Publisher's Synopsis
Like many others I have observed a lamentable tendency to divorce biblical doctrine from Christian practice. People want to improve their lives, so they ask for "practical" lessons to give them concrete solutions for their problems. Certainly the word of God is filled with specific prescriptions for behavior, but the strength to carry them out does not come from the commandments themselves. As the Apostle Paul noted, the law of God does not give life; it kills (Romans 7:9-11). It is the Spirit of God alone who enables us to live a new kind of life. He does this by reorienting our thought patterns so that we see God, the world and ourselves from God's perspective. At the same time He changes our affections so that we love God and value the things that are important to Him. What does the Spirit use to produce this wonderful transformation in us? He uses the Scripture, and more particularly the doctrines of Scripture. God saves us and sanctifies us through the truth (James 1:18; John 17:17-19). Therefore, the major doctrines of the Bible are not dry, dusty subjects of interest only to professional theologians. They are intensely practical truths. Good doctrine is meant to be lived. You may have good doctrine in your head and live poorly, but you cannot live well without good doctrine in your heart. Practicing what we believe is the theme of this short Bible study.
