(Francis Schaeffer, The Mark of the Christian, Downers Grove: IVP, 1970, p. 16)
“The church is to judge whether a man is a Christian on the basis of his doctrine, the propositional content of his faith. When a man comes before a local church that is doing its job, he will be quizzed on the content of what he believes. If, for example, the church is conducting a heresy trial (the New Testament indicates there are to be heresy trials in the church of Christ), the question of heresy will turn on the content of the man’s doctrine. The church has a right to judge, in fact it is commanded to judge, a man on the content of what he believes and teaches.”
Do you agree or disagree? How thorough are elders in checking the beliefs of ministers they hire? How thoroughly do churches check the doctrine of those they entrust with the task of teaching the word? When have you heard a preacher hold forth a teaching or doctrine that caused you to raise your eyebrows? Does it happen more frequently now than in the past? Does doctrine matter, or is that an “old doctrine” that is no longer valid?