Troublesome Topic: WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT, ACTION, VOLITION, OR DOCTRINE?

WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT, ACTION, VOLITION, OR DOCTRINE?

For many people, the first response may be, “They are all important.”

That is true.

But are they equally important? For salvation, does God see those three things on the same level or not?

I wish to make the case that our will and our commitments are a higher priority, in God’s mind, than our ability to cognitively understand spiritual realities.

The reality is that our understanding of ourselves, of the world around us, and of God are all limited and partially flawed. Our commitments and our actions are also imperfect, but God accepts our feeble attempts to trust Him and follow Him. He wants us to trust Him fully and obey Him in everything, but He also remembers that we are dust (Ps 103:14) so He is not surprised when we fail in those areas. I think He looks at the direction we are headed – are we moving closer to Him, or further from Him.

Biblically sound doctrine is important; it often guides our thinking, our commitments and our actions. However, I have seen many cases in which someone has accepted a line of thinking which logically should take them in a negative direction spiritually, but their commitments and their actions are higher and better than their understanding of spiritual truth. They are not pulled down by their “poor doctrine”, rather they live above their doctrine. In such cases God seems to look at their commitment to Him and their action, rather than focusing on the fact that their understanding of Him and of spiritual issues is muddled.

I have always said that God sees the heart. In a physical sense, it is not the heart (blood pump) that we are talking about when we say that; it is actually a set of functions of the brain, the functions of volition, i.e. the will, and the commands to take action. However, the brain is a very complex thing so I won’t try to get into the parts of the brain because I would only show my ignorance. Thus, I will focus on the outcome, not the part of the brain that is doing the work.

I know many people with whom I have found a special connection, people who people who have repented of their sins, trusted in the blood of Jesus for salvation from sin, and have a vibrant relationship with God, yet these same people have an understanding of spiritual and Biblical concepts which I strongly disagree with. In some cases, the disagreements relate to issues of little consequence, such as, “Should we baptize people by dunking them forward into the water or backwards into the water?” We could list many inconsequential issues like that. However, I also know people in whom I sense the Spirit of God at work, and yet their muddled understanding of things is related to key issues which directly affect salvation, such things as, “Who is God? What is man? What is sin? What did Jesus do? How are we saved?” These are huge issues of grave importance. But once again the people I have in mind are not living according to their muddled thinking; their commitments and actions are better than the position they hold on some of these key issues.

I’m sure some people probably think my thinking is muddled on some things.

I know people who regularly attend a church where it is implied that salvation comes through the church. There are a number of these. For them, you are a Christian and you are going to heaven if you are a good little ________ (insert the name of that religious organization). And yet, in many of the religious groups that hold that salvation comes through the church, there are people who are living above the doctrine they have been taught, people who maintain a vibrant, personal relationship with Jesus.

I am purposefully not mentioning specific groups, denominations, etc. but trying to keep this on the level of concepts.

Other times I have seen individuals or groups of people who believe what I consider to be erroneous interpretations of the Bible in areas of great importance, and yet I consider them my brothers and sisters in Christ because they have the marks of a true follower of Jesus Jesus – repentance, confession, faith, commitment, a close connection to God, obedience, love, etc. The fact that they understand salvation or some other aspect of theology differently than I does give me license to judge them or call them something less than a brother or sister in the Lord. I have close friends in a wide variety of denominations whom I consider good brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Sound Biblical doctrine is important because the normal flow of things reveals that our thinking influences our will, our will shapes our commitments, and our commitments determine our actions. So I don’t want to belittle the role of solid doctrine, especially that which pertains to the basic elements of Christianity. However, there appear to be times that there is a disconnect between one’s doctrine and one’s actions. Maybe the person was taught one way and does not know how to counter that teaching, but deep inside they know they need to live a certain way, so they do what they know is right, even though their doctrine points a different direction.

The flip side is also possible. I know people whose doctrine is sound (in my opinion) and yet their lives do not demonstrate the marks of a committed follower of Jesus. They seem to be living for self, playing games with God, etc. yet their belief system is fairly sound (in my opinion). Therefore, the doctrine one espouses does not always translate into the action others would expect.

SUMMARY

I want to end this short lesson by emphasizing the following things:

ONE: Be very careful about digging carefully into God’s word and following it faithfully. You will place yourself in a dangerous position if you swallow ideas that are not supported by the Bible. While it is possible to hold such ideas and yet be committed to God, it is rare; it is hard. Therefore, it is a risk that is not worth taking.

TWO: I reiterate that God seems to evaluate us in light of our commitment and obedience, rather than our ability to understand everything correctly. Actually, none of us fully understands what living for God is all about. It is too big for us to grasp all of it. God is not shocked by our lack of understanding; He does not place on us mental expectations we could never achieve.

THREE: I must remind myself that it is always about a relationship with God and every relationship looks a bit different. Also, a healthy relationship with God is always growing; we are always learning new things and reshaping our understanding of how things work. Hopefully, our growth is in the right direction.