Keeping the commands of Christ.
Some years ago I had a brother in Christ who sharply criticized biblical doctrine and the Baptists for their devotion to it. His complaint was that for the child of God doctrine was cold and instilled an unloving, critical, and judgemental spirit within Christians. Then he related to me an interesting anecdote. In a Sunday morning service at his church the pastor reported this incident. The night before, he was called to the deathbed of a very old man. This man desperately wanted to be baptized. Then the pastor told his congregation that he was well aware of the meaning of baptize, “meaning to dip.” But in his state the old man was in no condition to go under the water. So in order to comply with the man’s wishes he sprinkled him. My friend told me that a round of Amen’s and applause of approval went up from the whole congregation.
The implication of such a precedent as this is enormous. The effect of it implies that circumstances of life gives men the liberty to arbitrarily ignore the clear words of Biblical Doctrine. It cannot be justified that circumstances override the word of God. Nor can circumstances of life have priority above the written commands of Christ. A child of God does not have the liberty to choose the manner in which he observes the Doctrines of the Gospels. Nor is he at liberty to choose which teachings of Christ are to be kept.
To accommodate desires of men, no matter how noble, does not justify disregarding doctrine. Consider in the secular world the results of this kind of action and attitude. If men freely, without conscience, choose what laws they will obey in society, they would be deemed as criminals, and such lawlessness would lead to anarchy.
This practice of accommodation projects the idea that the Doctrines of the Bible are not the commands of the Holy Spirit, but that they are simply guidelines given as suggestions as to what we are to observe. This practice mitigates the responsibility of men and women to obey the precise commands of Christ. Hence, every person is free to do as he thinks is right.
Of course the outcome of this is that if this pastor had strictly followed the given procedure of baptism the sprinkling would never have been done. But if adherence to the literal meaning of the doctrine (Baptism), to many, this would be deemed a cruel and heartless refusal to the wishes of a dying man.* This “baptism” was a deception. It may have pleased the man, but it was meaningless. In the end he still was not baptized. Thus, we have the argument that doctrine is cold, heartless, and insensitive.
Later, I often wondered how my friend would define doctrine? By his attitude it appeared that he meant all doctrine is callous and unfeeling towards the needs of people.
The simple meaning of Doctrine is a teaching or teachings. The alleged failure of doctrine is how men deal with it. Indeed there is the spirit of doctrine—fixed upon and secured in Love and Jesus Christ. However, at times, men with hurtful attitudes have made an abusive use of the teachings of Christ.
Doctrine is essential to all humanity: without it there is no roadmap to salvation, without it there is no knowledge of justice and morality. It is the teaching of all Truth. By it we learn how we are to manage our lives and how to worship God. The comfort of such a firm foundation of teaching has blessed all, no matter what spiritual stage they may be in.
Therefore we study doctrine, knowing that true doctrines are the teachings of our Master, Jesus Christ.
*In truth this man had a lifetime of opportunity to be baptized and he refused it. The fault is not with the doctrine for it is sound, but with the man. Consider the Parable of the ten Virgins and how the opportunity of preparation was ignored by the five virgins. Then, when the door was shut their pleas were rebuffed.
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