The Most Important Doctrine

Everyone has an opinion on almost everything. If you ever watch Larry King Live, you know that he often has people on his show to debate and discuss various social and religious issues. I recently went to YouTube and watched past episodes of the show and saw debates on the differences in various religions, abortion, homosexuality, the reality of Satan, and the requirements for salvation. Each show consisted of a panel of people who each had their own opinions and viewpoints about the topic being discussed. The problem I saw was that most of the opinions were based on nothing more than just that…personal opinion.

An opinion or belief is only as good as what it is based on. If we had to choose a doctrine that was the most important, it would have to be the the inspiration, inerrancy, authority, and sufficiency of Scripture. I’m not at all minimizing any other doctrine, but every other doctrine and belief is baseless if the doctrine of Scripture is not upheld. The basis of everything we believe must be based on something more than just opinion. It must be based on the Word of God!

John MacArthur is a frequent guest on the Larry King Live show. I don’t dot every “I” and cross every “T” in the same manner as MacArthur, but he does a fantastic job of basing every answer he gives on Scripture. When responding to a different opinion, he often asks the question “What is the basis for that belief or opinion?” He answers every question with “the Bible says…” Shouldn’t this be the way we formulate our beliefs?”

So much of what we see taking place today is a result of minimizing the authority of Scripture. The only way churches can vote in homosexual ministers is to ignore Scripture. The only way churches can sign off on abortion is to ignore the authority of Scripture. The only way people can say that there are many ways to gain entrance into Heaven is to ignore the Bible. The only way churches can minimize immorality is to minimize the Truth of the Bible. The only way people can question the reality of Heaven and Hell is by questioning the inspiration of Scripture.

As Christians, our beliefs must be based on something more than personal opinion, more than just tradition, more than “my pastor says…”, more than “I heard…”, more than “I believe…”. It must be based on “the Bible says…”. Your opinions on social issues are pointless unless they are based on the Truth of Scripture. Your viewpoints on doctrine are no good unless they are founded on the Truth found in the Bible. Your defense of your lifestyle is insufficient if did not come from an accurate interpretation of Scripture.

The basis for everything we believe, suggest, live, and do must be based on Scripture. If it’s not, we are living an ungrounded, aimless, and ultimately pointless life.