep as the pattern of sound teaching, healthy teaching.
[7:35] In that same letter, 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 3, he says this, for the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.
[7:47] A couple of other references in Titus, for example, chapter 1 and verse 9. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine.
[8:05] One more in Titus chapter 2 and verse 1. You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. So again he says it, again and again, over and over, sound doctrine.
[8:15] This is what you must have because this is what God gives to you. Doctrine is important to God.
[8:28] In fact, if we can put it in human terms, God has gone to a lot of trouble to give sound doctrine and gone to a lot of trouble also to preserve sound doctrine.
[8:41] Right at the beginning, he raised up holy men who wrote the Bible. And the Bible, of course, is the place where we find sound doctrine. And then over the years, God has gone to a lot of trouble to ensure that doctrine, that teaching, remained in the world and was not obliterated and done away with.
[9:01] Satan is the one who wants to do away with sound doctrine. But God ensures the doctrine continues, the teaching is here and it's here until the end of time.
[9:14] And if God so loves truth, oughtn't we to love truth as well? If it's so important to him, shouldn't it be important to us as well?
[9:30] Sound doctrine is found in God's word. Sound doctrine is biblical. Sound doctrine is scriptural. It is the body of divine truth given to the church.
[9:41] And this condemns the view which says, it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you live right. You cannot live right if you do not believe right.
[9:53] So doctrine is sound. It's important to God. It's biblical. And also, we can notice from our text, it condemns sin.
[10:06] Notice the end of verse 10 again. For whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine. In other words, there is sin. And Paul lists some of those sins there, doesn't he, in verses 9 and 10.
[10:19] There is sin. Sin is those things which are against God. And there, over there, is sound doctrine. Sound doctrine is contrary to sin.
[10:30] And sin is contrary to sound doctrine. They're miles apart. Sound doctrine. God's teaching is against sin. Now, a couple of quotations which you might find, and I suppose I found, quite startling at first.
[10:52] Listen to them. Think about them. William Hendrickson, who wrote a number of very good commentaries upon the New Testament, said this, every sin is a sin against sound doctrine.
[11:06] Think about that. every sin is a sin against sound doctrine. And Spurgeon, we referred to Spurgeon already, Spurgeon said this, every deviation from truth is a sin.
[11:21] It is not simply a sin for men to do a wrong act, but it is a sin for me to believe a wrong doctrine. Now, let's go a little further into this, and notice from our text certain things about sound doctrine.
[11:41] And the first is this, sound doctrine concerns the glorious gospel. Look at verse 11. That conforms to the glorious gospel.
[11:53] The Bible contains a great spectrum of truth about various subjects and topics. You can read about history here, you can read about all kinds of things in the Bible.
[12:10] But, we ought to understand that at the very heart of all these different doctrines and teachings, at the very heart is the gospel.
[12:24] And all these other teachings, in one way or another, come back to the gospel because the gospel message is at the very heart and hub of all teaching.
[12:40] The gospel. What does that mean? The word gospel basically means good news. Paul spells out the gospel in a number of places.
[12:51] For example, in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, he says, now the facts of the gospel are these. First of all, that Christ Jesus died upon the cross for guilty sinners.
[13:04] He died there 2,000 years ago bearing sin, taking sin upon himself, suffering the punishment for sin. In other words, God, the Father, looked down upon Christ as he died there upon that cross and the Father poured out his wrath against sin, against the sins of all those who had trusted in him.
[13:28] All that wrath, all that divine anger poured out upon one man, Jesus Christ, upon the cross. Gospel fact number 2, Christ was buried because he'd really died.
[13:44] gospel fact number 3, he rose from the dead. That, says Paul, is the gospel, the gospel you received, the gospel you believed, died, buried, risen.
[14:01] Or if you want another explanation of the gospel, there it is in verse 15 in 1 Timothy 1. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
[14:19] Isn't that tremendous news? And you'll notice here in our text, this gospel is declared to be glorious.
[14:32] It's the glorious gospel. There's a glory about it. How is that? Well, for one thing, it glorifies God as nothing else. God's glory is the revelation of his character and of his attributes.
[14:51] So that you look at God and his various characteristics and you say, now that's glorious and that's glorious and that's glorious. You look at his holiness and his righteousness and his justice and you say, that's glorious.
[15:05] and then you look at his grace and his love and his mercy and his compassion and you say, that's glorious too. But, when you look at the gospel message, that is how God saves sinners, you say, I have never seen the characteristics and the attributes of God in so glorious a fashion as I see in the gospel.
