I have been reticent to write this article. It will be met with opposition. It may offend. Many will argue that without doctrine there would be no church. Much of the point of the Seminary is to ingrain doctrine into the hearts and minds of its students. To attack doctrine is to attack one of the most sacrosanct pillars of the church. This I know, and with this I wholeheartedly agree. However, I also believe, see, and hear problems with the doctrines of man. If you will allow, I believe you will come to agree with me somewhere between this article and the end of the series.

The storms, chaos, and crises we face within and outside of the church offer unprecedented challenge and opportunity. Maximizing the opportunities of this season – including Christianity once again becoming the source of meaning and purpose in people’s lives – requires we address the problems created by our doctrines. The challenges we face will be exacerbated if we do not.

Let me say it again for emphasis: Doctrines are generally necessary, good, and serve an important function in the formation of Christians and the function of the Body of Christ. The problems with doctrines lie in the priority we give them, our restricted focus on them, and our misuse of them. The well-intended but flawed applications of our doctrines have truly damaged the Body of Christ and unnecessarily thwarted Jesus Christ’s purpose in building His church into His wife.

We intend, in this and subsequent articles, to provide evidence for this controversial assertion. Solutions will be self-evident along the way, and a collection of recommendations will be presented at the end of the series. We hope the reader will consider these arguments, listen to what the Holy Spirit may be saying to the Body of Christ, and take the necessary steps to mitigate the damage we are inflicting on ourselves and those entrusted to our care.

In summary, doctrines create problems for the Body of Christ in the following ways.

1. They provide a ready substitute for faith, good works, truth, etc.
2. They are used for the wrong purposes (e.g., defining and protecting our fellowships, relating to God).
3. They unnecessarily divide the Body of Christ, delaying the Lord’s return.
4. They inhibit us from spiritual growth in the truth, discourage stewardship of the mysteries of God, and lead to an ignorance of wonder.
5. They encourage living from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, thereby trapping us in our heads and away from our hearts.

We will flesh out each of these assertions here and in subsequent articles. As always, your comments, concerns, and questions are welcomed and appreciated. We are also available to speak on this topic.

We will begin by defining and describing doctrine in general terms, and then move on to suggest what doctrine simply cannot be to those entrusted to our care.

The Meaning and Purpose of Doctrine

The following “academically grounded definition and description of doctrine” has been provided by Copilot, using the references listed.

In Christian theology, doctrine refers to the authoritative teachings of the faith—those truths that the Church confesses, preserves, and transmits as essential to understanding God, salvation, and the Christian life. Alister McGrath describes doctrine as “the structured attempt to summarize the core teachings of the Christian faith” (McGrath, 2017, p. 3). Doctrine is not merely abstract theory; it is the Church’s articulation of revealed truth grounded in Scripture and faithfully interpreted through history. Wayne Grudem similarly defines doctrine as “what the whole Bible teaches us today about a particular topic” (Grudem, 2020, p. 25). This definition emphasizes two key features:

• Doctrine is biblically sourced.
• Doctrine is topically organized for clarity and teaching.

Historically, the early Church Fathers saw doctrine as the “rule of faith” (regula fidei)—a concise summary of apostolic teaching that safeguarded the Church from distortion (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, as cited in Behr, 2000).

Additionally, Copilot provided the following purposes of doctrine (also with referenced sources found below):

1. To Preserve the Apostolic Faith – J. I. Packer notes that doctrine “safeguards the gospel from dilution and distortion” (Packer, 1994, p. 28).
2. To Form and Shape Christian Identity – Doctrine provides the conceptual framework for Christian worship, ethics, and mission. As Karl Barth argues, doctrine is the Church’s attempt to speak faithfully about God in response to God’s self‑revelation (Barth, 1936).
3. To Guide Christian Practice – As John Stott observes, “Christian doctrine is intended to lead to Christian duty” (Stott, 1996, p. 22). Right belief fuels right practice.
4. To Cultivate Unity in the Body of Christ – Shared doctrine unites believers across cultures and generations. The ecumenical creeds (e.g., Nicene, Apostles’) served precisely this purpose: to articulate the common faith of the Church.
5. To Equip the Church for Discernment – As Kevin Vanhoozer explains, doctrine is “a map for understanding reality in light of the drama of redemption” (Vanhoozer, 2005, p. 49). It helps believers discern truth from falsehood and wisdom from folly.

Simply stated, the Body of Christ would not exist without its doctrines; its doctrines are enormously important artifacts of the Christian faith. Wars have been fought for them, and we have divided over them for millennia. We lean heavily on our doctrines for the life and function of the church – perhaps we depend on them for more than we should.

Much That Doctrine Simply Cannot Be

Some of the most obvious things escape our notice until we give them our focused attention. For example, I have obeyed the laws of the road for so long that I seldom consciously notice traffic lights, stop signs, or speed limit signs between one point and another – unless I give my deliberate attention to them. The following may be the same for you, so let me encourage everyone to get past the “of course” and deliberately consider the consequences we invite when we substitute doctrines for more important components of God’s kingdom (e.g., faith, truth, the will of God, good works).

