What About Doctrine

     The question is, how important is doctrine in your service to God?  I visit a variety of Christian churches and the overall attitude is warmth and friendliness. They all also believe that they hold the truth of God's word as it is written and they would want you to join them in walking according to the truth, as they understand. I doubt if I would find any church group that would admit that there was a better way then how they worship God. However, there is a variety in what is being taught from each pulpit, and as I have witnessed the varieties within the Christian community, the question surfaces, does it matter much what doctrines are professed to believe or use as a guide to your life? Abraham was a blessing to his seed, "because Abraham listened to My voice and heeded My charge, My commands, My statutes, and My laws." (Genesis 26:5). God's condition of righteousness was present with Abraham, much before the Ten Commandments were spoken or written, including all the other laws and statutes. God's laws were also known to Moses before His Commandments were written down in Exodus 20, onto stone, because this verse does speak of "Commandments, laws and statutes". What wasn't shared with us in scripture was how they knew God's ways. Isaac and Jacob and his twelve sons also know the laws because Abraham knew them.  "And he said, If you carefully listen to the voice of Jehovah your God, and you do what is right in His eyes, and you give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will not put on you all the diseases which I have put on Egypt; for I am Jehovah your healer." (Exodus 15:26) "And Jehovah said to Moses, Until when do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws?" (Exodus 16:28), this was when the manna fell and some went out to collect the manna on the Sabbath, but God's laws were certainly forgotten during the 400 years living in Egypt? After the exodus and before Jehovah spoke His ten commands, it was stated that it is our duty and responsibility to share God's true way with others, "And you shall become a kingdom of priest for Me, a holy nation..." (Exodus 19:6). This responsibility was later passed on to the Christians because the Hebrew's ignored the predicted Messiah when He arrived, despite all the Old Testament predictions. After the Ten Commandments were written by the finger of God onto two stone tablets, they have not changed nor were they ever discarded, which is revealed in this later verse, "blessed are the ones doing His commandments, that their authority will be over the Tree of Life, and they may enter into the city by the gates." (Revelation 22:14). The importance of keeping God's word is stressed throughout the Bible,  "And the dragon was enraged over the women and went away to make war with the rest of the seed, those keeping the commandments of God, and having the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Revelation 12:17). Satan, has targeted those keeping God's commandments, this in itself should distinguish that keeping Jehovah's commands is right and according to Jehovah's desire. What is expressed and stressed throughout the New Testament and Christianity is love, "And this is love, that we should walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, even as you heard from the beginning that you should walk in it." (II John 1:6). It is our duty to purify ourselves by rejecting sin and to do according to His word, "We know that everyone having been born of God does not sin, but the one born of God guards himself and the evil one does not touch him." (I John 5:18), the "but" in this verse seems to be confusing and doesn't express the intended meaning, Strong's #235 can also be translated as "therefore" which explains that he does not sin, because of his desire and conscious effort to not sin, as opposed to the idea that, because you are born of God, He will keep you from sinning. And this should be our continual process and concern, "Everyone remaining in Him does not sin. Everyone sinning has not seen Him nor knows Him." (I John 3:6) and sin remains to be the transgression of Jehovah's commandments, "Everyone practicing sin also practices lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness." (I John 3:4), the KJV translates it this way, "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law" which includes more then just the Ten Commandments.

     Man, in general has much difficulty in avoiding the transgression of the last six of Jehovah's Commandments, which pertain to our dealings with other men, these do not need reviewing, but the first four are the Commandments pertaining to our relationship with God and we should consider how our individual churches meld with God's instructions, and not just the Commandments but the other statutes and laws. Church doctrine should be in line with all of God's words and not according to any tradition established in the past by Christian leaders. Christ pointed out to His apostles some of the Jewish laws that became traditions, not God's laws.

      The first Commandment states, "I am Jehovah, your God, who has brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. You shall not have any other gods beside Me." (Exodus 20:2,3). Does your church doctrine correctly reveal this command in their doctrine? "God" and "Me" express a singular God, as opposed to using "Us" and "Our" which was used by the translators when God was creating man, "And God said, let Us make man in Our image, according to our likeness..." (Genesis 1:26), even if one accepts the translators decisions, this can clarifies that God is one because in that verse God, was talking to someone like Himself, and this could be no one other then His only-begotten Son, at that time, named Michael, and the distinction that God being One is further confirmed by using His personal name, "Jehovah". God's personal name is an important factor in understanding what has been stated. In the Hebrew text the word "Yehovah" Strong's number #3068, is translation into English as "Jehovah" which seems obvious. Most all Bible translations use substitutes, "Lord" and "God" which is an unauthorized change of God's word, even though they are Jehovah's titles. There are at least a hundred verses declaring God as "one", but not one Bible verse stating that God is anything other then "one". Does your church stand on this?

