| According to Your name, O God, so is Your praise to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness. |
| Psalm 48:10 |
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Rest
Doctrine never saved anyone. Not one soul. Please understand that I am not saying that correct doctrine is not important! What I am saying is that doctrine itself never saved anyone. Only Jesus can do that! Doctrine is the essay written after reading the source document, which in the case of Christian doctrine, would be the source document, the Bible.
Doctrine is nice, like a prettily made up bed with matching sheets, bedspread, and pillow shams, all neatly tucked, smoothed, and adjusted to perfection. It's a beautiful package to behold, yes, but unless the outward covering is pulled back so a person can climb in and lie down, the true purpose of the bed these lovely, coordinating items cover will never be realized. The true purpose? Rest. Jesus said,
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28
Only Jesus can offer rest. Doctrine cannot. Jesus saves. Doctrine is powerless to do so. In the same way that a prettily made up bed is not rest, or a painting of a fish is not an actual fish, so doctrine is not Jesus. It may be about Him, but it is not Him. Knowing about Jesus is not the same as knowing Jesus.
Because Pastor Greg McDonald wants people to really know Jesus, and not just know about Him, he often urges people to open a red-letter edition of the New Testament and, "Read the red words." A wonderful approach, I think! But, you may ask, if I don't know my church's doctrine well enough to challenge my unsaved loved ones with it, how will I ever be able to explain the gospel well enough to convince them of their need for Jesus? But long-winded explanations of doctrine have a way of putting people off, especially the tentative or hesitant seeker, or the one who has been wounded by a church experience. Consider Philip's calm, non-threatening response to the skeptical Nathanael's sarcastic words about Jesus.
Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." John 1:45-6
The simplicity of Philip's answer is so refreshing, so freeing! Often, I think, we as Christians have the mistaken idea that if we're not explaining Christianity and the intricacies of its doctrines to everyone we meet, we're somehow failing to be good witnesses. We falsely think that if we don't completely understand the Bible and the doctrines held to by our particular denomination, then we aren't really qualified to talk to people about Jesus. But Philip's response to Nathanael lets me know that this is not the case. We too can simply say to our skeptical friends, "Come and see," and then rest in the truth that Jesus is more than capable of taking it from there!
Daye Phillippo
September 2011