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The Hour is come for Sound Doctrine

by Dr. Charles W. Anderson (1912-1991)

"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine"
II Timothy 4:2

Probably never before has a subject been more appropriately chosen or designated at a more timely moment for discussion than this one.

There was an hour - and not too long ago at that - when the battle lines were fairly clearly drawn between truth and error, orthodoxy and liberalism, sound doctrine and unsound. But the hour in which we now find ourselves presents many confusing dilemmas, and our archenemy has been successful in obliterating the sharpness of the lines formerly drawn. In nearly every area of life the marginal section of gray - between black and white has been widened to such an extent that it is increasingly difficult to hold with firmness and conviction to principles of right and wrong, truth and error.

Of course, we should not be overtaken by surprise at this state of affairs, for the Holy Spirit long ago warned us in the language of Paul's epistle to Timothy that such a condition would exist:

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shalt be turned unto fables"
II Timothy 4:3

How Important the Bible Makes Sound Doctrine!

One of the basic needs of this hour is a re-examination of what the Bible itself says concerning sound doctrine. In its singular form the word "doctrine" occurs 45times in the New Testament, and surely any subject receiving as much attention from the Holy Spirit as this must be of great importance and deserves close scrutiny on our part.

One of the earlier references to the importance of "doctrine" is found in Acts 2:42 where the characteristics of the pristine believers are outlined as continuance "steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers."

It is of particular note that the word itself only occurs three more times in the whole book of Acts, and in two of those references the enemies of the church scornfully refer to the teachings of the disciples. Perhaps the reason why so little stress is placed upon "doctrine" in Acts is that the accent was on action. The Spirit of God was moving mightily and rapidly in the formation of the church, and there was as yet little dispute over what was the Faith and what was to be excluded from it!

However, once the church was established and the vine was in growth, there appeared many fungus growths seeking to attach themselves to the living plant; and it became necessary to carefully delineate the body of truth to be held by Christian believers - and at the same time to warn of the solemn dangers of departing from that truth or doctrine.

Hence we hear Paul declaring: "But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you" (Rom. 6:17).

Here he has reference in all probability to the Gospel of God's grace - that form of doctrine which had declared the divine provision for deliverance from sin's penalty and its power.

Later to these same Roman believers Paul sounds a sharp warning in the words of Romans 16:17, "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them."

Apparently at even this early stage of church history there were some who were attempting to dilute or pollute or adulterate or change the body of truths which had been taught these believers, and the clear-cut words of the great apostle are to make out these dissenters and separate from them. The separatist movement is as old as the first century A.D. In a day when the cry is raised on every hand for a minimization of doctrinal differences, one wonders how the writer of Romans 16:17 and the author of Galatians 1:8 and 9 would preach and teach.

Still later, in his letter to the Ephesians church, the apostle cautions, "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive" (Eph. 4; 14).

But it is in the two epistles to Timothy, his protégé in the Faith, that Paul hammers harder and harder on the importance of adherence to sound doctrine. Here he sternly reminds Timothy that he in turn is to charge the Ephesians to be careful "that they teach no other doctrine, Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies" (I Tim. 1:3,4).

And in a passage almost startling in its association, he says that "the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men stealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine ..." (I Tim. 1:9,10).

Certainly it can scarcely be gainsaid that, by and large, and in the long run, there is an intimate connection between what a man believes and what a man is. Doctrine and doing - creed and conduct are vitally connected!

Paul then proceeds to admonish this young leader that, "If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained" (I Tim. 4:6); and, "Till I come, give attendance to ... doctrine" (vs. 13).

Let it be carefully noted that Paul has just sounded a grim note of warning that the latter times would be marked by a departure from the Faith, with many giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons (4:1). The antidote for these perilous conditions is a people "nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine." The tense of this verb "nourished" suggests that it is not by one outstanding banquet nor by an occasional feast, but by a regular diet of everyday feeding on good solid fare - not, let it be noted, fancy pastries, but good old-fashioned bread and butter, meat and potatoes!

