Does Your Doctrine Have Power?

Preconceived ideas can be detrimental to many of life’s circumstances, but they can be toxic to our understanding of the word of God. While we can appreciate doctrine that has been instilled in us, it’s our responsibility to search scripture on a continual basis throughout our lives so that the Holy Spirit can progressively reveal His truths. How many times have we thought we had truth only to find out later that our interpretation had been gained from a scripture taken out of context or someone else’s preconceived idea which was passed along to us?

This was my experience a few years back, and it dealt with not one scripture but a great segment of doctrine in the church I attended. I came to such an extreme point of being uncomfortable about the Jesus that was being preached that I was compelled to re-search scripture in its proper context. This meant no scripture stood alone – it could not be taken out of context one line at a time, but I must read and study greater segments to understand the circumstances and characters around each chapter I read. This was a very difficult time for me as I lost some friendships in this process and became a bit of an outcast in the circle of people I had known as my church family. But this was the choice I had to make - accept His truth or accept the the consequences of turning away from the truth God was revealing. Slowly but surely God began to reveal where my doctrine was erroneous – and He continues to do the same for each of us as we humbly, diligently and persistently take in His word through His Spirit.

When the Sadducees challenged Jesus knowledge of scripture in order to prove their own knowledge, he said to them “You are wrong because you know neither the scriptures nor God's power “(Matt 22:29). God’s word and power go together - one doesn’t exist without the other if we have real truth. Inaccurate doctrine doesn’t produce God’s power-filled results, but we can be so determined to make it come to pass that we’ll push it along in the flesh to get the results we think it should bring. The truth of God’s word comes to pass by His power, but God is not under any obligation to bring about the fulfillment of our interpretation of His word.

This is why we must remain teachable – and refrain from being defensive when others bring up concerns about our doctrine. We’re not to be ‘wishy-washy’ or ‘know it all’, but we’re supposed to be ready to give a reason for what we believe (1 Pet 3:15). That means we are to understand why we believe what we believe, give an explanation that Biblically supports that belief (without stretching it to our liking), and be willing to investigate and change our beliefs when they don’t line up entirely with the Word of God. Breaking off wrong interpretations of the word of God breaks off bondage and brings life. God’s word is life to our bodies – but wrong doctrine has no power to bring about God’s promises (Prov. 4:20-22).

If we remain fixed in doctrine that is ‘somewhat’ correct, even if it sounds and feels good to the flesh, we can expect that it might ‘somewhat’ have power and ‘somewhat’ come to pass. But if we are those who continually study to understand and know our God, we will be vessels through which the truth of His word is continually proven and overflows into the lives of others.