What exactly is theology ? It is defined as ''the study of religious doctrine''. The

word doctrine is defined as ''a body of teaching, especially in religion'', so in the

most simplest terms, theology is the study of a body of religious teaching.

Once we understand exactly what theology is, the next step in our process is to

determine what body of teaching in which we are to study from.

Proverbs 4:7 says, ''Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with

all thy getting get understanding.

The most vital aspect to every believer is the capacity of their wisdom and

understanding. It is the wisdom that we obtain that determines the quality of life

we live, God makes this very clear to us in His word.

Hosea 4:6 says, ''My people are destroyed for lack of wisdom''.

Those who lack wisdom and understanding are more susceptible to attack, and if

they choose to remain in a state of ignorance the Bible says their ignorance, or

lack of knowledge , will cause them to utamately be destroyed at some point.

If you took someone off the street and put them in the army, and then sent them

off to fight a war, without ever having equipped them with the knowledge and

understanding of the techniques of war, or the proper use of their weapons, that

individual would not last very long, in fact at the first sign of combat he would probably be one of, if not the first one, to be killed or destroyed.

Sadly this analogy is a picture of the church, in large part, today. Many christians

at the first sign of adversity or struggle will either lose faith and give up, or be

destroyed altogether by the attacks of the adversary. As we have already discovered wisdom and understanding are the solution to this growing problem.

Finding a source of knowledge is just as, if not more, important than the knowledge itself. One can achieve a lifelong pursuit of wisdom, and obtain volumes of knowledge, but if the source of their knowledge is wrong, then all

that they learn will be in error also.

Titus 1:2 says, ''God cannot lie''.

There is no other person in all of creation that can truthfully claim that statement

which means that all knowledge that comes from any other source, other than God, has the possibility, and the probability, of erroneous content, either knowingly or unknowingly, either way, it is then passed down from generation to generation to all those who seek knowledge from it.

That's not to say we can't learn or grow from knowledge that is passed down to

us, in fact we have gained much knowledge from men and woman alike throughout time, because of whom, are lives are better today, those who have made great discoveries and advancements in science, technology, medicine, etc. ,

but this fact should always remain true to every believer, to every follower of christ The truth, and the wisdom, that comes from God, and His word, is of the highest authority, and supersedes, overrules, by it's truth, because of it's author, all other forms of knowledge and or facts.The wisdom that comes from God is paramount, and therefore it should be that which forms and establishes our thinking, our beliefs, and all of our actions, overriding all other forms of influence, that do not agree with it, or line up with it's truth.If the source of our knowledge is the wisdom of God, then the avenue in which that wisdom comes, is through the Holy written word of God, The Bible.

II Timothy 3:16 says, ''ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God , and is

profitable for doctrine , for reproof , for correction , for instruction , in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect , thoroughly furnished unto all

good works.

Many men sat down to write the Bible but every word they wrote came directly

from God to them, therefore God Himself is the one true author of the Bible.

The pages of this Holy writ are filled with pure truth, not one lie, not one error,

not one mistake, to be found within it, only the wisdom and the knowledge of God, the creator and King of the Universe, His unequaled truth, revealed to us,

those who seek it's wisdom, and desire it's knowledge.

The word of God was given to us for several reasons. These reasons according to

II Timothy 3:16 are as follows.# 1 FOR DOCTRINE,# 2 FOR REPROOF (rebuke),

# 3 FOR INSTRUCTION (how to live).

All three of these reasons work together towards the same goal, that the believer,

through God's word, by it's wisdom and knowledge, may be perfected and thoroughly furnished (equipped), to become who God wants us to be, to do what

God has called us to do, with the wisdom and understanding of how to achieve

those things, based upon the principals found in God's word. Remember that our

theology is based upon our doctrine, and our doctrine is based upon God's word.

Any theology that is based upon doctrine not founded on God's word, has come

from man not God, and is erroneous , in that it contradicts or disagrees with the

word of God, which is the ultimate authority, over-ruling all doctrines of men.

II Timothy 4:3-4 says, ''For the time will come when they will not endure sound

doctrine, but after their own lusts shall heap to themselves teachers, having

itching ears; and they shall turn away their eyes from the truth, and shall be

turned unto fables.

If you take a look at the early church, in the book of Acts, there were originally

no divisions, no denominations, there were no man made doctrinal interpretations,

they were one people, one church, based upon one thing, God's word.

Over time there were those that rose up, those who would not except sound doctrine, those who turned their eyes away from the truth, deciding to instead turn to man made fables, which were directly opposed to the word of God.