As an article of spiritual diet these days, words of faith and good doctrine are out of fashion. We are so enamored of bright, brief, brotherly talks or short, sweet, sisterly addresses that we are impatient of anything "heavy," The result is that we are breeding a race of half-starved Christians so anemic in spiritual vitamins that they are easy prey to every current disease.

You can't grow strong on a glass of milk and a bun! The delicate spiritual digestion of most modern Christians has been produced and is cultivated by the demitasse fare on which they are fed. No one can enjoy spiritual health and vigor whose appetite is poor.

The cry of the hour across our land is for something new! Who says that the old is no longer useful? Because a truth is old does not make it untrue.

A young preacher was admonished by his people to give them something new in his sermons - the plain implication being that the old truths of the Word were out of date and no longer relevant. in response, he prefaced his next sermon with the words, "I'm going to give you something brand new today. Here it is: 2 plus 2 equals 5! That's certainly new, but it isn't true!"

In his final charge to this young bishop, Timothy, as Paul neared the end of his journey, he carefully and solemnly warned Timothy of the sad state of affairs when men would "not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables" (11 Tim. 4:3,4).

And what is to be our response to this attitude and condition? Are we to accommodate ourselves to the likes and dislikes of men? Are we to cater to their whims or cower before their demands? Indeed not! We are to "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine" (vs. 2).

The learning of mathematical axioms and algebraic formulas and the tables and logarithms of calculus may indeed be tedious and tasteless for a time - and there might be some who would like to devise a more popular and attractive way to absorb these fundamentals of mathematics; but the fact remains that their forms and substance are time proven and they are indispensable to an understanding of all the problems of practical mathematics.

And the old-fashioned, biblical and theological expressions of the fundamental tenets of our Faith may appear to some to be tedious and tasteless in their expression, and even no longer up to date - but the fact still remains that the words of faith and sound doctrine were Sufficient for centuries to solve the problems of life and death for our forefathers, and there is no reason to believe that they are inadequate for the complexities of modern life.

Separation From Those Not Holding Sound Doctrine Is Commanded

Toward the end of the New Testament in the tiny epistle of II John stand's one of the clearest caution lights regarding the importance of sound doctrine and the equal importance of separation from those who do not hold to this soundness of doctrine. After having clearly predicted that there were many deceivers who had entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, John says, "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God .... " And further, "If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds."

This vital doctrine to which John here refers is the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Certainly that incarnation involves such doctrine as His virgin birth for He was the holy Son of God, come into our world of sin, and come as the Bible says He came - through the virgin's womb. He was GOD with us. Thus is clearly expressed His essential and unique deity, and the central purpose of His coming in the flesh is elsewhere expressed in I John 3:8, "... For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." And, of course, the place where that victory was accomplished was at Calvary.

Hence there is clearly implied in the doctrine of Christ not only His virgin birth, not only His unique deity, but also His atoning work on the cross. This doctrine is so vital that John says that anyone who does not confess to it is a deceiver and an antichrist! Furthermore, the believer must mark out such and refuse to bid such God speed for fear of being included in the indictment of having become a partaker of his evil deeds.

In this day of increasing ecumenical emphasis, such a sober warning should give the greatest pause!

Both Sound Doctrine and Sound Behavior Commanded

Now, no review of the Bible's emphasis upon the importance of sound doctrine would be complete without noting the relationship between sound doctrine and sound deportment. Without being facetious, we may say that there are many who are orthodox who are not orthopedic! They are sound in the head but unsound in the feet, Somehow they have never been able to connect their correctness of doctrinal adherence with a soundness of character and behavior.

The New Testament does not neglect the emphasis upon the connection between the two. Perhaps no passage of the New Testament is clearer here than Titus 2. In the very heart of a prolonged passage on behavior and conduct Paul exhorts, "But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine ... In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity ... " and "exhort" others "that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things."

It is not only important to adorn doctrine, but it is equally important to adorn sound doctrine by a godly and exemplary life.

