From Doctrine to Duty “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (Ephesians 4:1). There can be no right living without right principles. Imagine someone saying, “I have some extra money lying around. I think I’ll send a large check to the government.” Absurd, isn’t it? But every year, honest wage-earners fill out forms and give part of their income to the government. Why? It’s not because they are generous but because there is a law— a doctrine—that says they have to. Unless people know the reason for what they should do, it’s unlikely they’ll make a commitment to do it. Paul understood that, so he always taught doctrine before duty. “Therefore” in Ephesians 4:1 links the doctrine of chapters 1—3 to the duty of chapters 4—6. Doctrine and duty are inseparably linked; duty always flows out of doctrine. Right living is based on right principles. Paul told the Colossian church, “We have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (1:9). For what purpose? “So that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord” (v. 10). Spiritual knowledge, wisdom, and understanding make up the pathway of a worthy walk. When pastors teach duty without teaching doctrine, they weaken the Word of God because they’ve eliminated the motive. They may be able to stir up emotions, but that brings no long-term commitment. The pastor’s responsibility is to teach the truth of God, and the hearer’s responsibility is to obey it. Of course, the source of God’s truth is His Word: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Knowing the Bible well is our means of equipping ourselves for a righteous life.

Including today, three more day left this year! Thank you Lord for sustaining us!

Lots of prayer for the body of Christ! For we hear lots of wars and rumors of wars. Lots of souls that still have not bowed the knee to the Son! Prayers for me, so I don’t forget to share the gospel. It’s been a bad day!

Check out this sermon https://www.gty.org/sermons/80-7/the-ugliness-of-christmas For many years now, here at Grace church, it’s been my challenge and joy to preach Christmas messages. In fact, some years I’ve preached two or three Christmas messages, and so there have been many different ways that we have looked at the birth of Christ. This year, for whatever purposes in the mind and heart of God, I’ve felt strongly the need to preach on what I have chosen to call the ugliness of Christmas. I don’t intend by that to be negative in total. I don’t intend by that to depreciate your joy at this time of year but to enhance your joy, to create within you a true joy by understanding another one of the marvelous facets of the birth of the Savior. I suppose the most famous popular song about Christmas is “White Christmas” - “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas” - but if we may, I’d like us to talk about the blackness of Christmas, the other side. And I suppose that most people, when they think of this time of year, think only of the beauty of it. And we’re surrounded by that beauty, lovely trees with bright lights and decorations, colorful ornaments, beautiful candles, wreaths, snow scenes, warm fireplaces in the hearth in a family home, beautifully wrapped presents. Everything is bright and light and cheery and happy. And I guess that all of that symbolism is conveyed to us most significantly in the Christmas cards that we receive, which present to us almost a world of fantasy, beauty, wonder, loveliness - and that is one side of Christmas, without question. But there’s also another side. There’s a very ugly side. And there are a lot of ways we could approach that. I mean we could talk about a dark, cold night in a small, nondescript village in Palestine, where a lovely young woman gave birth to a baby in the most unsanitary, wretched conditions imaginable, standing in the filth and manure of a stable. We could talk about the ugliness of a man named Herod who, because he feared the loss of his control and power, massacred all the babies in that region. Christmas does have some ugly aspects. We could talk about an indifferent population in Jerusalem. But there’s something even beyond those things. There is lurking behind every beautiful scene on every Christmas card, every lovely sentiment of Christmas, somewhere behind all of that is something very vile and very ugly. The most wretched, heinous, hideous reality in all the universe.