Abiding in the Doctrine of Christ: The Gospel / Doctrine Distinction

Bruce Reeves
06/08/23 - Thursday AM

There is a doctrine out there that defines the “gospel” of Christ as a very small core of Christ's teaching while the “doctrine” of Christ is a broader, more nebulous body of teaching. Proponents may concede that we might draw lines of fellowship based on the “gospel,” but they are very dogmatic that neither our conclusions nor our lines can be so firm in matters of “doctrine.” In they end, they really just want to be able to practice error and dismiss any appeals to Scripture that clearly condemns such error. In this lesson, we examine the Scriptures and find that there is no schism between gospel and doctrine. The gospel of Christ, the word of God, the faith, the teaching of the Lord, and a handful of other terms all refer to the whole of New Testament teaching, and God holds us accountable to all of it.