The divisions and various denominations of today's modern church are nothing more than the outward symptom of mans refusal to accept the sound doctrine of

God's word as absolute truth, many would rather partake of the watered down,

powerless, man made version, instead of God's truth.

II Peter 1:20 says, ''Knowing this first, that no prophesy of the scriptures is of any

private interpretation .

The word prophecy seen here, in the original Greek, is the word Propheteia, meaning exposition in english, which is defined as, the process of explanation.

So what God is telling us here in II Peter 1:20 is, '' my process, and my explanation, that I give you in My word, are not to be interpreted (translated) by

man''. In other words, when God, through His word, explains to us the process

(the series of actions needed to achieve a desired result), we have no right to take

God's explanation and twist it to say what we want it to say.

There are several different reasons people take God's word and turn it into there

own interpreted version.

# 1. THEY DON'T BELIEVE IT. God's word over rides all others, spiritual law always supersedes natural law, many believe what their senses say to be true over

what God's word says to be true. So, many refuse to believe God, instead

choosing to believe their situation, their circumstances, and ultimately their natural

senses.

# 2. IT OFFENDS THEM. Often times people will be involved in something that

the Bible defines as sin, or systematically opposes, so instead of obeying God's word they refuse to accept it as absolute truth. (that's not really what it means)

In an attempt to ease there conscious they will lie to themselves, justifying their sin, and in so doing, rejecting God's correction, deifying God, and remaining in their sinful state.

# 3. IGNORANCE. This is probably the most common reason people refuse to believe God's word.

Many people refuse to study the Bible for themselves, for whatever reason, instead

they accept the interpretation of men, not knowing the truth for themselves.

Once, when I was preaching on a certain subject, a woman that was seated in the crowd became very angry and offended.

I said, ''Lady, why does what I said offend you so'' ? By this time her face was beat red, I swear I thought smoke was going to come out of her ears she was so angry, ''my Pastor says otherwise'' she screamed at me with all the tenacity of a pit bull, '' Ma'am your Pastor is wrong'' I replied. Just as she was about to get up and leave I opened my Bible and showed her what it had to say, I handed the Bible to her and said ''read this before you go'' as she began to read the passage her expression began to change, suddenly the look of rage displayed on her face was now one of bewilderment. ''Your right I see it'' she had finally, for the first time, seen God's truth not mans interpretation, she looked right at me and said''Im going to read my Bible and find out what it really says'' .

She did and was dramatically changed in the process. Most people will fight tooth and nail to defend their theology, truly believing what they were taught is right, even if it disagrees with what the Bible says.

Acts 17:11 says, And they searched the scriptures DAILY, whether those things

were so.

It would serve us well to search the scriptures daily and find out for ourselves if what we are being taught lines up with God's word or not.

I Peter 5:8 says, Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, AS a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.

The devil is just looking for those who are ignorant so he can devour them,

ignorance is an open door to satanic attack, it is only through wisdom, we will

stand, through any circumstance, in faith, unwavering to the end.

Proverbs 4:7 ''Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding''.

Ephesians 4:14 says, ''That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro,

and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the slight of men, and cunning

craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.

There are those who either in their willingness, or in their ignorance, deceive the hearts and minds of believers, entrapping them in a belief system based upon

the doctrines of men, and in so doing rebuke God, in their futile attempt to refute His Holy word , and make it instead an extinct, outdated, philosophy of many generations long since past.

The Apostle Paul warned us of these types, who ''lie in wait to deceive'', and then he gave us the only solution to solving this problem, grow up !

The only way the church will ever return to a place of unity is through spiritual

maturation. When believers decide to leave behind the ignorance of their spiritual

childhood in exchange for the wisdom of God , they will no longer find themselves being ''tossed to and fro, and carried away by every wind of doctrine'', instead they will hold fast to the truth that they have learned, refusing to except anything as it's substitute.

There are several ''doctrines of men'' in the mainstream church today many of which the majority of believers except as truth, the only problem with this is these doctrines do not agree with the word of God, therefore they are in error.

The following are six of these such doctrines as well as the Biblical answer to

each, there are many more than six but these are probably the most well known,

and in my opinion the most dangerous to believe.

''DOCTRINE OF MEN'' # 1. - All men are really good, if your a good person and

you try and do the right thing, you will get to

heaven.

WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS - Romans 3:23-24, For ALL HAVE SINNED , and come

short of the glory of God; being justified freely by

his grace Through the redemption that is in Christ

Jesus .

