Update 2: The wife of one of my Air Force officer buddies just went into labor. They already have twin boys. His name is Andrew and her name is Brittany. He is part of our Bible study and we have been praying for them for a couple of months now. Please pray for Brittany in her time of labor apart from her husband, for the health and safety of this precious child, and for Andrew as he anxiously and helplessly awaits this marvelous gift of God.
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Update 1: It looks like the Ragnar Relay has decided to sponsor a team of my choosing for the next race in the DC area (this coming September). Family, friends, and fellow soldiers, beware--this show is coming to a theater near you!
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As I have filled my off hours with thousands of pages of reading in Game of Thrones, I have also occasionally dipped into the great classic by Machen, Christianity and Liberalism. The book contains a number of powerful lessons for the Church and for Christians today, but the one that I have been chewing on recently is this: For the Christian, doctrine is not grounded in experience; experience is grounded in doctrine.
I think to one of my favorite "life-verses:" Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But it was for this very that he came, that in me, the foremost of sinners, he might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who might believe and have eternal life. (1 Tim. 1:15-16)
In essence, Paul begins this passage by saying that he is about to repeat a common creed that is passing between the lips of fellow believers in that day. And as this creed or "saying" is "trustworthy," it should be committed to the hearts of believers. Right off the bat, we see that Paul considers doctrine to be of paramount importance. What is this doctrine?
That "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." If one was to be technical in describing what doctrine is, it would go something like this: Doctrine=truth+meaning. The Bible is one great work of Christ-centered doctrine, showing the vast body of fundamental, heavenly truths across the landscape of redemptive-history, and providing the meaning of these truths.
Thus, you have a historical fact, "Christ Jesus came into the world," and its meaning, "to save sinners." The truth, in and of itself, means nothing. One can acknowledge that Christ came from heaven, lived a perfect life on earth, was dead, buried, resurrected, and ascended to heaven...and still be hell-bound (even the demons believe, and shudder). Providing the meaning of a truth apart from the truth would likewise be futile. One can tell people all day that Christ can save them and/or change their lives, but unless who Christ is and what Christ did in history on behalf of particular type of God and for the sake of a particular type of people is presented, then such a message means nothing.
But you link the two together, as Scripture does throughout, and you have the beauty and majesty of Christian doctrine. In the Bible, God provides His Truth as the saving anchor for sinful souls, and He gives the meaning of His Truth to chain sinful souls to that saving anchor.
In the case of this particular passage, this doctrine provides not only the substance of Christian belief, but also the basis for Christian living (lives that in weakness display that merciful character of God shown most magnificently on the cross), and the basis of evangelism (presenting doctrine first and presenting our lives only as the sinful vessels into which God pours His grace). But of course, biblical doctrine does not only provide the basis for Christian living or evangelism, but it makes all of these things means by which we might achieve our greater end: the glory of God (v17).
Doctrine does indeed divide--not believers, but bone from marrow as it is sharper than any two-edged sword. May the beauties of the truth of the Gospel and its import for believers radiate through our hearts and redound to the glory of God!
