Seek the Peace (3)

By T. M. Moore|Published Date: June 19, 2013

“You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you, declares the LORD…” Jeremiah 29:13, 14

A choice

In exile from their beloved promised land, the people of Jerusalem had a choice: they could either moan and lament for their condition of chastisement and exile, or they could look to the promises of God and let that be the horizon which defined their journey during this season of captivity in Babylon.

Seek the Peace (2)

By T. M. Moore|Published Date: June 18, 2013

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

Things fall apart

We are becoming so accustomed to the forsaking of “traditional values”, the undermining and fragmenting of long-established institutions, and the breakdown of morality and civility that we can begin to think that these conditions are the norm, the best we can hope for in an age in flight from God such as our own.

Seek the Peace (1)

By T. M. Moore|Published Date: June 17, 2013

Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon… Jeremiah 29:4

How bad?

How bad could things get?

Their capital city had surrendered to a powerful enemy, which had installed a puppet government, deported the most productive of the citizens, and put those who remained under a severe tribute. But those who were still living in Jerusalem under the strong hand of Nebuchadnezzar at least considered themselves better off than those who had been sent into exile in Babylon. They must have felt this way, for even when Jeremiah urged them to yield to the Babylonian king and go peaceably with him into captivity, they refused, insisting on fleeing to Egypt instead.

Doctrine Matters (7)

By T. M. Moore|Published Date: June 16, 2013

But that is not the way you learned Christ! – assuming you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus… Ephesians 4:20, 21

One sure standard

There is one measure, one standard of sound doctrine which we must always keep in mind as we take up the study of this subject: sound doctrine brings us to Jesus.

Jesus, after all, is the very truth of God (Jn. 15:6). He embodies all the promises of God’s Word (2 Cor. 1:20), and all the teaching of Scripture is ultimately about Him (Jn. 5:39). Jesus is the wisdom of God (Col. 2:3); He is the hope of glory for which we have been redeemed (Rom. 5:1, 2; Col. 1:27); the knowledge of Jesus is eternal life; and Jesus shows us the path of true discipleship along which we hope sound doctrine will lead us (1 Jn. 2:1-6).

Doctrine Matters (6)

By T. M. Moore|Published Date: June 15, 2013

The aim of our charge is love… 1 Timothy 1:5

Doctrinal let-down

Like many physical maladies that can beset us, the spiritual condition of doctrinal revulsion is sometimes triggered by a preceding condition. We might refer to that condition as doctrinal let-down.

Here’s how it works. We get excited about sound doctrine because, well, we’ve heard this is really good stuff. Then we begin to apply ourselves to learning it. We read some books, take a course or two, and share in some “doctrine” conversations with Christian friends.

Doctrine Matters (5)

By T. M. Moore|Published Date: June 14, 2013

Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Acts 17:11

Four guidelines

Developing sound doctrine is not the work of isolated individuals. Since we all tend to read the Scriptures through a particular lens – our background, learning, experience, and biases – we need an approach to deriving sound doctrine from Scripture that can keep us from drifting away from the thing we seek because of some faulty interpretation or unrecognized personal agenda.