by Henry Morris, Ph.D
“Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou
hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 1:13)
When Paul
wrote to his two young disciples, Timothy and Titus, he stressed again and
again the vital importance of maintaining sound doctrine in their churches.
“If any
man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome [same word as ‘sound’] words,
even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according
to godliness” (1 Timothy 6:3; see also 1:10). “For the time will come when
they will not endure sound doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:3).
“That he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the
gainsayers” (Titus 1:9). “But speak thou the things which become sound
doctrine” (Titus 2:1;
also 2:8).
If the
great apostle was so concerned that his pastoral disciples guard the doctrinal
integrity of their first-century churches, he would surely be even more
exercised today. These are times when false doctrines are rampant, and when
sound (that is “healthy” or “whole”) doctrines are often the object of
compromise and distortion, or (even more commonly) simply ignored, even in
evangelical churches.
Paul’s
command was to “hold fast the form” of sound words. Not only the so-called
“spirit” of the words in Scripture, but the words themselves.
Such
strict guarding of doctrine is vital for the spiritual health of the churches.
Furthermore, such doctrinal integrity does not lead to cold orthodoxy, as some
would allege, but is centered in the “faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.”
It is “the doctrine which is according to godliness.” It is doctrine which is
not only sound in the faith, but also “in charity, in patience” (Titus 2:2).
After
all, it is the doctrine of Christ Himself, who is not only “the truth,” but
also “the way” and “the life” (John 14:6). HMM
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