The Pursuit and Defense of Sound Christian Doctrine

THE PURSUIT AND DEFENSE OF SOUND CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE

By Ezekiel Kimosop
Sound Christian doctrine is a compound phrase that consolidates the fundamental truths of Scripture that a faithful Christian society should uphold. It is a set of teachings that are reliable and faithful to the Bible. These include, among others, the affirmation of the deity and divinity of Jesus Christ as the Second Person of the Holy Trinity and the revelation of His redemption works of the cross as taught in Scripture. Sound doctrine holds Christ as the final prophet to His church and that His voice underlies every text and passage of Scripture which is His final revelation to the church and to the world (Hebrews 1:1-2). It is founded on the faithful interpretation and application of the text of Scripture.
Sound Christian doctrine is nowadays increasingly turning into a scarce commodity. This assertion may sound surprising at the outset but reading through Paul's exhortation to Timothy in both Letters, and taking into account the religious topology underpinning contemporary Christianity brings to our memories the menace of false teaching that is prevalent today. The contemporary Christian must navigate the religious terrains with utmost care lest they fall into the hands of the ravenous wolves that Paul warned the Ephesian elders about saying, “²⁶ Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. ²⁷ For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. ²⁸ Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. ²⁹ For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. ³⁰ Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. ³¹ Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears” (Acts 20:26-31, NKJV).

Paul’s disclaimer in v. 31 above is instructive of the gravity of this exhortation. It is the responsibility of every minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ to consistently and persistently warn their hearers on the marks and mission of false teachers, A good shepherd of the flock of God should therefore never shy away from raising the red flag on false teachings. This is a sacred and sacrosanct duty. Jude 1:3-4 exhorts us to “…contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. ⁴ For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ” (NKJV). The Greek word for the action verb "contend earnestly" in Jude 1:3 is perhaps best translated as "agonize" in English. It conveys the pain and struggle behind the passionate defense of the purity of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

1 Timothy 4:6 says 'If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed." 

Which things was Paul referring to in this context? 

When we read through some excerpts of his exhortations to Timothy, we discover that Paul warned Timothy to remain steadfast in defending the sanctity of the doctrine of the gospel with utmost diligence. In 2 Timothy 1:6, Paul exhorts Timothy to stir up the gift of God which is in him. This does not suggest that Timothy’s passion for the gospel had waned down or that he had lost the fire for the gospel. Donald Guthrie suggests that Timothy, like every Christian, needed an incentive to keep the fire burning at full flame.[1] A soldier of Christ should put on the whole armor of God in order to contend for the purity of the faith. He must be prepared for the backlash in this noble battle. Timothy was a faithful young Greek preacher whom Paul raised in ministry (Acts 16:1-5). He had received a strong Christian foundation through his Jewish grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice (2 Timothy 1:3-7). Both women were faithful Christians. Little is known of the spiritual heritage Timothy’s Greek father. David Guzik supposes that he was not a believer.[2] Paul chose to circumcise Timothy for the convenience of advancing the gospel among traditional Jews. John William McGarvey observes a contradiction of sorts between Paul’s action in circumcising Timothy and his exhortation to the Galatians where he discounts the essence of circumcision rite for Gentile believers.[3] McGarvey however admits that Paul circumcised Timothy not out of the promptings of the gospel but merely for religious convenience and in keeping with the intransigence of the orthodox Jews who could not admit an uncircumcised Gentile into the Jewish Synagogue.  Matthew Thiessen however argues that the circumcision of Gentiles does not overcome the genealogical distance between Israel and the nations.[4] It is instructive that the blood of Christ broke down this racial and religious barriers so that Jews and Gentile believers are united in Him (Ephesians 2:11-18).

Behind every standing Christian today is the labor of a faithful group of ministers or mature Christian elders or leaders who instructed them in the faith over the years. Priscilla and Aquilla raised Apollos in the way of Christ in Ephesus (Acts 18:24-28). 

Who raised you in Christ? Does your doctrine align with the revelation of Scripture? 

