If you truly will to live for Christ, I mean those who are not trying to serve Him for some self-promotion whatsoever. If you are one of them who are sincerely on a quest to faithfully serve the Lord, then welcome to the club. You are not alone, dear beloved. Let’s advance in this journey; let’s run with endurance this good race until the last breath. Regardless, the reality is that many of us struggle against many enemies without and within our own hearts. It is so hard, in fact, one might argue that it is almost impossible to be a believer these days. How then do we do this? Scripture – most particularly 1 Timothy 4:16 – gives us a helpful starting point. You start with a watchful eye on yourself; your life and your doctrine.
Your life
There is no doubt that Christianity is a life changing religion. It has, throughout history, changed murders, prostitutes, hypocrites and all kinds of scum; from all cultures, into new creatures that are dedicated to loving the Redeemer. How does that happen? It’s through the transforming power of the Spirit of Christ. This is what we must all start by searching for in our own lives; change. You must not only see that you have changed but that you are changing, growing all the more in wisdom and knowledge of Christ. This must inevitably affect your lifestyle; character and conduct; in church, at work and especially at home. If you do not see any sign of these in your supposed faith walk, then you have every right to question the genuineness of your salvation. As I always say, your words speak to people, but your life screams to them. The power of your doctrine doesn’t rely on your spoken words, but on your sanctified life. This is very critical, although it’s overlooked by many. My concern over the years has been that senior ministers of our time seem eager to push young men into ministry, with very little teaching and testing of their character and godliness. Actually, this is the reason why a new generation of false teachers is plaguing the body of Christ. We must all work hard to set a good example for others; in conduct, in speech and in self-control. Therefore, my beloved, take heed to the progress of your own spirituality. How is your life? Guard with vengeance your prayer time. Study Scripture with purpose and eagerness. This is not a game!
Your doctrine
A direct connection to your life is your doctrine. Doctrine simply means teaching or message. We all have a doctrine one way or the other. The question is, what doctrine do you hold on to, deep within your soul? When given time to teach, what comes out of your mouth? What do you emphasize the most? That is your doctrine. We live in a very mess-up church age. Good doctrine is not only despised, but it is also blasphemed, live on television. Bad doctrine does not only hurt other people, but it also harms your own soul. How then can you know that your doctrine conforms to the truth? Someone may quickly answer and say that as long I use a Bible verse, all is well. I admire that, yet I maintain that is still not enough because all false prophets and their false religions claim to be biblical. Even Satan knows how to quote Bible verses, does he not?
The Best way to test the soundness of your teaching is this; what you teach, does it first lead your own soul towards salvation, and then godliness? Is this message that you hold on to, effective to change you, away from worldliness towards Christ the ultimate satisfaction? If that is the case, then you can know that it will do the same to your hearers; they will be changed towards salvation and godly living. All this cannot happen, unless your doctrine is heavily Gospel-centered. Now, be reminded, the Gospel is not “come to Jesus and you will be successful.” The Gospel is not “be a good person and Jesus will accept you.” The Gospel is certainly not your personal testimony and it’s definitely not “hello, accept Jesus as your Lord and personal Saviour.” Is it not sad that all these mentioned above are viewed as the Gospel by many? If that is you, then it means your doctrine is very bad to start off with. Anything you will teach – even with Bible verses – without a correct Gospel understanding as your backup is bound for error and heresy.
The Gospel is a specific message that tells men and women, unbelievers and church hypocrites that no one is good. That we have all offended the Holy One and deserve His coming condemnation in a specific place called hell. Hence the good news is that God has provided a Lamb who takes away the sin of the world, whose sacrificial death was sufficient to pave way for all sinners. Then, now is the command to all men, everywhere to come to these Living waters through repentance and faith. Therefore, beloved, as you know, we have lost this message – completely! Please, let your doctrine be Gospel-centered; know this Gospel and let it grip your own heart. This is how you begin the journey towards sound doctrine. Otherwise, if you don’t care about this, feel free to join the long line of hypocrites and false prophets, I heard they still have space for new members.
I have been addressing all believers in general, but I am compelled to step up and confront those who are already ministers. It’s not enough to hang a holy title on your neck while your doctrine is as dead as a doornail. What are you teaching people? Are people being saved under your ministry, which is not measured by a growing number of church members but by lives that bear the fruit of the Spirit, it’s called godliness. Good doctrine changes how husbands love their wives, it transforms how fathers disciple their children in the fear of the Lord. It renews the wives’ submission to their husbands and it affects how servants behave at work before their paymasters. Therefore, unless your so-called “powerful sermons” change individual lives, families and the whole society, you don’t know what a powerful sermon is. Secondly, any true doctrine will and must glorify Christ. Beware of having a self-exalting doctrine; always telling people about yourself, “I am this, I am that, I did this and I did that.” You are not the hero of the Christian faith, Jesus is. Some are they whose doctrine revolves around the personalities of their leaders. “Our Bishop is so spiritual, my prophet is so anointed, our apostle is this and that.” Center your doctrine on one man, Christ Jesus. That is, if you want to hold on to sound doctrine. As a bonus advice let me say; always be growing and learning in your doctrine. Don't be just satisfied with binding yourself to your church doctrine that you were given many years ago. In fact, the more you learn the more you will develop your own doctrine that you are confident with. Do not be afraid of learning new things while you turn your back away from false doctrines that you used to believe. Therefore, watch your doctrine closely. Go back to your study and prayer closet to rediscover that doctrine that is genuine and truthful.
My dear ones, I thank you for bearing with my aching heart; for your sake and for the body of Christ as a whole. I long for the day when Jesus my Saviour is correctly represented by us who call on the name of the Lord. I long for a more glorious Church that is fearful even in the eyes of the world, instead of being a laughing stock as it is. I don’t have any more words to say, except to remind you that the solution to restoring the image of Christ lies within your own heart, that is, watch your life and your doctrine closely; every day.
Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers - 1 Timothy 4:16
Yours truly
Fellow brother in the Lord
Sinothi Ncube
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