Leaving Beyond – Grounded In Scripture

Written by: April J. Buchanan

There are those who, upon hearing that a church is deeply committed to sound doctrine, immediately assume it must be legalistic or pharisaical. Others assume that if a church is centered on the Word of God and committed to sound doctrine, it must not believe in the work of the Holy Spirit and therefore must be spiritually dead. Both are false assumptions.

The Holy Spirit works through the Word He inspired. Where the Word is faithfully proclaimed, the Spirit is at work. Where there is sound doctrine, there is sound doxology and a right understanding of the Holy Spirit. A high view of Scripture necessarily produces a high view of the Spirit, for it refuses to attribute to Him what He has not revealed of Himself. The genuine work of the Spirit is never divorced from the truth He inspired.

Such thinking is often the result of reactionary extremes. One extreme reacts against another until both drift away from the beauty and glory of God as He has revealed Himself in Scripture. Yet doctrine and theology are not extremist language. When rightly understood and faithfully handled, they are beautiful because they reveal the character, purposes, and glory of God.

Extremist movements often arise among those who have heard the truth rightly proclaimed, not because the truth is lacking, but because they become dissatisfied with the simplicity and sufficiency of God’s Word and with trusting the genuine work of the Holy Spirit. They go beyond what is written, adding to or distorting what God has said. In turn, others react against those excesses by running to the opposite extreme. Though the errors differ, both are equally reactionary because both have departed from the steady foundation of Scripture.

The truth itself, however, has never changed. It remains steadfast, immutable, trustworthy, and reliable in every generation. We must be careful not to equate what is pure, holy, and faithful with the excesses of those who have misused it. In rejecting one error, we must not embrace another simply because it appears to be its opposite.

Our beliefs must continually be reformed according to the Word of God. We are called to test everything by Scripture, not by our experiences, our preferences, or the failures of others. God’s Word has proven itself faithful and trustworthy in every age.

We must also guard against reacting to the world or even to errors within the church by swinging to another extreme. It is possible to build entire systems of belief by isolating passages of Scripture in order to justify our own reactions rather than allowing the whole counsel of God to shape our understanding.

Instead, we must return again and again to the Scriptures, seeking to understand what God has said, what He means, and how His truth ought to be rightly applied. If we approach the Bible looking for verses to support our reactions to the errors around us, rather than submitting ourselves to what God has spoken, we are no better than those whose errors we oppose.

Scripture alone is the sure foundation of truth. It does not react to the changing winds of culture or controversy. It does not sway with the opinions of men. It stands firm because it is the very Word of God. Therefore, we can trust every word He has spoken.