Sermon: Doctrine and Orthodoxy (Turn & Trust)

Christians have leaned on the value of catechism for centuries to summarize their core beliefs. Originally, catechisms and creeds helped those without formal instruction to understand the things of God. Over time these catechisms turn into compliance mechanisms leading many modern believers to overlook their true value. It's time to get back to that and re-explore the catechism of our beliefs. Prepare to be challenged as we undergo the daunting task of declaring what we believe.

This section covers the subjects of doctrine and orthodoxy. Many exert a great amount of stress debating and arguing their doctrines and orthodoxies with other believers, drawing firm lines in the sand on what is "right" and what is "wrong". The fundamental question that we should ask is whether those doctrines and orthodoxies are reflective of Christ or the image of Christ that they would like to define. Christ is unbounded by human understanding and transcends our academic knowledge. This means that adherence to a doctrine or orthodoxy alone can't possibly be what make one a stalwart disciple of Christ. It must be something more. We could say... something greater. What is the greatest commandment? To love God and to love one another. The focus of Christians should be to understand doctrine and orthodoxy for what it is... reflections of how we attempt to experience Christ... and avoid the arrogant tendency of many to equate compliance with doctrine and orthodoxy with alignment to God.