What’s the relationship between Christian life and Christian doctrine? Can a man be a Christian without knowing God in a saving way? Of course not. But can a man have a saving knowledge of God and not live a life that accords with it? Again, of course not. Christian life and Christian doctrine are not only inseparably connected, but vitally connected.
Just as a tree grows out of the soil in which it’s planted, so the Christian life grows directly out of the knowledge of Christian truth. The Christian life is fueled from beginning to end by a right understanding of Christian truth. This is why when Paul set out to pray for the Colossians that they would “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him,” (Col 1.10), he began by asking God that they might be “filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (v. 9). So the saving knowledge of Christian truth inevitably leads to Christian piety.
This teaches us that the Christian is a man with the knowledge of God. Just consider what Paul says about the Colossians in 1.3-7. The Colossians had believed in Christ (v. 4), which means they had knowledge of Christ. The gospel preached to them was the word of the truth (v. 5), which means that it contained propositions they were to know and believe. It was by the gospel preached to them that they came to understand the grace of God (v. 6), which means the gospel was directed to their minds. And they had learned the gospel from Epaphras (v. 7), which implies the communication of knowledge to them. Every Christian is therefore a man with the knowledge of God. See also, 1Cor 2.16; 2Cor 4.6; Eph 4.17-21; Jn 14.6; Jer 9.23-24.
And the simple reason for this is because Christianity is a revealed religion. This is the fundamental truth that sets Christianity apart from all other religions. Christianity is not first about our reaching out to God or working our way to God; it’s about God coming to sinners in grace and making Himself known to us in the truths of Scripture in order to restore us to fellowship with Himself. It’s not a religion of relativism which grows out of every man’s heart in whatever shape suits him. Nor is it a religion of darkness and ignorance in which men grope about in fear ever trying to appease the gods he’s chosen for himself. Christianity is a revealed religion growing out of the revelation of God mercifully given to us in His Word.
This explains why Christ gave preachers and teachers to His church (Eph 4.11-13). It was so that His truths might be taught and learned. It was so that He might be known and His ways might be learned. It was so that His people might be no longer ignorant of the truth but might know the truth which sets them free. Christianity is a religion to be known in order that it might be lived; and it can’t be lived if it’s not known.
Let me close my thoughts with a warning. If the Christian is a man with the knowledge of God, then it’s obvious what a great hindrance an attitude of indifference to Christian truth is to our Christian growth. To be indifferent to Christian truth is to be indifferent to Christianity itself since truth is the very “stuff” of which Christianity is made.
Granted, the reason most Christians are indifferent to Christian truth and doctrine is because they think it gets in the way of Christian devotion and living. But that’s a gross misunderstanding since it’s a right understanding of Christian doctrine that leads to a right experience of Christian living.
Thomas Watson said, “Knowledge is the pilot to guide us in our obedience.” The Christian life isn’t lived in a vacuum; it’s shaped by Christian truth. Doctrine gives way to devotion. Theology gives way to doxology and praxeology. For as Paul says here (Col 1.9-10) Christian truth gives way to the Christian life and shapes the Christian life in a way that’s fully pleasing to God.
So beware of an unintelligent practice–living as we feel to be right, without a saving knowledge of God’s will concerning right living. And beware of an unpractical knowledge–having the knowledge of God’s will in our heads without a corresponding life flowing out of it. Because, as I’ll show you tomorrow, the Christian is a man who applies the knowledge he has.
So how about you? Do you have an intelligent faith, a faith rooted in the knowledge of God’s truth, or a blind faith, a faith, like a castle built in the air, without a foundation? Are you growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ (2Pet 3.18)? Do you read your Bible to learn the revelation of God in order that you might live it (Dt 29.29)?
