In their hot pursuit of knowledge about human nature and about how to help people overcome problems of living, too many Christians are running in the wrong direction. They are like the people Paul describes as “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth,” because they are listening to “lovers of their own selves . . . having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof” (2 Timothy 3:2-7). Indeed, we are living in those last days, and perilous times are upon us because so many who should be teaching true biblical doctrine are busy tickling the ears of audiences who “will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3,4).
Nevertheless there are believers who desire both the milk and the meat of the Word of God. Where can they be fed? Not long ago a friend called and said that her husband had been asked to teach an adult Sunday School class, but that he could not in good conscience teach it according to the specified contents. Since the materials which had been supplied were not to be changed in any way, he had to decline. He would not have been allowed to oppose or even question anything in the materials or on the accompanying videos. These materials were all filled with pop psychology. They were filled with fleshly ways to meet life’s challenges.
Again, we ask, where can the sheep who hear Christ’s voice (John 10) feed on pure doctrine? People are always asking about good Christian books, tapes, videos, and other materials. And, while there are some excellent books which correctly teach biblical doctrine, they are not always easy to find.
The Best book
But, there is a glorious answer. However, when we give this answer, people are often disappointed. They expect us to give a different title when we say, “The Bible.” The sure place to find sound doctrine is the very Word of God. Here is pure doctrine undefiled. Moreover, the Bible comes with its very own teacher. The Holy Spirit is the personal tutor for every Child of God who seeks to know what God is saying through His Word. That does not mean that studying, thinking, and pondering are not part of learning. Nor does it mean that comprehension is in some way magical, even though it is supernatural. The Holy Spirit not only helps the understanding; He enables the Child of God to do what is commanded. He makes the Word effectual in the believer. He shows the application to the one in whom He places the desire to obey.
We cannot emphasize the importance of sound doctrine enough. Truth is not a light thing to play with, because faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is based on truth. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Our walk according to the Spirit cannot be separated from the truth of God. Therefore, all of us need to take heed. “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). How else can we be Bereans? How else can we discern truth from error? How else can we resist the devil, if we do not know how to use our only weapon, “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Ephesians 6:17)?
If the Christian leaders had continued to stress the doctrines of Scripture rather than looking to see what the world had to offer, perhaps the love affair with psychology would not have taken place. But it is never too late for individual Christians to return to their first love: love for the Lord and His Word. The way back out of the darkness of psychoheresy is returning to the light of pure doctrine, pure biblical theology. We all need to study our Bibles, study its doctrines, think seriously and diligently about what God says, and then act accordingly in obedience as true sons and daughters.
It is important to study the Bible, to know its doctrines, and to live accordingly. Those who are “ever learning and never coming to a knowledge of the truth” could actually be learning some biblical doctrines but not obeying them. Jesus said, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” (John 14:21). Jesus gave this analogy:
Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like. He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great (Luke 6:47-49).
We are saved only by God’s grace received by faith. We can do nothing to earn salvation. However, we are saved unto good works. That is, we are saved unto righteousness, which means that we are to walk according to Christ’s life in us.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:8-10).
The Grand Supply
Therefore, though we are not bound by the letter of the law, the law of Christ is written on our hearts so that we desire to please God. How else can we know how to please Him if we do not know what pleases Him? Good works, doing the Word of God, are to follow salvation. And, the blessed part of this is that we are “His workmanship.” That means He not only created us but is continuing to make us into the image of Jesus Christ.
That is why running after psychology is so very silly. What does psychology have to say about God’s workmanship, when its major theorists were all anti-God? What can psychology possibly say about the new being who is “created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained”?
Jesus did not leave His people destitute until enemies of His truth discovered new insights into the human condition and were at last able to study the soul through twentieth-century psychology. No, Jesus sent His Holy Spirit and we have the Scriptures, the Word of God. While various aspects of the institutional church have faltered through the centuries, Christ never failed and the true church, the body of born-again believers, has prevailed and continues to prevail.
Throughout the centuries and to this very day, the grand supply of inexhaustible riches has been and still is available to the Christian. The Good Shepherd does care for His sheep. He continues to be their source for all that is necessary to live the Christian life. In fact, He is that life! All we need to know about walking according to His life is found in the Word of God. And all the resources we need to obey are found in Christ through the Holy Spirit.
(From PAL V3N4)