God created man in His image—perfect in beauty and innocence (Genesis 1:26). In the idyllic Garden of Eden, man maintained his reverence for God and, thus, kept a personal relationship with Him; there, man remained a spiritual giant. Under perfect environment, the first man, Adam, one day decided to use his volition to sin against God (Genesis 3:6); in doing so, man rejected his relationship with God, defiled his state of perfection, and forfeited his spiritual life (Genesis 2:17).
Man is no longer pure.
Every person born into the world [cosmic system] is spiritually dead, separated from God and imputed with a sin nature (Romans 7:13) as a direct result of Adam’s sin and is inevitably placed under the bondage of sin (Romans 7:18-20), utterly helpless to free himself. From Adam’s fall until the destruction of the universe, man will continue to use his volition to sin against God under the temptation of the sin nature (Romans 7:15; Jeremiah 17:9) and be perpetually locked into a vicious cycle of wants and needs but never really gaining the true happiness and tranquility that he gets from being in a relationship with Him (Galatians 5:22-23a).
For most people, their life is a cycle of ardent aspirations, followed by a series of letdowns, only to culminate in a collapse in spirit.
They pursue a frantic search for happiness only to find an emptiness of the soul and a futility of endeavor—a determined effort that goes nowhere, where the pursuit ends in utter misery.
King Solomon, while under human viewpoint thinking, details this vain pursuit in his . . .
Book of Ecclesiastes — “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”
Why Learn Bible Doctrine?
Because it is the basis for perfect happiness (+H) and the standard for spiritual truth. Bible Doctrine—the body of teaching drawn from literal interpretation of the Scriptures—is alive and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword; it pierces the person’s soul, dividing his soul from his spirit to discern the true intentions of his heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
Only Bible Doctrine can counter the miserable pursuit of happiness under the sun, free you from the bondage of sin, and resuscitate you with the capacity for life, love, and perfect happiness.
Through learning the academics, mechanics, and mandates of Bible Doctrine, the absolute truth of God’s Word becomes the measure of your conscience and the source of your mental attitude. Bible Doctrine gives you the perfect happiness and contentment of soul which you seek and the insight to resolve life’s problematic situations; above all, it will instill in you a personal sense of destiny, a personal love for God, and an impersonal love for all mankind. (Ephesians 1:5, 11-12; 1 John 4:16; Mark 12:30-31)
Bible Doctrine makes possible your ability to live the unique Christian way of life, i.e., the protocol plan of God.
The importance of Bible Doctrine cannot be overemphasized (Psalm 138:2). God commands His children to be inwardly transformed (Romans 12:2). This transformation requires a daily renewing of the mind through learning and applying the Word of God, where the thinking of divine viewpoint replaces the thinking of humanistic viewpoint. (Romans 12:2; cf. Ephesians 4:23; 2 Corinthians 4:16)
Bible Doctrine is the Mind of Christ.
Jesus Christ is God incarnate—God in human flesh. When you learn who and what Christ is, you begin to share His thinking (1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 2:5-6), and you will have replaced your own humanistic norms and standards with His divine norms and standards. Best of all, He will have endued you with His unwavering love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23a; 1 Corinthians 13:13)
. . . and you will have recaptured the beauty of innocence . . .
(Luke 18:17; Psalm 26:6)
