Reading Time: 9 minutesQuestion 8. Which doctrines are essential for salvation is a question that deserves great care, because the wrong answer in either direction is dangerous. Make the list too long and you start barring from heaven people the Lord has welcomed. Make it too short and you empty the gospel of its content until almost anything…
Reading Time: 9 minutesQuestion 7. Learning to tell primary truths from secondary doctrines is one of the most useful skills a Christian can develop, and the lack of it has wrecked more friendships and split more churches than I care to count. Some believers treat every conviction they hold as a hill to die on. Others treat nothing…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 6. Can I love Jesus without caring about theology is one of the most sincere questions I am asked, and I never want to crush the heart behind it. Usually the person is reacting against something cold they have seen, a Christianity that knew all the right answers and somehow loved no one. I…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 5. Everyone is a theologian, whether they realise it or not, and I do not say that to flatter anybody or to play with words. I say it because the moment you form any thought about God, about whether He exists, about what He is like, or about what He might want from you,…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 4. Why does Paul call right teaching sound doctrine, and what does the word sound actually mean? When he tells Titus to ‘teach what accords with sound doctrine’ (Titus 2:1), he reaches for a word that might surprise you. The Greek term behind sound is hygiaino, and its plainest meaning is healthy or wholesome….
Reading Time: 9 minutesQuestion 3. What does it mean that Scripture is breathed out by God? Few verses carry more weight for understanding the Bible than 2 Timothy 3:16, where Paul writes, ‘All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.’ At the centre of that sentence…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 2. Does doctrine divide the church? You have probably heard it stated as though it were settled fact: doctrine divides, but love unites. The idea is that if we would only set aside our tiresome theological differences and concentrate on relationships, the church would be stronger and happier. It sounds gracious, even spiritual. But…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 1. If you want to know why doctrine matters, start by noticing how quickly people’s eyes glaze over when the word is mentioned. Doctrine sounds dusty and academic, something best left to theologians in their studies, with no obvious bearing on getting the children to school or holding a marriage together. I understand the…
Reading Time: 9 minutesQuestion 0. Why do I keep going to the Bible for answers when the world is full of other voices? It is a fair question, and it sits right at the heart of everything we do here. Why not simply reach for common sense, or science, or philosophy, or the accumulated wisdom of clever people,…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 4004. Can we really grieve the Spirit? Ephesians 4:30 says we can, and it is a command both sobering and, when you stop to think about it, quite remarkable: ‘And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.’ That the Spirit of God can…