How is studying doctrine an act of love?
Question 0020
This might seem a strange question at first. Doctrine often gets a bad reputation—it’s seen as dry, academic, divisive, the province of theologians arguing about angels on pinheads while the real work of loving people goes neglected. But this is a terrible misunderstanding. Rightly understood, studying doctrine is one of the most loving things a Christian can do.
Loving God with All Your Mind
When asked about the greatest commandment, Jesus answered: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). Notice the “mind” is included. Loving God isn’t merely emotional or volitional; it’s intellectual. We’re called to engage our thinking capacities in our relationship with God. And what better way to love God with our minds than to study what He has revealed about Himself?
Doctrine is simply teaching about God—who He is, what He has done, what He requires, what He promises. To study doctrine is to pursue knowledge of God. And to pursue knowledge of God is to pursue God Himself. When I learn about God’s holiness, I’m drawn to worship. When I understand His grace more deeply, I’m moved to gratitude. When I grasp His sovereignty more fully, I’m anchored in peace. Doctrine fuels worship, and worship is the heart of love.
A.W. Tozer put it well: “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Our thoughts about God shape everything else—our emotions, our decisions, our relationships, our responses to suffering and success. Getting our doctrine right is essential to getting life right.
Loving Others Through Truth
But studying doctrine isn’t only about our personal relationship with God; it’s profoundly connected to loving others.
Consider Paul’s words to the Ephesian elders: “I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house… I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:20, 27). Paul’s love for these people was expressed through teaching them truth. He didn’t give them emotional affirmations without content; he taught them doctrine—publicly, in homes, comprehensively. He knew that solid teaching was what they needed for their spiritual health and protection.
He continues in the same passage: “I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert…” (Acts 20:29-31). False teachers were coming. The way to protect the flock was through sound doctrine. Paul had invested in teaching precisely because he loved these people and wanted them safeguarded against error.
Think about it practically. If you know a young Christian who’s being drawn toward a cult or false teaching, what do you need? Not just warm feelings but knowledge—the ability to explain what’s wrong with the error and what’s right about the truth. If you’re counselling someone struggling with assurance of salvation, you need doctrinal clarity about justification. If you’re helping someone suffering through tragedy, you need robust theology of God’s sovereignty, goodness, and purposes. Love without truth is sentimentality. Truth without love is harshness. But truth and love together are powerful.
Doctrine Protects
Ephesians 4 describes the purpose of gifted teachers in the church: “…to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes” (Ephesians 4:12-14).
Notice the contrast. On one side: unity, knowledge, maturity. On the other: being tossed about by every wind of doctrine, vulnerable to cunning and deceit. What makes the difference? Sound teaching that leads to knowledge and maturity. When you study doctrine, you’re building your own defences against error. When you teach doctrine to others, you’re building theirs. This is an act of love—protecting yourself and others from destructive lies.
Doctrine Corrects
Paul wrote to Timothy: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Doctrine—teaching from Scripture—accomplishes reproof and correction. It shows us where we’re wrong and how to get right. This is a loving function.
It’s fashionable today to avoid telling anyone they’re wrong. That’s considered unloving, judgmental. But think about it. If someone you love is heading toward a cliff, is it loving to let them go? Or is it loving to call out, to warn, to correct their course? The parent who never corrects their child isn’t loving; they’re neglectful. The friend who never challenges wrong thinking or behaviour isn’t kind; they’re cowardly. True love includes correction, and doctrine provides the standard by which correction can be given.
Doctrine Transforms
We’ve already looked at Romans 12:2—transformation comes through the renewal of the mind. Studying doctrine is a primary means by which our minds are renewed.
When I grasp more deeply that I’m justified by grace alone through faith alone, I’m freed from the treadmill of works-righteousness that produces either pride or despair. When I understand the doctrine of adoption—that God hasn’t just pardoned me but made me His child—my identity is transformed. When I comprehend the reality of Jesus’ return and the certainty of future glory, my priorities shift; the things of earth grow strangely dim.
Doctrine changes how we think, and how we think shapes how we live. The Christian who studies theology faithfully is being changed by it, and change is the goal of love. God’s love for us isn’t content to leave us as we are; His love transforms us into the image of His Son. Our love for one another should have the same aim.
Doctrine Unites
Paradoxically, although doctrine is often blamed for division, it’s actually the basis for genuine unity. Paul calls us to “the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God” (Ephesians 4:13). True unity is built on shared truth.
Unity that ignores doctrine isn’t genuine unity; it’s superficial peace achieved by avoiding anything important. Real fellowship happens when we share the same Lord, the same faith, the same baptism, the same God and Father (Ephesians 4:4-6). Studying doctrine together deepens our unity because it deepens what we share. When a church studies theology together, they’re not just learning information; they’re building a common foundation for life and ministry.
Objections Answered
Someone might object: “But doctrine divides! Look at all the denominations arguing over theological differences.” It’s true that doctrinal disagreements have sometimes been handled badly. But the solution isn’t to abandon doctrine; it’s to pursue it with humility and love. Moreover, some divisions are necessary and good. We should divide from false teaching. We should maintain boundaries around essential truths.
Another objection: “Doctrine puffs up. Knowledge makes proud.” Paul does say that “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1 Corinthians 8:1). But notice: he doesn’t say stop pursuing knowledge. He says pursue it with love. Knowledge without love is dangerous; knowledge with love is powerful. The answer isn’t ignorance but humble learning.
Conclusion
Studying doctrine is an act of love because it’s how we love God with our minds—pursuing knowledge of Him, fuelling our worship, transforming our thinking. It’s how we love others—teaching them truth, protecting them from error, correcting false paths, building genuine unity. The church needs more doctrine, not less. We need Christians who love God enough to study Him and love others enough to teach them.
“Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” Ephesians 4:15
Bibliography
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- Bridges, Jerry. The Joy of Fearing God. WaterBrook, 1997.
- Carson, D.A. The God Who Is There. Baker Books, 2010.
- Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology. Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.
- Horton, Michael. The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way. Zondervan, 2011.
- Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn. Truth Unchanged, Unchanging. Banner of Truth, 2013.
- Packer, J.I. Knowing God. Hodder & Stoughton, 1973.
- Ryrie, Charles C. Basic Theology. Moody Press, 1999.
- Sproul, R.C. Everyone’s a Theologian. Reformation Trust, 2014.
- Stott, John R.W. Your Mind Matters. Inter-Varsity Press, 1972.
- Tozer, A.W. The Knowledge of the Holy. James Clarke, 1965.
