Holiness Is Inseparable from Sound Doctrine

We cannot live holy lives without clear, deep, and robust theology.

The Apostle Paul believed this. In 1 Timothy 1, Paul mentions various sins and adds, “and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine” (1 Tim. 1:10). Sin is contrary to sound or healthy doctrine. Therefore, sound doctrine promotes holiness. Later in 1 Timothy 6, Paul warns Pastor Timothy, “If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness . . .” (1 Tim. 6:3). That’s important to understand. God reveals clear and pure doctrine in His holy Word and wants it to be taught, understood, and delighted in. Sound doctrine always aligns with the “sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ.” But notice what Paul added: “and the teaching [or doctrine] that accords with godliness.” Sound doctrine or theology accords with godliness. John Calvin explained Paul’s meaning like this:

This has the same meaning with the former clause; for the “doctrine” will not be consistent with “godliness,” if it do [sic] not instruct us in the fear and worship of God, if it do [sic] not edify our faith, if it do [sic] not train us to patience, humility, and all the duties of that love which we owe to our fellowmen. Whoever, therefore, does not strive to teach usefully, does not teach as he ought to do; and not only so, but that doctrine is neither godly nor sound, whatever may be the brilliancy of its display, that does not tend to the profit of the hearers. [1]

Why is being clear about theology important? One big reason is that clear theology is directly connected to godliness. The end of all good theology is to know and love God rightly. Theology’s end is to move us to glorify and enjoy God, to, as Calvin said, instruct us in the fear and worship of God, to edify our faith, and to train us in patience, humility, and all the duties of love.

What should be the aim of your minister who preaches to you, your seminary professors who teach you, the good Christian theology books you read, the theological podcasts you listen to, and your family worship at home? What is the aim of these? Isn’t it that the Biblical doctrine taught and believed would be useful, beneficial, and profitable to you? Sound doctrine taught soundly aims to lead the learner into the delight of God and joyful obedience. Holiness of heart and life are the aim.

It seems that many Christians have adopted the insufficient creed of “No creed but the Bible.” First, this creed isn’t in the Bible, so it is self-defeating. Second, there seems to be a widespread misunderstanding among some Christians. By saying, “All we need is the Bible,” is to miss the fact that the Bible needs to be taught, explained, and exposited by lawfully ordained and called ministers of the gospel and received by true faith by all Christians. Christians ought to be able to capably articulate what they believe, and the moment they open their mouth to explain what they believe, they are stating their creed. Whether their “creed” is truthful or deceitful needs to be tested and discerned.

One time Oprah had a child preacher on her show. He may have been eleven or twelve. They had him preach a bit. All he did was yell Bible verses, but Oprah and others on the show were exhorting him to explain what the verses mean. He wouldn’t. He likely couldn’t. But see, that anecdote proves the necessity of creeds or explanations of the Christian faith. The Reformed confessions and ecumenical creeds are wonderful statements of sound doctrine, but they do not replace Scripture. Their intent is to faithfully state and explain essential truths of Scripture. They are teachers, professors, sages meant to help God’s people rightly know and love God.

Holiness is inseparable from sound doctrine. Is your heart’s desire to toss off the incumbrances of sin to freely pursue holiness? Then you need an unobstructed view of God in His holiness, goodness, righteousness, power, justice, and glory. Our holiness is little when our view of God is little. The pursuit of sin reveals a small view of God.

How do we expand our view of God? I know of no better place to start than the treasure troves of the ecumenical creeds (Apostles’, Nicene, Athanasian, and Chalcedonian Creeds) and Reformed confessions (Three Forms of Unity; Westminster Standards). These few brief but profound works give us a great education in the foundational truths of Christianity, the foundational truths of God, and baked into them is an exhortation to holiness, to living for the amazing God explained in them. I think C. S. Lewis was prescient and relevant for the anemic theological state of the US today when he said:

It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. [2]

Yes, we are far too easily pleased. The preoccupations of this life often distract us from even wanting to think deeply about God, so we invest very little in exploring the endless depths of the knowledge of God. We settle for shallow thoughts of God. The benefit of the ecumenical creeds and Reformed confessions is, with concise and purposeful words, they direct our minds to God to find the reason to be holy, the reason why holiness is far superior to the pleasures of this world. The big God theology of the creeds and confessions put purpose deep in the heart, a purpose to sacrifice for the beauty of holiness.

[1] John Calvin and William Pringle, Commentaries on the Epistles to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 154.

[2] https://faithandlaw.org/wp-content/craft/docs/The-Weight-of-Glory.pdf

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