Mark Dever ~ Discerning Doctrine

• How do we tell the difference between the primary doctrines and the secondary doctrines?
• What is orthodox? What is true? How can we help each-other follow truth?

1. Do we follow commands to purify or unite?
2. What are common fights Christians have?
3. What are we together for?
4. What must we agree upon?
5. What may we disagree about?
6. How can we disagree well?

• False teachings will come - we must be on our guard.
• How do we stay on our guard?
• We can be too exclusive OR too inclusive in our view of doctrine.
• Truth and humility are friends.
• Anything other than the truth flatters us. We need to know the truth to be truly humble.

^3. What is the purpose of disagreeing with this person? Circumstances matter on the level of agreement you need with others.

• What does cooperation mean?

^4. What must we agree upon?

• We should pursue truth in every area.
• True fellowship can only be had with Christians. We must have the same sort of understanding.
• We must understand the importance of the doctrines. Like the body, some parts we can do without...and some we can't.
• How can we decide what we must agree upon?

1. Through the Bible.
2. Through the church. (We are not to be "orphans".) Galatians 1:8-9
3. Through our conscience. Note: Our conscience is not always accurate. It is inherant, but not inerrant. We need our consciences to be taught by God's Word.

TEST: How Important is This Doctrine?

1. How clear is it in scripture?
2. How clear do others think it is in scripture?
3. How near is it to the gospel?
4. What would the effects be if we disagreed in this area?

• John 8:24, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
• Godlessness and falsehood go together.
• We must agree on 3 things:

1. God.
2. The Bible.
3. The gospel.

^1. You must believe in God to be a Christian and put your faith in Him.
^2. The Bible is God revealing himself.
^3. We must agree on the gospel. Without this understanding, we couldn't uphold the truth on the triune godhead.

• If you uphold the cross, the gospel appeaers there.
• If they don't believe in the gospel, and don't believe in Christ alone, they aren't Christians.
• Practice sharing the good news with friends.
• Share the gospel with others. (Acts 15:30-31)
• You CAN have disagreements. You can still be Christians and disagree on secondary doctrines. (Romans 14:22)
• You can work together with another believer as long as you aren't distracted by your disagreements.
• The Lord may let us have disagreements so we can practice charity.
• How can we disagree well?
• What do I owe the person who differs from me? I owe them love, respect, genuine care for them, to listen well, and to go beyond what they said to what they mean.
• What can I learn from the person I am differing with? Without humility, we can't learn. (Greeks said that the opposite of a friend was a flatterer.)
• We are to be a witness of the gospel. We are to be known as "for" the gospel first (before we are know as "against" something).