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: 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…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 4003. Being filled with the Spirit is one of those phrases that gets pulled in two opposite directions, and I think both of them miss it. Some treat it as a rare, elusive state reserved for the spiritual elite, and others treat it as a synonym for emotional intensity in worship, as though the…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 4001. The person of the Spirit is the first thing I want settled when anyone asks me who the Holy Spirit really is, because almost every mistake people make in this area flows from getting that one point wrong. Is the Spirit a Person, or is He a force? Is He someone I relate…
Reading Time: 7 minutesQuestion 4000. The doctrine of the Spirit is the part of Christian teaching that asks who the Holy Spirit is, what He does, and what His nearness means for an ordinary believer trying to follow Jesus on an ordinary day. We give it a technical name, pneumatology, and the name can make the whole thing…
Reading Time: 7 minutesQuestion 0046. The phrase itching ears comes from one of the most honest descriptions of human nature in all of Scripture, and Paul saw it coming with painful accuracy. People would gather teachers to suit their itching ears, choosing voices that scratched the spot rather than told the truth. “The time is coming,” he wrote,…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 0041. When a church begins to prize experience over doctrine, the change is rarely announced and rarely sudden. No one stands up and says they have decided to value feelings above truth. It happens by a slow shift of weight, where the test of whether something is right gradually moves from what God has…
Reading Time: 5 minutesQuestion 0040. It sounds wonderfully humble to say that you just want to read the Bible without theology, taking the plain words at face value and leaving all the systems and arguments to the academics. I have heard it many times, often from sincere believers who are weary of theological squabbling. Yet the more I…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 0039. Some Christians treat the Spirit and study as competitors, as though leaning on the Holy Spirit means I can set aside the effort of learning sound doctrine. The reasoning sounds spiritual. If the Spirit teaches me, why bury my nose in books and arguments? Why not simply trust him to guide me into…