[15:33] because here all his attributes harmonize together. They come together in perfect agreement and harmony.
[15:47] How can God remain holy and yet be merciful? How can God maintain his justice and at the same time forgive the guilty?
[15:57] but he does so in the gospel. There's a hymn in our hymn book, we're not singing it today but Isaac Watts wrote it and it puts it in this way and he's talking about the gospel.
[16:14] Hear his, that is God's whole name appears complete nor mind can guess nor reason prove which of the letters best is writ the power the wisdom or the love.
[16:33] You see in the gospel the power of God to save sinners. You see in the gospel the wisdom of God. You see in the gospel the love of God and you see it in the gospel as nowhere else.
[16:48] And that's why it's called the glorious gospel. It reveals God's glory as nothing else. Secondly notice here though the gospel concerns the blessed God.
[17:02] What it says in verse 11 that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God. Now that doesn't refer to men blessing God but rather it points to the fact that God is in himself blessed or happy content in himself.
[17:23] he is perfect in himself. He is absolute perfection complete lacking nothing. He has no need of anything outside of himself but still he's merciful to sinners.
[17:39] And thirdly Paul says this gospel has been committed to men. What he says at the end of verse 11 that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which he entrusted to me.
[17:56] Paul later refers to himself as the chief of sinners and yet he says God gave me this gospel this doctrine to proclaim and I'm going to do it.
[18:08] By God's grace with God's help I'm going to proclaim this gospel which saved me. Now I want to make a second main point and it's this the uses of sound doctrine.
[18:23] It's not just teaching so that we know more things. It's not merely to fill our heads with knowledge. So first of all why does God give sound doctrine to us?
[18:37] First of all for salvation for salvation. We read verse 15 didn't we? Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Paul writing to Timothy in his second letter said the scriptures made you wise unto salvation.
[18:57] I want to tell you something which is of vital importance for you to understand this morning and it's this sound doctrine is absolutely vital when it comes to the matter of salvation.
[19:13] there is a God to whom you are accountable. There is a place that you ought to avoid at all costs hell and there is a place to which you ought to go heaven and if you're wrong about doctrine if you're wrong about the teaching that the Bible brings salvation then you're in great danger.
[19:46] I want you to understand this if you're wrong about salvation you will be damned to hell forever.
[19:59] Now in a sense I couldn't say anything more serious and solemn than that could I? if you're wrong about salvation you will be damned to hell forever.
[20:15] But that's the truth. If you're wrong about doctrine if you're wrong about salvation if you're wrong about Jesus Christ then you're going to a lost eternity.
[20:27] That is how important how vital sound doctrine is. you see there are other matters that you can disagree about. Christians disagree about certain things don't they?
[20:38] We don't all have the same views maybe about baptism about this and that and the other church order and all the rest of it. But you must be right about this. About salvation about what the gospel message really is about how to be saved.
[20:52] If you're wrong about that you're wrong about everything and you're lost for all eternity. So you need to understand that only Jesus Christ can forgive your sins. You need to understand that only trusting in him will give you entrance into heaven.
[21:09] Otherwise you're lost. Sound doctrine is about salvation and salvation about trusting in Jesus Christ.
[21:22] And I want to challenge you just now. Are you saved? Do you know that you're saved? not because you've lived a good life or you've been respectable or religious or anything like that but simply because you have turned from your sins and you have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ.
[21:41] You need to be certain about that. Sound doctrine is that vital it's that important. Sound doctrine concerns salvation. Sound doctrine secondly concerns growth.
[21:53] Christians become Christians by being born again. That's another phrase the Bible uses. In other words God the Holy Spirit comes to us and he gives us new life a new birth and we are born if you like as baby Christians.
[22:11] How do we grow? By imbibing sound doctrine. By reading the Bible understanding the Bible putting the Bible into practice. you remember maybe how the writer of the letter to the Hebrews tells the people to whom he writes you're like baby Christians when you ought to have grown up.
[22:34] You're taking in milk and you should be on solid food now. Grow and how do you grow? By imbibing sound doctrine.
[22:47] So we ought to be going on to the deeper things of the word of God. Are you growing as a Christian? We need to. We need to get off that diet of milk and getting on to the meat of the word.
[23:01] We said earlier didn't we that the word sound means healthy. Healthy doctrine. And healthy babies grow. And healthy babies grow by taking in milk at first and then going on to meat and more solid food.