When all of these Scriptures are surveyed and scrutinized, one cannot escape the inevitable conclusion that the very greatest importance is placed in the New Testament upon holding to and preaching sound doctrine. It is necessary in order to be true to the Faith once for all delivered unto the saints; it is essential to the building of a proper foundation for a strong superstructure of Christian living; and furthermore, it is the very substance of our message to a lost world.

Now, of course, we are face to face today with severe theological struggles. From the very beginning Satan has attacked the truth of God and sought to confuse men on what God's revelation really is. It is not my purpose, nor am I qualified, to trace here tonight the historical pattern of the theological struggles of the Christian era. Suffice it to say that the old battleground of liberalism where severe struggles have occurred has changed somewhat and we find ourselves facing the same old enemy but on a new front. We speak today not of liberalism as the foe to be faced and fought, but rather we speak of neo-orthodoxy.

But on whatever front and whatever the change in weapons appears to be, we know that the real enemy is still the same, and the target of his hatred is still the same. Satan is our foe and God and all those associated with Him are still Satan's objectives. Basically the target of Satan's attack is the Bible, because in that Book is God's clearest revelation of Himself.

Emil Brunner once said, "The fate of the Bible is the fate of Christianity." A man's attitude and evaluation of the Bible are the clearest indicator of his attitude toward God Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ and Christianity.

Certain Essential Fundamentals of Faith

I am certain that no one here will dispute the importance I have sought to place upon the place and prominence of sound doctrine in our preaching and living today. The ticklish question is, Just what is to be considered sound doctrine - that is, sound enough to be placed in the category of importance or of being fundamental?

The very use of the term "fundamental" immediately raises the temperature of the discussion, and we find ourselves in an atmosphere of conflict. I shall not bother to debate the use of the term "fundamentalism." We are, all of us, aware of the sins that have been committed in the name of fundamentalism and of the abuses that have adhered to the term. We are not only aware of it but deplore it, and some of us may even be ashamed of the fact that we have ourselves contributed to the disrepute into which the term has fallen.

However, I am also aware of all the sins that have been committed in the name of Americanism or democracy, and deplore them. I am not ready, however, to abandon the use of the name "American" nor even to abandon my proud claim that I am an American! Nor by the same token am I ready to abandon the use of the term "fundamental" or abandon my claim that I am a fundamentalist!

There is no guarantee that the mere change of label will assure the purity of the contents of the bottle! Must we forever go on seeking new terms of reference by which to identify ourselves? Whatever other connotations the term "fundamental" may have, it certainly refers to those "things which are most surely believed among us." I recognize that it is in the realm of delineation of the things that must be considered "fundamental" to our Faith we often find ourselves badly divided in opinion. And when I say "we" in this reference I mean those of us who have committed ourselves to Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour.

For a few moments I would like to borrow a term from another and use it as a framework of reference. I believe that there are certain "Irreducible Minimums" which must be held sacred and inviolate to us if we are to present the historic and biblical message to the world of our day. Outside this circle, less than these Irreducible Minimums, a man cannot be considered a fundamentalist nor a conservative in h is theology; and I go so far as to say even that I do not believe that he can be considered to be a Christian, and I mean a Christian in its purest biblical sense.

I cannot bring myself to the place of hearty agreement with the reductions of the fundamentals of our Christian Faith to the single fact enunciated recently in one of our national Christian periodicals by its well-known editor as he said:

"But anybody who believes that Jesus Christ is God, then we must get together with him .... If you believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord God Almighty - not only the Son of God, but God the Son; and if you believe that He came on the cross and was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities - then you are my brother and sister in Christ, and you belong to me, and I belong to you, and we are one in Christ because His life is within us."

This, I feel, is an oversimplification of Christian Faith, and would allow even the Romanist to be classified as a Christian and a defender of historic Christianity!

