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Doctrine as Policy
When I hear the word “doctrine,” I think of the Monroe Doctrine (1823), which declared North and South America closed to colonization. In this case, the “doctrine” is a policy statement backed up by authority. Over time, it has come to mean an agreed-upon set of principles or procedures pertaining to a specific area of philosophy, economics, or religion.
Doctrine in the Bible
Our interest is in religious doctrine, which all the world’s religions have usually based upon the scriptures they honor. For Christians, that Scripture is the Bible.
The King James Bible uses the word “doctrine” 51 times, mostly translated from the Greek word διδαχή English “didache,” meaning “teaching” or “instruction.”
The Bible does not use its authority to pronounce upon any single teaching as “a doctrine,” but it does make it clear that some teaching is good and some evil. Whether a teaching is good or evil depends on how it aligns with the Bible. It is a decisive test.
Where “authority” regarding doctrine comes in is in the way that Jesus* taught: (an asterisk* after a name indicates that person appears as one of the 200 short biographies in SPIRITUAL LIVES)
And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes. – Mark 1:21
The same authority by which He called out demons, healed the sick, and calmed the wind and wave was in His teaching, and He passed that authority on to His disciples (Luke 9:1) and (Matthew 18:8)
Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Apostolic Doctrine
We call this directive from Jesus “Apostolic authority,” and He gave it because the New Testament was not in place. Jesus knew that His words were from God and that the devil constantly opposed them.
He warned His disciples to beware of the doctrine of the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 16:12) and later the churches in Pergamum and Thyatira of the doctrines of Balaam*(1502?-1452 BC), the Nicolaitans, and Jezebel (Revelation 2).
We see a progression here. Jesus had overcome the doctrines of the scribes and Pharisees, but the devil never quits. He was already introducing old wickedness to the churches via newly named doctrines of demons as St. Paul*(5-67 AD) alerted Timothy:
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. 1 Timothy 4:1-3
Here, we get a hint as to what some of these evil doctrines are. He teaches young Bishop Timothy to warn his church against them and to steep himself in the study of sound doctrine.
All of this occurred before the New Testament was in place. Even so, by the end of the first century, doctrine had become more than “teaching” and moved closer to becoming dogma.
Didache: Informal doctrine
While the New Testament gives general instructions for church worship and government, there was an immediate need for practical procedures and clarity on what was acceptable and what was not. This came in the Didache, the Greek word for doctrine.
The Didache (80-123): (The Full title is The Lord’s Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations) begins by identifying Christianity as the Way of Life and Virtue, in contrast with the wicked Way of Death.
This is a contrast Jesus* Himself made in the Gospel of Matthew, raising the question of whether Matthew himself had a role in the composition of this foundational teaching document. More importantly, it attaches to doctrine the property of direction, of leading to Life or death.
The immediate job of the Didache was to give guidelines for Christian ethics, church organization, and the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
It contains a written catechism and speaks to the roles of bishops and deacons and their authority. Baptism was by full immersion, but sprinkling was allowed if that was not possible.
While the service order would continually develop in the coming centuries, the Didache provided a solid scriptural basis for worship, including the Lord’s Prayer and prayers to accompany Communion. All of this was essential to fully developing doctrine as a standard for believers.
What is important here is the requirement of a consensus of believers in evaluating teaching and declaring it an official doctrine.
This was not a top-down process but an accumulated consensus of local congregations.
Formal, Official Doctrine
When Constantine*(272-337) became Roman emperor, and Christianity became the official religion, a mechanism for making top-down decisions was now in place, and the Church needed to set doctrine on the nature of Jesus Christ* (5BC - circa 28AD) and the relationship among the Trinity.
There was an Empire-wide division between Believers who believed in Jesus’ divinity and those who did not, the Arians.
Constantine* invited 1800 bishops to the Council of Nicaea in 325 to settle this issue.
They condemned Arianism (that Jesus was not fully divine) and coined the term homoousios (Greek: “of one substance”) affirming Jesus’ divinity and defining orthodoxy in the Nicene Creed.