[23:17] good. So sound doctrine brings us growth. And then thirdly conduct. Conduct. Sound doctrine tells you how to act.
[23:29] You see if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ that's fine. That's good. But what you need to do is to put into practice God's word and by his grace and with his help you will.
[23:42] You'll see what God wants you to do from these divine pages and you will conform with his help to his will. In fact you cannot live right if you don't believe right.
[23:56] So this is the foundation. The truth of God. And you go on to put that word into practice. And then we could say in the fourth place there's understanding.
[24:09] Sound doctrine brings us understanding. And it brings us discernment. And it brings us stability. All these things bring a life that glorifies God day by day.
[24:26] You see there are certain people who want to drag you away from God's truth. Paul when he was writing to the Ephesians said that there are some people who are blown here and there and everywhere by forced doctrine.
[24:39] People come along and try to divert them from the road that leads to eternal life. And Paul says stick with the word of God. Stick with sound doctrine.
[24:52] And the last thing I want to mention is warning. Warning. Sound doctrine brings a warning to us. You see it's not all nice and pleasant.
[25:03] It warns. God this morning would warn you through his word. first of all if you're not a believer he would say that road upon which you're walking now is the road that leads to eternal loss.
[25:22] So come to me. If you don't the future is bleak for you. I want to challenge you again this morning if you're not a Christian.
[25:36] Will you commit yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ? Will you come to him and say Lord I'm a sinner. I need a saviour and I believe Jesus Christ you're the only saviour.
[25:49] Save me. Come into my heart. Turn me around by your grace. If you've never done that before do it this morning. You've got a tremendous opportunity.
[26:03] God is here. Jesus Christ is here. The Holy Spirit is working. You've got an opportunity this morning of saying Lord Jesus come. I'm a lost sinner.
[26:15] Come. Change me. Transform me. Make me what I ought to be. The Bible warns you. Sound doctrine warns you. Unless you do that you're lost.
[26:27] Sound doctrine would say to you as a believer you need to go on with the Lord. You need to understand more truth. You need to study God's word and meditate upon God's word.
[26:40] And sound doctrine will say to you as a believer you must put into practice God's word because ultimately as Jesus said by their fruits you will know them.
[26:54] So you need to rely upon the Lord day by day and you need to live a life which glorifies him even in the small things of life. What will you be doing tomorrow?
[27:05] Nothing great I suppose. You won't be up there in the headlines in the newspapers or on the television. Just a normal life maybe in your home in your workplace wherever it is.
[27:19] But you need to know in that situation that you're living for God and glorifying him. And sound doctrine will teach you how to do that.
[27:30] so you wake up tomorrow morning and you say Lord what shall I do today? And in the small things that I do today I want you to be honoured.
[27:43] See the Bible was addressed in a number of occasions to slaves in New Testament times. They were almost non people.
[27:54] They had no rights. their lives were full of turmoil and well they were slaves. They had no rights whatsoever. So Paul writes to them and he says now you can glorify God in whatever you do.
[28:11] That most menial task away out of the limelight that task which no one else would want to do or wish to do you can do it for God. And so can you.
[28:23] you can serve God wherever you are tomorrow as long as you put him first in your life. So that you clean the house, you do the washing, you go to the office, you go to the factory and you say Lord I'm doing this for you.
[28:38] I want you to be glorified in my life tomorrow, today, whatever I'm doing. Sound doctrine teaches you to do that. Let me read that verse again, that couple of verses again as we close.
[28:52] Paul refers to adulterers and perverts and all those kinds of people and he says then in the middle of verse 10 for whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, there are certain things are contrary to sound doctrine, healthy doctrine, and this doctrine he says conforms, is in league with the glorious gospel, the glorious gospel, tremendous, all God's glory is who are poured into the gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ.
[29:25] The glory of God is seen there as nowhere else. The glorious gospel of the blessed God who didn't need you, who has never needed anyone, but in tremendous grace, chose you in Christ and wanted you to belong to him.
[29:41] The blessed God which he entrusted to me. So, God as it were comes to you today and he's got two gifts. First of all, sound doctrine and he says this is for you.
[29:56] What do you do? You say, Lord, I want it. I want to learn it. I want to understand it. I want to put it in a practice. Give it to me, Lord. And he comes and he also says this, if you're not a believer, here is Jesus Christ, my son.
[30:12] Here is salvation in him. What are you going to do? You're going to say yes, aren't you? You're going to say yes, Jesus for me. Two gifts, sound doctrine, Jesus Christ.
[30:26] Yes, Lord.