Much of the teaching concerning the Christian Faith today is what we might call circumference teaching; that is, it is teaching done in the outer realms of New Testament teaching with little or no emphasis upon the great centre truths. These centre truths constitute the very heart of the Christian message - or the Irreducible Minimums of the Christian Faith. Not to believe in the circumference truths of our Faith is weakening, but not to believe in the centre truths is absolutely disastrous.

A recognizable difficulty, of course, is determining what are centre truths - those which are so fundamental to our Faith that no surrender is possible in their area without a tragic betrayal of the Faith itself; and what are circumference truths - areas in which we may differ and yet not so radically as to affect our fellowship with one another. It would seem to me that the Irreducibles of the Christian Faith are:

• The Validity of the Word of God,
• The Virgin Birth of Christ,
• The Virtuous Life of Christ,
• The Vicarious Death of Christ,
• The Victorious Resurrection of Christ,
• And the Visible Return of the Lord Jesus,

Infallibility and Authority of the Bible the First Fundamental

The real lines of battle are drawn once again just where they ought to be drawn on the question of the veracity and validity of the Bible as the Word of God.

Sir Walter Scott wrote long ago:

Men should have learned long ago of the terrible danger of tampering with or quibbling at the Word of God! How easily are the lessons of Eden lost to us! It was the careless handling of the Word of God by the mother of us all that led to disaster before the tempter's assaults. It is high time that we once again affirm our unshaken and unwavering faith in the Bible as the Word of God.

If God has not spoken to us in this Holy Word, then we are plunged into darkness and despair. A man's attitude toward the Bible is the sure criterion of his attitude toward God Himself. Let go our faith in the Bible as the inerrant, infallible and inspired Word of God; and the very foundations have been destroyed. And if the foundations be destroyed, what will the righteous do?

Absolute Essentiality of the Virgin Birth

And it is in the pages of this glorious Book that we find the full-length portrait of the living Word of God Himself. The details of that portrait are so clearly drawn that only the blind cannot see. On the very first page of the New Testament is the categorical statement, "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."

The Bible distinctly states that the Jesus who was called Messiah the Christ, the Jesus who died on the cursed tree of Calvary bearing there the penalty of the sins of all mankind, the Jesus who arose triumphant from the grave - that Jesus came into this world as the sinlessly conceived and miraculously born Son of a virgin woman by the name of Mary. To deny that this is so is to deny the trustworthiness of Matthew and is in effect to deny the very trustworthiness of the entire Bible itself.

Some years ago there was a thunderous voice heard on behalf of the fundamentals of the Christian Faith out of the heart of Manhattan. Dr. I.M. Haldeman, with a logic that was smashing and brutal, argued the awful "if" of the denial of the virgin birth of Christ, He cried,

"Consider the effect upon the name, character and reputation of Mary, the mother of Jesus, if He was not born of the virgin. She was espoused to Joseph. But Joseph denied the paternity of Jesus. This means that Mary was guilty of breaking wedlock; it means that she was guilty of fornication .... Deny the virgin birth and you give to Mary, the mother a Christ, a stain, a shame that all the waters of the seven seas cannot wash out.

"Consider the effect of the denial of the virgin birth upon the name and reputation of Jesus Himself. If some other man than Joseph were His father, then He was born outof wedlock; then Hewas an illegitimate child. But that is not all - His human father was unknown. He was not known in that day and He is not known in this day. Then Jesus Christ was the illegitimate son of an unknown father. And what is the name in all languages you give to the son of an unknown father? It is an ugly and nasty name - He was a bastard.

"And would you know what God Almighty thinks of a bastard? 'A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the Lord.' (Deut. 23:2)."

Then this great preacher of a bygone generation rises to the heights of impassioned logic when he argues:

"If Jesus Christ were not virgin born, then, of course He had a human father; if He had a human father, then He inherited the nature of that father; as that father had a nature of sin. then He inherited his nature of sin; then Jesus was Himself a lost sinner and He Himself needed a Saviour from sin. Deny the virgin birth of Jesus Christ and you paralyse the whole scheme of redemption by Jesus Christ."

