And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. Acts 2 v 42.

In this study we shall be looking at the subject of doctrine, sound doctrine - teaching and instruction. We need to be taught of the Lord. That is what the New Testament sets before us. That is what we need: sound doctrine - Safe, healthy, uncorrupted doctrine. What is of God is sound. Right doctrine, and this is the practical side, becomes the foundation, because the sound doctrine is Jesus and Jesus is always the sure foundation. If you have got the right doctrine, you have got the basis for right action and right living. Often, we want to put the cart before the horse. We ask what we have got to do and back comes the list of rules: you have got to do this and that, and, brother, do you think you ought to wear those clothes on a Sunday? People think that if they have got the right list of rules, which, of course, is continually being added to, then somehow or other, they are going to be right with God and God will be pleased with them.

But it works the other way round. If we have the right foundation, if we have the right doctrine, sound doctrine, then the right actions and the right life will flow from that. It will not work the other way round. Jesus is at the centre of all this, for if we are talking about sound doctrine, then we are talking about Jesus. So these studies are not a series of 'how-to' messages. This is not a series of easy tips on how to live the Christian life. We are looking at the source of all right living. In our last study we considered the idea of being filled by the Spirit. Jesus said that without Him we can do nothing. That is the basis of all sound doctrine, especially if we are looking at practical issues. Without Him you can do nothing. It is God Who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. If you leave Jesus out, you are not going to live right, or live lives that are pleasing to God.

So we are thinking about the One who is the answer; we are pointing to the One who is the answer rather than saying, "This is how you do it." Now I have read about and been on the periphery of much of this 'how-to' stuff in churches. There have been courses and sessions on 'how to prophesy' or 'how to dance in the Spirit.' Isn't that amazing? Stick to the Lord and focus your attention on Him, because if you are going to work by a set of mechanical principles, you will be cutting the Lord out. The Lord must be first.

Bear in mind that we are talking about the heart and not, in the first place, the intellect. It is not a matter of what you can think or devise. Be filled by the Holy Spirit; we need His teaching; we need His doctrine. In I Corinthians 2 v 12-14, it says,

If you are not born again, all the things that we talk about will appear foolish to you. But when you are born of the Spirit, then the Holy Spirit takes those things that are His and He reveals them to your heart and you can reply, "Yes, that's precious; that's wonderful; I know exactly what you mean." He that is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. So we have teaching there. It is the Holy Spirit teaching, comparing spiritual things with spiritual things.

There has been a tendency in recent years to ignore doctrine. At one time people used to say that doctrine was divisive. Of course, there was a lot of influence here in the world of so-called Christian unity. The idea was that, if doctrine was divisive, then it might be better to ignore the doctrine that divides and concentrate on what we all agree on. If people could say, "Jesus is Lord," then that is all they were interested in. That was extremely naive, for all sorts will make that sort of confession - although not all understanding the same thing by it- from Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons to Hindus. Without sound doctrine, we lack that perception of truth and we cannot live as God requires. Sometimes it is necessary that doctrine be divisive. It separates us from error. It separates us from the world and unto God. It brings us into holy living. But doctrine also unifies, for it unites brothers and sisters in the Lord. To put away sound doctrine is to fail of that unity and to run the risk of embracing error.