     The second Commandment, is, "You shall not make a graven image for yourself of any likeness which is in the heavens above, or which is in the earth beneath, or which is in the waters under the earth; you shall not bow down to them, and you shall not serve them; for I am Jehovah your God, a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of fathers on children, on the third and fourth generation to those who hate Me; and doing kindness to thousands, to those loving Me, and to those keeping My commandments." Exodus 20:4-6). Most denominations do not promote worshiping anything or anyone other then God, even though they don't use His personal name, which is written in the Hebrew text 6746 times. This command addresses the worship of anything or anyone other then God, and uses a "graven image" as an example of an idol, which was common in those days. There is also a warning at the end of that command to those who do not love Jehovah.

   The third Commandment states, "You shall not take the name of Jehovah your God in vain; for Jehovah will not leave unpunished the one who takes His name in vain." (Exodus 20:7). This Commandment is altered from what most Bibles state because, again, they exclude God's personal name by using a title, changing the Hebrew text without any divine authority. This is most important in this command because it direct us to not take this particular name of God "Jehovah" in vain. Even the KJV instructs us the same, "...name of the Lord thy God..." which is "Jehovah" and this is confirmed in, "And I appeared to Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by [the name of] God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was not known to them." (Exodus 6:3 KJV). What does "vain" mean: 1. having no real value, 2. devoid of  worth or significance. These are two Webster Dictionary meanings that apply in this situation. Taking His name out of where it is written and replacing it with anything else would surely qualify as taking God's name in vain, and so would keeping it out, once one is aware of this vain act. The reality of this substituting "Jehovah" with a title occurs in most Bibles 6742 times or more, if you include the New Testament, which discards God's personal, or a Greek translation completely, depending on the translation. Can this act be justified by the vain wishes of man?

     The fourth Commandment is, "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy; six days you shall labor and do all your work; and the seventh day is a sabbath to Jehovah your God; you shall not do any work, you, and your son, and your daughter, your male slave and your slave-girl, and your livestock and your stranger who is in your gates. For in six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all which is in them, and He rested on the seventh say, on account of this Jehovah blessed the sabbath day and sanctified it." (Exodus 20:811). The fourth Commandment refers back to creation when Jehovah rested from His work and sanctified that particular day after God's work of creation was finished. Jehovah also asked us to "remember" this special day as if He knew man would forget it in the future and He asked us to remember the Sabbath day because it is to be kept forever, even in the future kingdom of God, "For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make stand before Me, states Jehovah, so shall your seed and your name stand. And it will be from, from new moon to its new moon, and from sabbath to its sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before Me, says Jehovah. " (Isaiah 66:22,23). If you notice, the Fourth Commandment doesn't once mention anything about gathering together for worship on this seventh day, only that we are not to work on the seventh day, but on the other six days we are called to do our work. We surely are not limited to one day for worshiping God, this can and should be done anytime our heart desires. Most Christians worship on the first day of the week, and this I understand as acceptable, according to Jehovah's Fourth Commandment, but not working on the seventh day is what God calls for, it is a sanctified day to Jehovah, our God and we are called to remember and keep this day holy, as it is clearly stated. Do Sunday worshipers keep the Sabbath holy?

     The first four Commandments of God are how we honor our God, whom we are to seek and love with all our heart, "...For Jehovah searches out all hearts, and He understands every imagination of thoughts. If you shall seek Him, He shall be found by you. But if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever." (I Chronicles 28:9), "And it shall be, if you carefully listen to My commands which I command you today, to love Jehovah your God, and to serve Him with all your heart, and with all your soul." (Deuteronomy 11:13). Jesus also asked us to do this, "And Jesus said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." This is the first and great commandment." (Matthew 22:37,38). Jesus was quoting from one of several verses in the Old Testament, and most likely He quoted this verse correctly, using "Jehovah" and not man's substitution, "Lord". Your personal doctrine distinguishes whom you are, as it does the church you attend, choosing the church you attend to be in accordance with your sincere understanding of God's word, and avoiding man's vain traditions. Walk according to His word and His desire, because this is what you will be judged on, Jehovah's commands, and certainly not any church doctrine. Wisdom is rightly displayed by each ones choices.