But the denial of the virgin birth leads even farther down the dismal pathway of despair; for if Jesus had a human father, since that father was a finite personality, then Jesus Christ inherited His father's finite personality. Then, of course, He was not an infinite person; and if He were not infinite, then He was not God; and if He was not God, then He was not the Son of God, nor was He the second person of the Trinity; and if there is no second person of the Trinity, then of course, there is no Trinity at all..

Then he who denies the virgin birth denies Bible Christianity, smites the mother of our Lord with shame, snatches the crown of deity from His brow, strips Him of His sinless humanity, makes His cross a bloodstained failure, and bids us face eternity with no light in the darkness.

Can any sensible person thus deny that a cardinal point of sound doctrine and an indispensable blank in the platform evangelical and historical Christian Faith is the virgin birth of Christ? A man cannot even be a true Christian who denies deliberately this fact of the Faith.

The Sinless Deity of Christ Is Basic to Christianity

Another Irreducible Minimum of our Faith is the virtuous life of our Lord Jesus. His was a sinless life, and a sinless life can only be lived in a sinful sphere by One who is no less than God Himself. The unique deity of Jesus Christ constitutes the bedrock of all Christian truth. A Saviour who is not quite God is like a bridge that is broken at the farther end - we are left dangling in despair and hopelessness.

In the days when the Nazi hordes were sweeping up to the gates of Moscow, the Order of the Day issued to the men who were fighting in Leningrad, street by street and house by house, was, "There is no land beyond the Volga!" Despite the fact that thousands of miles of Russian steppes lay beyond the Volga River, this was the point beyond which there could be no retreat, else all was lost.

And there is no land beyond the Volga of the deity of Jesus Christ! If He were not God of very God, then we and all men are lost, and Christianity is a farce.

As for me, I can say with Elizabeth Cheney in her joyful affirmation:

I may not be able to answer all the learned arguments advanced by the scholars of our day who deny the deity of my Lord but I know that if He be not God's Son, then my soul is all forlorn.

Christ's Vicarious, Atoning Death the Indispensable Heart of Christian Faith

And when we stand before the cross on Calvary's hill and seek to understand the meaning of that awful deed, we are placing our finger upon the very pulse of the Christian Faith. In the plainest language - and if ever language must be plain it is in the declaration of so important a truth as the meaning of Calvary - Paul declares, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

Any interpretation of the death of Christ that makes it less than the vicarious, sub-stitutionary death of the Son of God on behalf of sinners is not only an untrue and faulty interpretation; but any preaching of the cross that is less than this leaves men hopeless in their sins.

Christ's Bodily Resurrection Part of the "Irreducible Minimum" of Christian Faith

In his simple declaration to the Corinthians of that message which he had received by divine revelation and which had been declared to them to the saving of their souls, Paul stated one of its cardinal points as, 'And that He rose again from the dead according to the Scripture.'

Against even this Gibraltar of the Christian Faith the assaults of unbelief have been hurled - but to no avail. Surely this is an hour when the victorious truth of our Lord's triumph over death and the grave needs to be reaffirmed and announced.

Another has said that, if Christ be not raised from the dead, then

"there is nothing to do but array ourselves in our grief, recall the past as much as we may, live over again in memory the old days forever gone, live the best that time and opportunity shall give us, and anticipate the hour when we shall become nothing more than the senseless clod under our feet; live as best we may unto the hour when all faith, all effort, and high emprise shall go down into the night and stillness of an eternal silence."

But if ever there was a day when the declaration and proclamation of a living Christ who is able to break the bondage of sin and deliver from the chains of fear are needed, this is that day and this the hour.

Christ's Visible Return Essential to Christian Faith

I make bold to add that there is one other cardinal fact of the Faith that must be included in the Irreducible Minimums, and that is the visible return of our Lord Jesus Christ to this world.

