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"Hold fast
the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of
me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus." (2
Timothy 1:13)
When Paul wrote to
his two young disciples, Timothy and Titus, he
stressed again and again the vital importance of
maintaining sound doctrine in their churches.
"If any man teach
otherwise, and consent not to wholesome |same word
as 'sound'| words, even the words of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is
according to godliness" (1
Timothy 6:3; see
also 1:10). "For the time will come when they will
not endure sound doctrine" (2
Timothy 4:3).
"That he may be able by sound doctrine both to
exhort and to convince the gainsayers" (Titus
1:9). "But speak
thou the things which become sound doctrine" (Titus
2:1;
also 2:8).
If the great
apostle was so concerned that his pastoral
disciples guard the doctrinal integrity of their
first-century churches, he would surely be even
more exercised today. These are times when false
doctrines are rampant, and when sound (that is
"healthy" or "whole") doctrines are often the
object of compromise and distortion, or (even more
commonly) simply ignored, even in evangelical
churches.
Paul's command was
to "hold fast the form" of sound words. Not only
the so-called "spirit" of the words in Scripture,
but the words themselves.
Such strict
guarding of doctrine is vital for the spiritual
health of the churches. Furthermore, such
doctrinal integrity does not lead to cold
orthodoxy, as some would allege, but is centered
in the "faith and love which is in Christ Jesus."
It is "the doctrine which is according to
godliness." It is doctrine which is not only sound
in the faith, but also "in charity, in patience" (Titus
2:2
After all, it is
the doctrine of Christ Himself, who is not only
"the truth," but also "the way" and "the life" (John
14:6).
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