doctrine, eh?

By this all people will know you are my disciples, by our doctrine.

opps wait, let's re-think that.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:34-35

I have been reading different church's doctrine for the past few days. Where in the bible does it say that we have to hold strong to this perfect doctrine? Don't get me wrong it is important to have a statement of faith but no one has the perfect doctrine. Not one church that I can think of, not one doctrine that I have read. Each one tho, has had peices of what I have found to be true of our Father in heaven. That is encouraging.

I think the apostle Paul would be really, really angry at us right now. If he saw how we are taking his letters, which are really just his testimony to what he knows to be true of the living God, and splitting his words, fighting over them and making them this doctrinal thing he probably wouldn't have even written them. I can only imagine what type of letter he would be writting to the church today. And who said that the bible is this almighty thing we are supposed to fallow? Wait, rethink that. I know and believe the bible to be true, and it is God given to us for a purpose. But the New Testiment isn't over. We are the New Testiment. The "bible" ie testimony of God's faithfulness to us, isn't done being written. Each and every one of us is writting our testimony as we fallow God when he speaks to us. Paul wasn't looking at the old testiment (at least not often since it was tough to get your hands on a scroll) as he wrote his letters to the churchs however many years ago. He was hearing from God. Because yes, we have a God that speaks.

God affirms us through the bible, but He also says things that can't be found in the bible. Example would be me saying, "Hey God, I really want to get that 2003 pontiac vibe. Is that cool?" If God only said things that are found in the bible it would go something like this... "_______________." Yea He would say nothing because there arn't cars in the bible. But here's the thing... just because it cant be found in the bible doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Scary, isn't it? God is a black and white God, but we live in a grey world that we have to allow Him to speak into. There are things now that weren't found back when Paul was around. God is the same God but we are a different time, and He will speak to us. If we hold onto this "only if it's in the bible thing" then we are missing what God might have for us, and really we are just guessing. But if we fallow what Jesus says in the gospel of John "my sheep will hear My voice" we will begin to come into the fullness of what our Father in heaven has for us.

So let's get rid of this doctrinal thing. Let's love God, desire to hear Him (or ask Him to instill in us a desire to hear Him) and love eachother. Let's fallow the things He speaks to us, whether that be through the bible or through His voice unto our hearts.