Who can deny that Jesus promised His return? Who can deny that the early Christians believed that He meant what He said when He said He would return? And who can deny that that blessed truth has been the hope and daystar of the saints through all the dark ages of their suffering history? And in a world that has at last discovered such sure and frightening means of destroying itself, so that men's hearts are failing them for fear of looking after the things that are coming upon the earth, who will deny that the hope of the Lord's return is a blessed and comforting hope?

Now you will notice that I did not include in these minimums of Faith any reference to the time when our Lord will return. I did not say that the return of Jesus Christ before the millennium or even before the Tribulation period was a fundamental of our Faith. I want to say that this is an enormous concession for me personally to make! All my background of training and teaching has led me to hold earnestly and vigorously to the blessedness of the truth of our Lord's personal and imminent return to this earth.

I not only believe that Jesus is coming back again; but I sincerely and earnestly believe that He is coming not only before the establishment of His millennial kingdom here on the earth, but that He is coming in the clouds of Heaven before a time of terrible trouble and distress on the earth called by the name Tribulation; and that the purpose of His coming thus is to raise the dead from their graves and to rapture the living. I believe this truth earnestly and preach it just as earnestly.

Furthermore, I preach that the immanency of the Lord's return is one of the most powerful missionary incentives, one of the strongest soul-wining motives, and one of the greatest deterrents to backsliding, and grandest encouragements to holy Christian living. Not only so, but it brings me real grief to hear brethren whom I love in the Faith deny or belittle or minimize the Lord Jesus' imminent return. My grief does not in any sense, however, affect either my faith or my preaching of this wonderful truth. Rather, I often feel the strongest pity for these who do not agree with me on this truth.

If the Lord will allow me just one more carnal expression before I am glorified and made forever sinless, I look forward to the time when on the way up I shall be able to say to all those who have disagreed with me on this matter, "I told you so!"

I want to state further, that I am personally convinced that a surrender of faith in either the premillennial return of Christ or even the pre-Tribulation return of Jesus is a dangerous thing. Just as there cannot be a divorcement between doctrine and deportment, so I cannot see how there can but be the most serious relationship between what a man believes about the return of Christ, particularly the time of His coming, and how that man lives his daily life or serves the Lord in his ministry.

The Watchword for Fundamentalists: Loyalty to Christ

I like the stirring words of Chester Tulga. When speaking of fundamentalism and the future, he declares:

"The fundamentalism of tomorrow must return to that uncompromising loyalty to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, which is the heart of true orthodoxy. It will not compromise with those who, denying His virgin birth, cloud His birth and set aside His deity. It will not compromise with those who deny His deity, thus bringing into question His integrity and authority. It will not compromise with those who deny His sinlessness, thus destroying His Saviourhood. It will not compromise with those who deny His sinlessness, thus destroying His Saviourhood, It will not compromise with those who deny His bodily resurrection, for if Christ be no raised from the dead we are still in our sins and there is no Gospel. It will not compromise with those who deny His personal return, for this is the only hope of our world drunken with sin. The fundamentalism of tomorrow must repudiate that cheap loyalty to Jesus of our day, that loyalty which has no indignation against those who accuse Him and repudiate Him. The fundamentalism of tomorrow must repudiate the cheap loyalty to Jesus which says, 'Hosanna to the King,' then warms its hand in fellowship at the fires of His enemies. The fundamentalism of tomorrow must be loyal to Christ and refuse fellowship with His foes."

The hour is come for sound doctrine: a soundness of doctrine that enunciates clearly those essential facts in the glorious Gospel of the saving grace of God for a lost and doomed humanity; a soundness of doctrine that just as clearly outlines those principles by which a godly and sober life may be constructed; and a soundness of doctrine that reveals the plan of God for the future in which the glory of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.

My earnest plea is for a preaching in these days of stress and strain and impending disaster which will be Bible-filled and Christ-honoring; a preaching that will not hesitate to preach the sound and solid doctrines of our historic Faith ....

Paul boasted to the Ephesians elders that he had declared unto them the "whole counsel of God." He had widened their spiritual vision until they were able to take in all of life with its complexities and taught them how to apply God's Word to life's every problem.

(Sword of the Lord)