Doctrine is what we believe; faith is the act of believing it. John Stott

Doctrines seek to define what we believe, but they are not faith. Doctrines cannot save (John 3:16), purify (Acts 15:9), sanctify (Acts 26:18), access God’s grace (Romans 5:2), nor move mountains (Matthew 17:20). We are not encouraged to stand by doctrines (2Corinthians 1:24), walk by doctrines (2Corinthians 5:7), nor live by doctrines (Galatians 3:11). Doctrines serve faith, not the other way around. We must not allow learning more and following doctrines to substitute for the growth (Romans 1:17) and perfecting of our faith (James 2:22).

“The label “Christian” is a weak one because there are so many facets to the meaning, and being a “Christian” is really a becoming, with many levels. And so, rather than be curious about the person, we establish doctrines to measure them by, like cogs in a factory.” C. S. Lewis

This matter of perfecting our faith reminds us that doctrines, as much as they help us understand and communicate the value of good works, is a poor substitute for the works which perfect our faith and glorify our Father in heaven. Congregants allowed to “sit under” doctrines without intentional and faithful response will not develop the faith we desire them to have. Church leaders are known to site the 80/20 rule as a fault of the persons just sitting in the pews. Is it possible that our focus on learning over living out the Gospel has encouraged their behavior? 

Theological facts are like the altar of Elijah on Carmel before the fire came, correct, properly laid out, but altogether cold. When the heart makes the ultimate surrender, the fire falls and true facts are transmuted into spiritual truth that transforms, enlightens, sanctifies. The church or the individual that is Bible taught without being Spirit taught (and there are many of them) has simply failed to see that truth lies deeper than the theological statement of it. A. W. Tozer

Doctrines contain truth claims, but they are not the truth. It is no coincidence that the Lord Jesus is identified as both the truth and the word of God (John 14:6, Revelation 19:13). One would have to be above and more intelligent than Jesus to know all that is Him. Consequently, no doctrine of man can claim to be the whole truth. It would be helpful to humbly recognize that the sum of every doctrine known to mankind falls immeasurably short of the truth… and the Truth. The love of the truth that will save us from deception (2Thessalonians 2:9) is not the same as the love of our doctrines.

Spiritual perfection is doing the will of God. AW Tozer

Good doctrines capture the known, static commands and will of God; but they cannot contain God’s dynamic will and kairotic commands for His people. God continues to speak His creation into being, fully aware of every season and moment in the uniqueness of every person’s life (Isaiah 55:11, John 10:27, Hebrews 1:3). Our doctrines may be an expression of God’s will, and include much of His recorded commands, but we must be careful not to equate our doctrines to His will. Only those who do the will of God, not the doctrines of His will, shall enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 7:21).

Conclusion

Doctrines are the Church’s faithful articulation of biblical truth, preserved and transmitted across generations. Its purpose is not merely intellectual but deeply formative: to guard the gospel, shape Christian identity, guide holy living, unify the Church, and equip believers for discernment. In short, doctrines exists so that the people of God may know God truly and live in light of that truth.

That’s a LOT!!!

To ask more from our doctrines is simply not fair to them. Expecting our people to substitute our doctrines for faith, truth, the will of God, etc. is not fair to them, either. We minimize the meaning of those foundations when we substitute doctrines for them – again, not fair. The most obvious move at this point is to ensure that our doctrines are servants and not masters, so that everyone and everything else can prosper and increase.

How do we transform our leadership to become transformation agents for those entrusted to our care? The answer is surprisingly simple and incredibly challenging: We shift some measure – probably more than we think – of priority, attention, and resource from the exposition of doctrine to the exercise of faith in good works. We share the truth, not as more teaching, but as lived experience; and not within our four walls, but out in the world where the truth will make people free. This is the will and command of our Lord (Matthew 28:18-20)!!

Finally, and a few words of encouragement to members of the Body of Christ not in official church leadership. Being salt and light has not been reserved for leaders. The perfecting of your faith is your responsibility. We cannot strive to enter through the narrow gate and walk the difficult path for you. The vast majority of your leaders want to lead well. Encourage them in your response; let them know you want to be led well.

God bless you with wisdom, discernment, patience, and courage for a life characterized by more than the doctrines you have been given – to use them to the LORD’s greatest advantage and glory.

Have a strong day in the Lord,

Rob

#iamjustthepen

Barth, K. (1936). Church dogmatics (Vol. 1). T&T Clark.

Behr, J. (2000). Irenaeus of Lyons: Identifying Christianity. Oxford University Press.

Grudem, W. (2020). Systematic theology (2nd ed.). Zondervan Academic.

McGrath, A. E. (2017). Christian theology: An introduction (6th ed.). Wiley‑Blackwell.

Packer, J. I. (1994). Concise theology: A guide to historic Christian beliefs. Tyndale House.

Stott, J. (1996). The contemporary Christian. InterVarsity Press.

Vanhoozer, K. J. (2005). The drama of doctrine: A canonical-linguistic approach to Christian theology. Westminster John Knox Press.