Why believe in the true doctrines?

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King Ahab pays the price for rejecting the truth

King Ahab of Israel formed an alliance with King Jehoshaphat of Judah to go to war against the Syrians. But, before they would set off for the battle, King Jehoshaphat told King Ahab that they should inquire of the Lord first. Then the king of Israel gathered about four hundred prophets of Baal together and asked them whether he should go to war against the Syrians or not. They answered King Ahab that he should go to war for the Lord would give him victory.

King Jehoshaphat was not convinced. He asked King Ahab to inquire rather from a prophet of God. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil.” After hesitating, King Ahab sent for Micaiah the prophet.

When he came, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?” Initially, Micaiah told Ahab what he wanted to hear, but when Ahab insisted on hearing the truth, Micaiah spoke the truth saying that he saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the angels were with Him. And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ An evil spirit came to stand before the Lord and said that he would entice Ahab to go to war and die, and he would do that by misleading the prophets of Baal to lie to him.  And the Lord gave him permission to go and do it. Micaiah then told King Ahab that the prophets of Baal were lying to him and that he would die if he goes to war.

King Ahab took offense at the truth and had Micaiah arrested and imprisoned. Then he overrode the truth and went to war, hoping to win and return. Truly, King Ahab did not return from the war alive; he died just as the prophet told him. (1 Kings 22:1-29)

According to the biblical account, King Ahab was self-wise and selective, in that he gathered to himself four hundred prophets of Baal who would prophesy to him the sort of prophecies he wanted to hear. Had it not been Jehoshaphat, he would not have called Micaiah, a prophet of God, whom he knew would speak the truth from God. To put everything briefly, this is a tragic story of an ungodly man who, at a critical point in his life, was served with both the truth and falsehood, but he preferred falsehood to the truth and he paid the price thereof – he lost his life.   

Some Christians will turn away from the truth/true doctrines

There is only one way to salvation; that is, to believe in the truth that Jesus is Lord and that He died on the cross to save mankind. And one remains in salvation as long as he continues to believe and practice God’s word. However, there are many ways to forfeit your salvation into apostasy. God, through the inspired teachings of His servants, leads us to understand apostasy and discover the ways thereto.       

The Scripture ‘2 Timothy 4:3- 4’ is an extract of a letter Paul wrote to Timothy, his son in the Lord, who was a pastor in Ephesus. He taught Timothy to correct, rebuke, encourage and preach in the church. Having said that, Paul added –

3 For the time will come when they (some Christians) will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2 Timothy 4:3, 4)

Also, the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy in his first letter saying:

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some (Christians) shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; (1 Timothy 4:1)

The Scriptures above teaches us that as far as doctrines are concerned, the world is divided between truth (true doctrines or teachings) and falsehood (doctrines from demons and fables or myths of men).

Definition of true doctrines

The truth – the true doctrines are the doctrines which are sufficiently supported by the Bible, for it is written, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (2 Timothy 3:16)”. The true doctrines lead Christians to remain in an ever healthy relationship with God. Examples of true doctrines are the divinity of Jesus Christ, holiness, righteousness, sanctification, baptism, the Holy Trinity, regeneration, etc.

Definition of false doctrines

However, false doctrines are the doctrines taught by demons and they are also the fables or myths or the philosophies of men and they are not sufficiently supported by the Bible. Examples of doctrines taught by demons are Arianism, Gnosticism, transubstantiation, the worship of Mary, etc. Examples of fables or myths of men are the big bang theory, the evolution theory, purgatory, etc.  

The Scriptures 2 Timothy 4:3, 4 and 1 Timothy 4:1 have been fulfilled several times across the centuries up to this present time. False doctrines are so plentiful, outnumbering the true doctrines by far. And many Christians are apostatizing by turning away from the true doctrines, embracing and practicing unbiblical doctrines to their own eternal doom.

Why is it necessary to believe in the true doctrines?

We find out that Christians are not the only people who believe in Jesus Christ. Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, etc. believe in Jesus too. However, apart from Christians, none of these aforementioned religious groups are saved. This is because they neither have nor believe in the true doctrines about Jesus for they do not consult the Bible for the truth. Rather, they have their own opinions about Jesus and those opinions do not lead them to salvation. To Muslims, Jesus was one of the prophets; to Buddhists, He was a wise man; to Jews, He was just a prophet; etc. We are saved by believing – believing in doctrines, but not any kind of doctrine can lead us to salvation. Salvation requires that we believe and practice the truth – the true doctrines. Anything, apart from the truth, does not save us. This is because salvation is promised to only those who believe in the true doctrines. It is written,

But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: (2 Thessalonians 2:13)

In light of this Scripture, not anybody who professes to be a Christian is saved, because quite a lot of Christians believe and practice false doctrines. And not every church is of God, for quite a lot of churches are apostate, and they are indoctrinating their members with false doctrines to their apostasy. The terms and conditions of salvation are that you must get your doctrines right to either receive salvation or remain in salvation. Sometimes, surprisingly, people invent false doctrines right from the Bible. How? They misinterpret the Holy Scriptures into false meanings and false applications, and then they teach these false interpretations to others to believe and practice into apostasy.