Ephesians 3:8-9 , For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of

yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works , lest any man should boast.

Man says all men are really good, God says all men are sinners, man says if your

a good person you will get to heaven, God says no man, by his own works, can get to heaven.

THE TRUTH - All men are sinners, only God, through His grace, as a free gift

to us , can justify and redeem us from sin. It is only God who

who can put us back into a position of right-standing with Him,

and this is through the ultimate sacrifice, and demonstration of

His love manifest, Jesus Christ.

''DOCTRINE OF MEN'' # 2.- There are many different ways that one can get to

God. There is no right way or wrong way, all we

have to do is pick the way (religion) that's right for

you.

WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS - John 14:6, Jesus sayeth unto them, I AM THE WAY ,

the truth, and the life, NO MAN cometh unto the

Father, BUT BY ME .

Acts 4:12, Neither there salvation in any other: for there is none other name (Jesus) under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

MAN SAYS ''You can get to God through any means you find fit''

GOD SAYS''Jesus christ is the only way to God there is no other way but Christ'' .

THE TRUTH - Jesus Christ is the one and only way to get to God, the Father,

no other path will get us to Him.

''DOCTRINE OF MEN'' # 3. - God will sometimes allow His children to suffer

trials and temptations such as sickness, poverty,or

even great personal tragedy, in order to teach us

something.

WHAT THE WORD SAYS - James 1:13-17 , Let no man say when he is tempted

(the original Greek manuscript for the word tempted

is APEIRASTOS which means not to be tempted or tried)

I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted (or

tried) with evil, neither tempteth (or trieth) He any man

: but every man is tempted (and tried) when he is

drawn away of his own lust , and enticed. Then when

lust hath conceived , it bringeth forth sin: and sin ;

when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

Do not error , my beloved brethren every good gift

and every perfect gift is from above,and cometh down

from the Father of lights, with whom there is no

variableness (change,fluctuation,inconsistency) neither

shadow of turning.

MAN SAYS God will send suffering, and trials, and tribulations, to His children,

for the purpose of teaching them something or getting them to obey Him.

GOD SAYS when trials and tribulations come don't say there from Me, I do not bring or allow trials or tribulations to force YOUR will.

THE TRUTH - God is a good God who has given us a free will. He does not

manipulate His children with pain and suffering to try and teach

us something nor does He impose His will upon us, he gives us

the choice, deuteronomy 30:19 says God has set before us two

options life and death, and then He tells us which one we

should pick (life) but God ultimately leaves the decision we

make up to us , by our own free will .

According to II Peter 3:9 it's not God's will for anyone to

perish, God wants every one to repent and ''get saved'' yet there

are many who never repent who ultimately parish never having

accepted Christ as their savior, why, if that's not what God's

will is, why are there some who die and go to hell ? Because

God will never force us to do anything we don't willingly accept.

We are not puppets or robots, neither is God a puppet master

controlling everything we do and say, no, we are beings created

in the image and likeness of our creator (Gen.1:26) with minds

and wills of our own. Likewise God in His great wisdom and

love has trusted us enough to give us this great gift of freedom.

James 1:13, God cannot be tempted (or tried) with evil, neither tempteth (or trieth)He any man.

''DOCTRINE OF MEN'' # 4. - God no longer heals today, the days of miracles

ceased when the last apostle passed away.

WHAT THE WORD SAYS - I Peter 2:24, Who his own self bare our sins in

his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to

sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose

stripes ye were healed .

Acts 10:38 , How God anointed Jesus Christ of

nazareth with the Holy Ghost and power: who went

about doing good, and healing ALL that were

oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Malachi 3:6 , For I am the Lord, I CHANGE NOT...

Hebrews 13:8 , Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and

today, and forever.

MAN SAYS Healing is not for today, that gift ceased thousands of years ago.

GOD SAYS He was is and will be our healer , and that will never change because God never changes.

THE TRUTH - I Peter 2:24 says that by His (Jesus) stripes we were healed so if

we '' were healed'' (past tense) then we are healed (present tense)

Jesus Christ paid our debt of sin on Calvary but He also paid

the debt for our sickness and diseases ( Isaiah 53:4-5) as well. As

the Roman solders were beating Jesus on that whipping post with

every horrible blow, sickness and disease forever lost it's power

over Gods children. Healing is not a promise, it's an established

fact, established forever by God, paid for by the Blood of Jesus !

God wants us to walk in health (III John 2) . in fact Psalm 103 tells us that healing is a benefit to being a believer. God is not a respecter of persons (Romans 2:11) God healed in the old testament He healed in the new testament and he is still healing today.

