Leaving Beyond – Grounded In Scripture

Written by: April J. Buchanan

Sound doctrine is not merely “right” doctrine or about being intellectually correct. It is healthy, true, powerful, and life-giving, sanctifying all who live by it. The phrase literally means “healthful, wholesome teaching.” Scripture warns that many, far more than a few, will not be able to endure sound doctrine. They literally cannot endure it. They reject it, turn away from it, and accumulate those who tell them what they want to hear.

Today, many in the pulpit cannot endure faithful study of the Word that would show them approved. Many are unable to teach in a way that demonstrates biblical qualification. They appeal to spiritual encounters or personal revelation as how they received their calling so that you cannot question or test it because to do so would be to question God. They were never submitted to the authority of scripture. They lead others by another way, teaching words that are not sound. Rather than faithfully studying the text and giving careful exposition, they search for messages outside Scripture and then attempt to use Scripture to support their conclusions.

In minimizing sound doctrine while chasing experiences and emotional highs, they reveal hearts that despise what the Spirit inspired. They claim encounters with the Spirit that are meant to validate teachings that are not grounded in faithful exposition. In doing so, they reject the very means God has ordained to build, protect, and strengthen His bride, exposing themselves as unfit for ministry and opposed to the true work of the Spirit, while pursuing that which can never truly satisfy.

They will not decrease in number. Why? Scripture is true. It warns the bride that there will be many false teachers, false prophets, false converts, and those who cannot endure sound doctrine. Their words promise life but produce death. Scripture, by contrast, is the words of life.

We do not need merely doctrine. We need sound doctrine and hearts and minds open to and set on the truth. Can you endure sound doctrine, or do you seek something more?