Doctrines That Divide and Truth That Unites – Part 1 by Jim Sayles
I have been concerned for many years about the divisiveness and religious in-fighting of
the professing church of Jesus Christ. It should be evident that our contentious separatism
from others in the body of Christ is proof that we are not following the Lord’s directions in that
regard, and our pitiful witness to the world must grieve Him.
I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through
their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that
they also may be in Us, …(Why?)…so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just
as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity,…(Why?)…
so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved
Me. John 17:20-23 NASB (emphasis and inserts are the author’s)
I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree,
and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and
the same judgment.
1 Corinthians 1:10 ESV (emphasis is the author’s)
Our defensive excuse for dividing ourselves from others in the body is, of course, that “we”
are right and “they” are wrong, and, though we maintain somewhat of an ecumenical spirit
regarding the primary tenets of our faith, we are truly divided in regard to various conflicting
doctrines, practices, and interpretations of scripture.
It is impossible not to acknowledge our situation, but we cannot compromise what we
believe to be “truth”, either.
But what can we do, and what is the cause of all this division?
Consider this: the Holy Spirit authored all scripture, and, as the Spirit of Truth, He does
not guide us into contradictory truth. Therefore, if any two disagree concerning doctine,
practice or the interpretation of scripture, one must be wrong, and, possibly, both are wrong.
But who is to say which ones are right and which ones are wrong? Who or what is the
authority that can unite us? I cannot personally accept the Pope as my authority on matters of
doctrine, practice, and the interpretation of scripture, and I cannot accept any other
denominational, ministry, or expert authority, either.
Yet, according to most in the church, prophets, pastors, and teachers, most of whom adhere
closely to the doctrines and truths they themselves have been taught to believe in seminary, in
their denomination, or elsewhere, are supposedly the disciple’s authority in all theological
matters. But what does the Spirit of Truth have to say about that? Who is our teacher? Whom
are we to believe? And how can we finally arrive at a knowledge of the truth when there are so
many authoritative voices clamoring to be believed?
“But you are not to be called rabbi …(teacher)…, for you have one teacher, and you
are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in
heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ.” Matthew
23:8-11 ESV (inserts and emphasis are the author’s)
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In this passage the Lord specifically contradicts authoritarian human control over what
Christians are to believe, such as the Pope’s authority over Roman Catholic Christians or the
Southern Baptist Convention’s control over what will or will not be taught in Southern Baptist
Sunday Schools, in spite of their insistence that they believe in the doctrine of the priesthood of
believers.
What the Lord tells us is that we, individually and corporately, are to receive truth
(instruction) and commands from Him through the process that He explained to His disciples
in John 13-17, and is now explaining to us.
Therefore, if the disciple is asked, “What is your authority (source) for believing this
doctrine or that doctrine or this interpretation or that interpretation or following this practice
or that practice?”, there is only one correct answer.
It is not “the Pope.” It is not “my pastor.” It is not “the prophet.” It is not “my
denomination.” And it is not “the Holy Bible.”
The only correct answer is, “My authority is the Word of God, Jesus Christ, who is the
Spirit of Truth and my Counselor, and who speaks His living word into my heart as I rightly
divide the scriptures by thorough inductive study (exegesis) and meditation, waiting on Him to
guide me into all truth appropriately as He pleases.”
All else is hearsay, and, sometimes, heresy.
The problem for many, who may earnestly desire to know the truth, even if it earns them
the left hand of fellowship from the denomination they currently belong to, is that they find the
Bible difficult to understand.
An easy solution for them is to lean on the Bible “experts”, their pastors, or study Bibles
(all of whom, along with the author, have at least some erroneous bias and unconfirmed
assumptive beliefs).
This “solution” is in reality a problem, By encouraging believers to lean on these
“teachers” for their understanding we are telling disciples what to believe without teaching
them how, not only understand what the written text is actually saying, but also how to receive
supernaturally revealed truth from the Spirit of Truth.
It is important for those in the body of Christ who fill the offices of prophet, pastor, or
teacher, and all elders and mature disciples who teach other disciples to obey everything He has
commanded us to obey, to not do so in an authoritarian manner, but to do so in a manner that
inspires those being taught to receive truth directly from the Teacher.
To do otherwise inspires the same Phariseeical attitude of religiosity that opposed the Lord
in His earthly ministry and divides the church today.
Matthew 23:8-11 does not negate the
four-fold ministry of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers, but those whom we
call “teacher” and “instructor” are, at best, good facilitators of His gift, and, at worst, teaching
divisive, erroneous, assumed doctrines, even, doctrines of demons.
The purpose of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, according to
Ephesians 4:11-14, is to prepare God’s people for works of service, and this not by dictating
doctrine, practice, and interpretation of scripture, but by teaching them how to hear the voice of
the Lord that they may glorify Him through living works of faith.
The result, then, would be the body being built up (not in numbers but in stature) until we
all reach unity in the faith and in our relationship knowledge of the Son of God and become
mature (as opposed to our current immaturity evidenced by “winds of doctrine”) attaining to
the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
The author has published a discipleship Bible study guide, Final Instructions,
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based on the Lord’s final instructions to His disciples on the day He was betrayed and crucified
as found in John 13-17. The purpose of the Bible study is to model a simple, inductive exegesis
of scripture (guided by the Spirit of Truth) revealing the Lord’s own instructions about how
His disciples “hear” His voice and receive His truth, promises and commands, thus walking in
unity with other believers and manifesting His life and His love through their obedient faith
responses.
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