In 1 Timothy 1, Paul lays emphasis on sound doctrine in a number of passages as he exhorts Timothy in the pursuit of this doctrine (1 Timothy 1:3-11). He urges Timothy to fight the good fight of faith. He emphasized that a believe should stand on sound faith and a good conscience towards God (1 Timothy 1:18-19) and mentions the example of two heretics Hymenaeus and Alexander who had strayed from the path of truth (1 Timothy 1:20). Another pair of heretics is noted in 2 Timothy 2:17-18. Unlike the previous pair, their offense is disclosed. The two had strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and by this heresy they overthrew or placed into serious doubt the faith of some standing believers. Paul's statement in 1 Timothy 1:20 suggests that the two pairs of heretics were  excommunicated from the Ephesian Christian community until and unless they repented. 

Christian heresy is cancerous and cantankerous. It must be nipped at the bud. True followers of Christ should keep their focus on the knowledge of Christ through the sound doctrine that can be discerned and distilled from Scripture. This feature was evident in the life of the people of Berea who took time to establish that what Paul and his associates taught was consistent with the Septuagint (Acts 17:10-15). The Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Old Testament Scriptures. Charles Spurgeon offers a brisk advisory, saying, “know him [Christ], and then you shall know yourself, and this shall certainly lead you to heaven, for the knowledge of Christ Jesus is saving knowledge.” [5] Knowing Christ brings a clearer picture of God's purposes for our lives and marks us out as people of divine destiny (cf. Ephesians 4:30). It shields us from the tentacles of false teachers.

Notice the reference to the knowledge of truth in 1 Timothy 2:4. Paul reveals under the illumination of the Holy Spirit that great apostasy waited the church in the "latter times" or the years to come when people would give heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons advanced by apostate teachers (1 Timothy 4:2). Paul went to great lengths to encourage Timothy to remain steadfast in proclaiming the sound doctrine that he had carefully learned from Paul and which had been committed to him (2 Timothy 1:13-14; cf. 2 Timothy 2:2). Paul had observed Timothy grow not only in the knowledge of Christ but in the faithful service of Christ as he labored alongside him in his missionary journeys. He was confident that Timothy had sufficiently matured in the faith. 

CONCLUSION

One of the greatest religious battles in our contemporary society is perhaps the fight for the preservation of sound Christian doctrine. Authentic Christian doctrine is today under ferocious attack by enemies of the faith who have attempted to dilute it and obscure its divine essence. Sadly, millions of people blindly follow these self-appointed apostate teachers who claim to speak the mind of God but are wolves in sheepskin seeking to devour them! These are the men that Paul contemplated in his exhortation to Timothy and to the Ephesian elders. They are the apostates that Scripture warns of in 2 Peter 2 and which Jude passionately exhorted his hearers to shun in Jude 1:5-19. The apostate teachers are metaphorically described by Jude as men who "...have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and have perished in the rebellion of Korah" (Jude 1:11, NKJV).

A true follower of Jesus Christ should therefore submit to the instruction of faithful ministers in a Bible-centered Christian congregation where Christ is exalted and the exhortation of Scripture informs the regular edification of believers in truth. 

Where do you receive your Christian edification?

Our true heritage does not lie in our having a Christian name or in having been raised in a Christian family. It is founded on the saving faith that we have received in Christ Jesus and our continued focus on on the truths of God's word. We should pride in Paul’s statement in 2 Timothy 1:8-14 which says:

 “⁸ Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, ⁹ who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, ¹⁰ but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, ¹¹ to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. ¹² For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. ¹³ Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.” (NKJV).

This passage of Scripture aptly conveys an inspiring exhortation on the essence of our convictions in Christ that should inform our pursuit and defense of sound Christian doctrine.

 

© Ezekiel Kimosop 2025

 

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[1] Donald Guthrie, "The Pastoral Epistles" in Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1988)

[2] David Guzik, “Acts 16, The Second Missionary Journey”, in Enduring Word, https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/acts-16/

[3] John William McGarvey, Commentary on Acts of the Apostles, 1829-1911, https://www.ccel.org/ccel/mcgarvey/acts.ch16.html

[4] Matthew Thiessen, “Uncircumcised and Circumcised Gentiles in the Hebrew Bible” in Oxford Academic, 2011, https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199793563.003.0002.

[5] Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The New Park Street Pulpit, Volumes 1-6 and The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Volumes 7-63 (Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications, 1990).