If God is willing (which He is) to heal one person , then He is willing to heal all people, Any person who comes to God in need of healing, if they will follow what the Bible says to do, they can and will be healed.

Psalm 103:1-5 , Bless the Lord, o my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, o my soul, and forget not all his benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life

from destruction;who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; who

satisfieth thy mouth with good things...

''DOCTRINE OF MEN'' # 5. - The spiritual gift of ''speaking in tongues'' has

ceased, and is no longer in operation today.

WHAT THE WORD SAYS - I Corinthians 13:8-10 , Charity never faileth: but

whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether

there be tongues, they shall cease ; whether there be

knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part ,

and we prophecy in part. But WHEN that which is

PERFECT is come, THEN that which is in part

shall be done away with.

MAN SAYS Prophesies and speaking in other tongues have already ceased.

GOD SAYS Prophesies and speaking in other tongues will cease only when that

which is perfect has come, then that which is in part (partial knowledge) will cease along with prophecies and speaking in tongues, in exchange for full knowledge.

THE TRUTH - We as humans are operating in partial knowledge, we know some

things but we don't know all things. Prophecy and Speaking in

tongues are just some ways that God uses to communicate with us

we operate in partial knowledge but the day will come when

Christ appears again and then we will exchange partial knowledge

for full knowledge. At that point Prophecy and speaking in tongues

will no longer be needed because we will be as He is (I John 3:2)

operating in full knowledge. Until that day comes prophecy and

speaking in tongues will continue to be in operation.

I Corinthians 13:10 , When that which is perfect is come, Then that which is Part

shall be done away .

I John 3:2 , Beloved, now are we the son's of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear , we shall be like him;

for we shall see him as he is.

''DOCTRINE OF MEN'' # 6. - We, the children of God, will not be taken out of

the earth during ''the great tribulation'' period

when God's wrath is poured out upon the earth,

because there is no ''rapture'' .

WHAT THE WORD SAYS - II Peter 3-4,5 , Knowing this first there shall come

in the last days scoffers, walking after their own

lusts, and saying where is the promise of his coming

...For this they are willingly ignorant.

I Thessalonians 4:16-17 , For the Lord himself shall Descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which remain and are alive, shall be caught up together with them

in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

MAN SAYS There is no such thing as the ''Rapture''.

GOD SAYS We shall be caught up (the rapture) to meet the Lord in the air and that we will be with him forever.

THE TRUTH - The wrath of God is not for His children( I thessalonians 5:9-11)

it is reserved for those who chose to reject Christ.

We will not be participants of the great tribulation, we will not

be in the earth during the greatest outpouring of God's wrath

to ever be displayed against sinful humanity, we will be taken out

of the earth before that happens, before the anti-christ is revealed

2. Thessalonians 2:7-8 niv)

   There will be a great ''catching away'' to those who believe.

And there will remain those who are ''willingly ignorant'' and

chose to not believe the facts of God's word concerning the

second coming of Christ ( I Peter 3:5) .

As we have seen there are many different beliefs, each one causing a new division, and a greater schism within the body of Christ.

And we have also learned that our beliefs, if not founded and based upon the Holy written word of God, are in error, and even greater than that, in disagreement with God himself.

Our Lord put it this way in John 8:32 ''And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free''.

It is the truth of God's word that we know, that will allow us to walk in all of the great freedoms that Christ has given to us. Freedom from sin, freedom from

sickness, freedom from poverty, freedom from depression and despair, freedom from every attack the enemy may try to bring.

When men and woman of God , hungry for the truth, begin to arm themselves with Biblical Facts, then the ''doctrines of men'' will begin to slowly fall away.

And the church of Christ will then finally come together in the unity to which God has called us.

There has been an all out attack against the word of God throughout the generations, those who have fought against it's authenticity, those who have challenged it's accuracy, those who have opposed it's authority, those who have sneered at it's commands, and mocked it's instruction.

And yet, like it's author, it has met every challenge, answered every critic, changed even the most stringent skeptic, and remains today the infallible, incorruptible,

inerrant, absolute truth of the almighty living God !

No matter how many come to challenge the truth within it's pages, no matter how

many twist and manipulate and pervert what it really says, no matter how many more may reject it's wisdom and life, in exchange for man made doctrine.

The word of God will stand forever, and it will answer every challenge.

How do I know this ? Because Jesus gave us this promise two thousand years ago .Matthew 24:32 , Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away .