Tuesday, January 12, 2016

What Should You Do When Your Hear Unsound Doctrine?

I can honestly say that I have never gotten up and walked out of a movie.  (That's mainly because I don't go to the movies.)  But there are those who do go and I have been told on a rare occasion they get up and walk out.  Usually, they tell me, it is because the movie offends them or because another movie goer is being excessively rude and ruining the event.

There have been a few times, however, that I have gotten up and left a restaurant due to poor service, poor environment conditions, or some such thing.  But the most frequent reason I have left a restaurant is because the prices were far more than I expected and obviously more than I felt I could afford at that time.  But I have gotten up and left when I wasn't happy or satisfied.

But what do you do when doctrine is clearly unsound?  Do you simply leave that church?  Do you slam your Bible shut and stomp out making sure that all know your disagreement with the teaching?  Do you simply stay hoping that the doctrine will simply straighten itself out over time?  Or is there a Bible response to this situation?

If we want a Bible response we must go to...the Bible.

1. Always be sure you understood what was said because misunderstanding can cause almost as much problem as unsound doctrine. (Acts 19:32) If necessary, ask the speaker what they meant.
2. If this was an elder (Considered by most to be the pastor of the church) be extra careful in the attitude in which you approach them. (1 Timothy 5:1)  They are human and can make mistakes, but they are still the pastor of the church and God calls for your grace because of that.  But don't stay away from the needed discussion just because they are the pastor either.
3. Don't ignore the unsound doctrine or just walk away from the church.  If the doctrine is unsound then you are showing selfishness by not addressing it (Galatians 2:11) and God commands unsound doctrine to be confronted. (2 Peter 2:1)
4. Study the scriptures that were presented before you classify the teaching as unsound doctrine. (2 Timothy 2:15 & Acts 17:11)  This gives the teacher the benefit of the doubt to start.  Study until you have clear scriptural proof that this teaching was/is unsound doctrine.
5. Don't go to others in the church and ask them if they think the doctrine is unsound.  This is an issue between you and the speaker first. (Matthew 18:15) Study the issue and then go to the teacher and talk about the Word of God not what they said.  In other words, first show them the truth not their error.  (Matthew 18:17)
6. If they refuse to speak with you or reject the sound doctrine then talk to another leadership person about the doctrine you studied and be sure to show truth not the error. (1 Timothy 5:17-20)

In a personal observation, people often leave churches over something that is not doctrine such as whether a church celebrates Christmas (Romans 14:5), how much authority the church has given to the pastor in spending money (Acts 4:33-37), or what type of pew the church bought (Philippians 2:3).  To add to this, seldom does anyone biblically confront doctrinal error before they leave when it does happen.  They simply walk away which is NOT biblical in any situation that I can find verses to support.  But I have seen and heard through the years how that numerous people have left churches refusing to discuss their issues.  This clearly says their reason for leaving is either not biblical doctrine or they are unwilling to do the biblical thing in addressing the "doctrinal error."  To be honest, there have been some occasions where a stubborn self-willed pastor/leader refused to discuss sound biblical doctrine and that is, of course, his failure which is addressed in the next two paragraphs.

Let me state clearly, there is not one example or verse in the Bible about leaving a church, so I cannot share those verses.  But, I can say that there was also a level of accountability in the early churches that allowed for the leadership to be confronted correctly over error and members to do so with a right spirit. (Acts 11)  If a preacher or teacher balks at proper spirited questions, then there is clearly a problem with their heart.  But there is also something wrong with a Christian's heart that is simply willing to walk away from the church God placed them into because of what they perceive as unsound doctrine without addressing it biblically.

Finally, a person cannot remain in a church that is clearly teaching unsound doctrine purposefully.  If you have studied the Word of God and know wrong doctrine (not just philosophy) is being taught, if you have lovingly spoken to the teacher/preacher and the wrong doctrine was reinforced in their words, and if the other leadership of the church agrees with the wrong doctrine, then you have little option but to find another church family.  But be VERY sure that what you are dealing with DOCTRINE not just personal opinions.  For further study, look to see what the early Christians "put up with" in each other in Acts.  They never backed away when confronting wrong doctrine but were very patient about other personal views and issues. (Acts 28)

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