Sound

December 15th

Today's Bible Reading

Sound

Titus 2:1

But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.

Everyone has an option. Not all options are right. The may seem sound but they are not. What we are taught we teach. What we know we make known. 

Many in Titus’ day had perverted the message of the gospel. They were teaching myths and the commands of those who have turned from the truth. They were distorting the truth. They were deceiving those who hear. They twisted scripture to teach what they affirm. There antics created confusion. They unsettled and upset many believers.

It is no different today. There is an ongoing battle for truth. There is a war waged against the gospel. There are deceptive doctrines that are being presented as truth. Our minds are bombarded by a barrage of bad beliefs. The problem is that the principles that they advance are not the precepts found in scripture. Oh the verses may be in the Bible, but they twist them to substantiate what they teach. They deceive those who hear by selectively removing scripture from its context. Truth becomes whatever they make it.

To fight this war against God’s word, we must first immerse ourselves into scripture. We must investigate the word section by section in its context. We can’t pick and choose which verses will qualify our personal opinions or beliefs. We must hold onto the whole counsel of the word of God. Here we are encouraged to teach what accords with sound doctrine. Our beliefs must coincide with what the Bible teaches.

We must hear from others who have spent their life investigating scripture. Great Biblical scholars can help us to decipher and decode the difficult texts that we encounter. They can enhance our ability to formulate sound doctrinal truths from scripture. Their insights become our instruction. Don’t let the word “doctrine” dissuade you from diving deeply into the word. These are the teaching of scripture. To grow and flourish in your faith, you must fortify your faith with sound doctrine.

Finally, we can’t teach what we have not learned. Learning sound doctrine is a prerequisite to teaching it. We must make it our lifelong pursuit to learn what the Bible teaches. This is the admonition of Paul to Titus. He was to teach what agreed with scripture, but to do that he had to know what scripture taught.  We need to do the same.

Today learn scripture. Take time to investigate the writings of great theologians both dead and alive. Let them teach you what they have been taught. Compare what they have written with what the scripture teaches. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you formulate sound doctrine so you can become a sound disciple of Christ.