This creed gives us the first definitive and official doctrines of Christianity, and they all hold to this day. The Nicene Creed is based on the doctrine of the Trinity. Here is a summary of these official doctrines:
There is one God who exists in three persons.
God the Father is the creator of all things.
Jesus, as God the Son, suffered and died as a fully human being to save other humans from sin.
Jesus rose from the dead and is seated in Heaven as the Son of God.
God the Holy Spirit gives life to all things.
The Holy Spirit inspires people and shows them the will of God.
This creed has been foundational in the definition of Christianity to this day. Those who do not accept it, particularly those who do not believe in the Trinity, are not considered Christians; among them are
Quakers,
Jehovah’s Witnesses,
Oneness Pentecostals,
Christian Science practitioners and
Mormons.
In the late 20th century, “non-denominational” churches became popular. These churches identified as Christian through their acceptance of the Nicene Creed.
Medieval doctrine
During the Middle Ages, the establishment of monasteries brought forth a greater discussion of doctrine, and
Thomas Aquinas*(1225-1274) wrote the Summa Theologica, which became the official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. (It contains 3,125 articles.)
The Bible was gradually being translated into the people's language. As people began to read the Bible, they saw differences between what it said and what the Church was doing.
More importantly, people saw the Church doing things that were not in the Bible or even contrary to it.
Protestant doctrine
As the Bible became more available and valued, reformers like Martin Luther*(1483-
1546), John Calvin*(1509-1564), and Thomas Cranmer*(1489-1556) challenged the doctrine of the Church in the 16th century. Their “protests” against the Church’s authority resulted in the Protestant Reformation (1517), which saw the Bible as the final authority, not the Pope.
They developed Protestant Confessions, or statements of faith, like the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England (1571) and the Westminster Confession (1646), that clearly stated doctrines for their church. Common among them were the “5 sola’s”
Sola scriptura (“by Scripture alone”)
Sola fide (“by faith alone”)
Sola gratia (“by grace alone”)
Solus Christus or Solo Christo (“Christ alone” or “through Christ alone”)
Soli Deo gloria (“glory to God alone”)
Roman Catholic doctrine updates
The Roman Catholic Church did not accept the sola’s and began a counter-Reformation (1563) to reassert and affirm Catholic doctrine.
There were no new Catholic doctrines proclaimed until the 19th century when the Immaculate Conception of Mary (1854) and Papal Infallibility (1870) became dogmas, and, lastly, the Assumption into Heaven of Mary (1950).
How many doctrines are there?
The overall count of existing doctrines is hard to pin down and ranges from the six stated in the Nicene Creed to the 3,125 examined by Thomas Aquinas.*(1225-1274),
The Gospel Project has issued a booklet called “The 99 Essential Doctrines,” organized around seven large subjects:
God’s Revelation
God
Creation
Fall
Redemption
The Church
Restoration
Essential and Nonessential Christian Beliefs
While all of these are of interest, all are not essential, and everyone does not need to be a theologian.
Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) pointed out that the scribes and Pharisees knew their doctrine, but doctrine to Mary Magdalene was of less concern than the grass under her feet. She loved Jesus, and that is what matters most.
Why doctrine matters
Kathleen Nielson succinctly writes about why doctrine is important to women. The principles she mentions are instructive to us all:
Doctrine Summarizes God’s Word
Doctrine Guarantees the Health of God’s Church
Your doctrine will determine how you live your life.
Healthy doctrine, far from being a cold set of propositions, is God’s gracious means of letting his people learn and live and share his gospel truth.-– Kathleen Nielson
In St. Paul’s letter to Timothy, the Apostle powerfully states the essential link between the Scripture and doctrine and how it benefits us:
All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. – 2 Timothy 3:16-17
We value good doctrine in our personal lives. It is essential there but even more so where we worship as a church. Doctrine unites and motivates us, as these lyrics from a well-known hymn make known.
Like a mighty army moves the church of God;
brothers, we are treading where the saints have trod.
We are not divided, all one body we,
one in hope and DOCTRINE, one in charity.
(Refrain)
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
with the cross of Jesus going on before.
Sabine Baring-Gould, 1834-1924
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