Commitment #3: Sound Doctrine

(Deuteronomy 12:32-13:10)

Bringing the sermon home:

A foundational commitment of every healthy church is the commitment to sound doctrine and true worship. Or, put differently, the commitment to speak the truth in love, correcting falsehood, so that no one may fall away from the one true and living God.

A few reflection questions for rooting out the idols of our hearts: Is there anything that you can’t be satisfied without; that you fear losing; that you’re anxious about keeping hold of; that you’re angered when it is threatened; or that you would despair if you were to lose (e.g. health, wealth, family, career, reputation)? These are key indicators of what we most treasure, and in what we most trust for that treasure.

May God increasingly be our treasure and the One in whom we trust. May we not “add to” or “take from” who He has revealed Himself to be in His Word, and may we lovingly correct those among us who do, whether with their words or with their lives.

As we seek to encourage our own hearts and the hearts of others experiencing difficulties, let us beware of the false comfort of false promises, and turn instead to the supernatural comfort of true promises. To that end, here is a list of passages I referenced on Sunday that are worth meditating upon: 2 Cor 1:3-4; James 4:8; Matt 28:19-20; Heb 13:5; 1 Cor 1:4-8; Col 2:13-14; 1 Cor 10:13; 2 Thess 3:3; Rom 8:29; Eph 3:13-21; 6:10; Col 1:9-12.

“The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24)