Again, it is necessary to believe in the truth because Jesus says, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” John 4:23, 24

Normally, before any legit company signs you on to use their service, you have to agree to their terms and conditions. And even after agreeing, if in the course of using their services you violate their terms and conditions, you shall be denied access to their service. Worshipping God in truth and in spirit is the term and condition for anyone who seeks to serve God or follow Jesus in this dispensation. Until one serves God in truth and in spirit, he is not counted among the true people of God. In light of this:

  • If at any point in time, any truth believing Christian turns away from the truth and embrace false doctrines, he ceases to worship God.
  • Some professing Christians have never actually been Christians because they were nurtured in churches which are practicing false doctrines.
  • If God is the one you seek to serve, then the only option is to accept and practice the true doctrines.
  • If you are in a church which is operating on false doctrines, you are not serving God at all. Whatever you are serving, who knows?

Why do some Christians turn away from the true doctrines?

2 Timothy 4:3, 4 tells exactly why some Christians would turn away from the truth. It is written – 3 For the time will come when they (some Christians) will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2 Timothy 4:3, 4)

It is taught in the Bible that the truth saves and set a person free; yes, it is true. However, sometimes, the truth hurts; the truth also restricts a person from doing something to gratify his lust or to satisfy his sinful desires. Because of this, the truth would not always sound sweet in the ears of some Christians. They may endure the truth for a while, later, they would not want to put up with the true doctrines any more because of their quest to follow their own desires. Therefore they would find reasons to abandon churches where truth is taught and they would go wherever the truth is scarcely found. Such Christians often find reasons to malign the Bible that it is insufficient for salvation. Such Christians find reasons to believe that Jesus was not as perfect as the Bible portrays Him to be; hence, thinking they can also taint themselves with some sins. Such Christians would bearly read the Bible to learn of the truth. More so, they confide in bogus human philosophies, false teachings, etc.

What befalls a Christian who turns away from the truth?

First of all, with respect to John 4:26, which says that the true worshippers worship God in truth and in spirit, it means that some people who profess to be Christians have never actually been Christians and have never been saved, for all along they have been raised and indoctrinated in churches that are operating on false doctrines. Moreover, there are true Christians who initially believed in the true doctrines, but along the line, they turn away from the true doctrines just as Paul prophesied of it in 2 Timothy 4:3, 4. What are the consequences when a Christian turns away from the truth?

  • Any Christian who, at any point in time, turns away from the true doctrines actually turns away from the true God, for the true God can only be worship in truth and in spirit. John 4:25-26
  • It is categorically stated in 2 Thessalonians 2:10 that the unbelievers are not saved and they perish because they refuse to love the truth. Any Christian who turns away from the true doctrines joins the ranks of the perishing unbelievers and he too is bound to perish.

What to do

Examine yourself, what are the doctrines you believe in? Possibly, list all the core doctrines you believe in and search the Bible to see whether or not they are sufficiently supported by the Scriptures.  You have a responsibility to render to yourself. The responsibility is ‘work out your own salvation with fear and trembling’. As part of working out your own salvation, it should be your top priority to seek, find and believe in the true doctrines.

If you have not taken the time to look in the Bible on your own and you are given to accepting what other people say at face value, you would become apostate before you know. The world is full of falsehood and since you come into contact with false doctrines than the truth, it stands to reason that your salvation is closely linked to how much of the Scriptures you know.  Therefore be a Berean Christian. Being a Berean Christian means you should not believe in what people are preaching until you have found sufficient evidence for it in the Bible. 

Conclusion

The story of King Ahab’s death serves as a physical model to teach Christians of the spiritual death and apostasy that befalls a Christian who turns away from the truth and follows false doctrines – doctrines of demons, fables or myths or the philosophies of men.

Truth is so essential to our worship and service to God to such an extent that Jesus Christ has assigned the Holy Spirit to lead us to the truth. He said, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” John 16:13.

Food for thought

  • Can you list all the doctrines you believe in?
  • Who taught you the doctrines you believe in?
  • Have you searched the Bible to see if there is any evidence for your doctrines?
  • Are all your doctrines proved by the Bible?
  • What would you do with those doctrines that have no biblical proof?

Related Posts:

Kings who died in battle
Which kings in the Bible inherited the throne?
What does 2 Kings 8:25-29 mean?
Which king in the Bible was killed by an arrow?
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