Holding Fast To Sound Doctrine

[Mike 2]

From Wikipedia

Doctrine (from Latin: doctrina, meaning "teaching", "instruction" or "doctrine") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system. The etymological Greek analogue is "catechism".[1]

Sooooo,      What is sound doctrine?

How do we determine or know if it needs correction?

 

[Michael37]

16 hours ago, Mike 2 said:

From Wikipedia

Doctrine (from Latin: doctrina, meaning "teaching", "instruction" or "doctrine") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system. The etymological Greek analogue is "catechism".[1]

Sooooo,      What is sound doctrine?

How do we determine or know if it needs correction?

Good question. 

Act 17:10-11
(10)  And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
(11)  These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
 

Sound doctrine promotes righteousness and is evidence of it.

[Mike 2]

So how do we differentiate between doctrine and theology?

 

[Michael37]

10 hours ago, Mike 2 said:

So how do we differentiate between doctrine and theology?

 

Again, a good question. There are many sites that try to address this.

My own conclusion is that in essence Theology is all that studying God produces and Doctrine is what is taught from what is studied. To put it another way, theology is the medium in which doctrine grows, therefore good doctrine comes from good theology and bad doctrine from bad theology. 

QUOTE:

Note: Systematic theology, is an attempt to formulate an orderly, rational, and coherent, account of the Christian faith and beliefs. Since not all the Bible's teachings on any particular topic are all found in one place, humans have organized the teachings of the Scriptures by subject, collating as many of the pertinent passages as possible. Because this makes it easier to read and study Biblical doctrine in a more systematic way, it can be an extremely useful aid to learning the Scriptures. However, it pays to remember that all works of systematic theology are, in the final analysis, based on the judgment and conclusions of a particular individual. And, since even the best of theologians have been known to misinterpret and misconstrue passages, all man's work has to be carefully compared with the Bible. The Scriptures themselves have to be the final word, regardless of how scholarly the work appears to be.

Source: In Plain Site.org Theology and Doctrine

In the following passage there is both theology and doctrine. While there can be found a theology of the character of God and the role of Christ as the Good Shepherd, there are also distinct doctrines being taught, firstly that of "knowing and hearing Christ as sheep who know and hear their shepherd", and secondly that of "fleeing from strange shepherds whose voice is unknown".      

Joh 10:2-5
(2)  But he that enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
(3)  To him the porter opens; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.
(4)  And when he puts forth his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
(5)  And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

These are some of the categories that theology can be divided into:

Theology proper – The study of the character of God

Angelology – The study of angels

Biblical theology – The study of the Bible

Christology – The study of Christ

Ecclesiology – The study of the "ecclesia" (the word incorrectly translated and substituted in the KJV and others as "church.")

Eschatology – The study of the end times

Hamartiology – The study of sin

Pneumatology – The study of the Holy Spirit

Soteriology – The study of salvation

Theological anthropology – The study of the nature of humanity.

Israelology - The study of Israel in God's purpose and plan.

Opinionology - The study of what is claimed to be true.

[GandalfTheWise]

Leave it to us Christians in western culture to essentially equate Biblical "learning" with learning information and holding the correct intellectual opinions.   Our common background in a formal education system has indoctrinated us to think of such verbs as learn, teach, and study in terms of taking courses and passing exams.    We've come to equate learning doctrine, etc. with taking classes (from the right teacher of course) or self-study, knowing the facts and information, and holding the right opinions.  Whether we can actually do anything practical or not with this information and correct opinion is ultimately less important than actually holding the correct opinions.  A good teacher is thus one who can encourage and inspire their students to master a curriculum (the correct!!! one) with its materials and get good grades.  

How different do many verses in scripture look if we were to think of "learning" in a more vocational manner such as learning plumbing, carpentry, welding, driving, playing a musical instrument, being an artist, or in terms of things we learn how to do.   It's pretty obvious who's a pretender and who's a master when they sit down to practice their craft.  A good teacher is one who sets an example and shows their followers how to do things in a way that they can become good examples themselves.  The fruit is obvious.   If I show someone how to whittle wood, I can come back in a year and simply by looking at what whittled objects they have sitting around be able to determine what they've done with what I've shown them.   Both the quality and quantity of what they produce makes it obvious whether what I showed them became a part of their life or not.

In a curriculum driven system, teaching and learning becomes about mastering and propagating the system.  We spend our time arguing about which curriculum is correct, the best way to teach it, and figuring out tests to determine how well we and others have mastered our favorite curriculum.   In a vocational driven system, teaching and learning becomes about individuals mastering and propagating skills and actions.  We spend our time working on improving our skills and encouraging others to improve their skills.

[Walter and Deborah]

On 2/9/2019 at 9:48 AM, Cletus said:

The Holy Ghost. 

Amen! Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. Titus 1:9

https://biblehub.com/titus/1-9.htm

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 

2 Timothy 3:16

https://biblehub.com/2_timothy/3-16.htm ,

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 

2 Timothy 2:15 ,

https://biblehub.com/2_timothy/2-15.htm 

Edited February 14, 2019 by Walter and Deborah
More info.