During yesterday’s afternoon service I distributed a little pamphlet I prepared titled A Summary of Christian Truth. The introduction to this pamphlet reads:
I am absolutely convinced that the profitable use of this Summary of Christian Truth will be of great benefit to all who diligently study it. Only the sacred Scriptures provide what is needed for saving faith in Jesus Christ as well as equip the Christian for faithful life and ministry (2 Tim 3:14-17).
Learning these Scriptural truths of Christianity will provide a framework and structure for correctly interpreting and applying the Bible (2 Tim 2:15), furnish protection against the errors of the times (1 Tim 6:3), supply answers to those who would ask questions (1 Pet 3:15), help parents bring their children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Eph 6:4), and equip the church to minister to one another for its unity, maturity, protection, and growth (Eph 4:11-16).
In order for these objectives to be realized, however, requires prayerful dependence on the Lord and diligent study. Study the Scripture passages that are given, noting how they answer the question and supply the answer. Work hard to understand the sense of each statement and diligently learn the answers. As the years pass you will gain a deeper understanding of these truths, so learn them well!
This isn’t learning Bible stories, it is learning doctrine. Doctrine is the framework the stories help construct and must be understood through. Knowing stories apart from doctrine will fail to correctly understand and apply them.
Here are some benefits that you can anticipate as you study and learn Christian truth–
1. A tool for meditating on God’s Word, Josh 1:7-8; Ps 26:3-12; Heb 5:11-14
2. You won’t know the right way to go if you don’t know what is right, Josh 1:8; Ps 1; Heb 5:11-14
3. Wisdom comes only from God, and is essentially tied to and rooted in the written Word and Jesus Christ, Prov 1:7; 15:14
4. Provides more “ingredients” for thanksgiving and praise (you could always just eat bread and water; “thank you God for saving me” vs. Eph 1:3-14)
5. Establishes the essential foundation and framework of the Christian faith, necessary for life, worship, and ministry, 2 Tim 3:16-17
6. Provides a basic, essential foundation structure for interpreting and applying Scripture, 2 Tim 2:15
7. Strengthens and gives substantive reasons to love Christ and his Word, Luke 7:47
8. Gives strength and courage unaffected by this changing life and world, Dan 11:32
9. Teaches and trains your mind in biblical patterns—the mind of Christ, Phil 4:8; 2 Cor 10:5
10. God expects Christians to grow and mature in the faith, and that won’t happen if the basics aren’t firmly grasped, Heb 5:11; 6:1-2; Jas 1:21-25; 1 Tim 4:7-8
11. Helps you know the faith once delivered to earnestly contend for it, Jude 3
12. Equip you to be an Aquila or Priscilla, Acts 18:26
13. Develops spiritual discipline and self-control, 1 Cor 9:24-27; 1 Tim 4:6-8
14. Obeys the command to pay close attention and be absorbed in the teaching, 1Tim 4:16; 2 Tim 3:14-17
15. Essential to perseverance, 1 Tim 4:16
16. Protects you from false teaching, 2 Tim 3:5
17. Equips you to be the parent you should be, Eph 6:4; 2 Tim 1:5; 3:14-15
18. Protects you from the sins of youth, Prov 1:4
19. Joins you with godly people of Scripture, such as–
- Enoch walked with God
- Noah was a righteous man
- Abraham believed God’s promises
- Moses wrote the Law and thus knew its great blessings and curses
- Joshua meditated on and obeyed God’s Word
- Hannah’s knowledge of the Lord and his Law directed her prayer for a son
- David was a man after God’s own heart
- Ezra was skilled in the Word
- Daniel was controlled by God’s Word
- The prayers and praise of Elizabeth and Mary are saturated with Scripture
- Jesus resisted Satan’s temptations
