Israel of old was prophesied of as follows:

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: ¹² … , they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it." - Amos 8:11-12 (KJV)

In the time when the Prophet Jeremiah the condition of Israel was awful, spiritually.

“The prophets prophesy falsely [lies], and the priests bear rule by their means [self-will]; and [yet] my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?” - Jeremiah 5:31 (KJV)

Christendom today is in a similar condition as Israel was under its corrupt prophets and priest. Today we have TV preachers who lie and local leadership that is but a manmade hierarchical system that operates mostly for the glory of men and their lust for money.

By contrast, the mark that identifies genuine Christianity is not tradition, rather it is marked by believers who know, understand, and trust in the “sound doctrine” of Paul as “the Apostle to the Gentiles (Rom. 11:13), as their basis for “the faith.”

Also, trues Christianity is not about good feelings it is “sound doctrine.” Sound doctrine is what ought to be taught, but most often “sound doctrine” of “the word of truth” is not taught, but rather is error it taught or implied. The gathering of assemblies of believers are for teaching “sound doctrine” to the believers, not for gospel preaching or worship. You never read of Paul using the words ‘worship’ or having a ‘worship service.’

(See my 5-Part study of “True Worship According to Paul”: http://artlicursi.com/series/true-worship-according-paul

The teaching of “sound doctrine” is to raise up healthy, knowledgeable, believers who can and will do “the work of the ministry” (not the pastor or teacher), which is to preach “the gospel of the grace of God” on the outside of the assembly of believers.

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets [proclaimers]; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; ¹² For the perfecting [maturing] of the saints [believers], for [them to do] the work of the ministry, for the edifying [building up] of the body of Christ:”-  Ephesians 4:11-12 (KJV)

The believers are to become equipped through the teaching of “sound doctrine” in the believer’s meetings … to do the great work of preaching “the gospel of the grace of God” (Act 20:24) to “all men,” including family, neighbors and acquaintances, and thereby build up “the church, which is His body.” (Eph. 1:22b-23a).

In other words, the “book” the “word of God” is to be the center of all the believer’s meetings. This is why, originally, a bible was always set on a table at the front of Christian churches for generations… being the primary reason for the meeting.

Yet sadly, quite often those on the selection boards that choose their Pastor are not truly spiritual at all. In their spiritual ignorance they then ‘pipe the tune the preacher must preach,’ or he will lose his job and income. The board most often dictates what is not permitted to be preached or taught.

Paul warned of the kind of pathetic church, such as we see in Christendom today, predicting what would come in the last days of this age of God’s pure grace.

“For the time will come when they [the so-called christians] will not endure Sound Doctrine; but after their own lusts [desire] shall they heap to themselves [false] teachers, having itching ears; - 2 Timothy 4:3 (KJV)

This all makes for the pathetic condition of the churches we see in the USA and worldwide today.

Thus, Paul wrote;

“Hold fast the form of SOUND WORDS, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. - 2 Timothy 1:13 (KJV)

Nowadays what is taught is mostly not “the word of truth.” It has been replaced by what the congregants feel in their emotions, thus appealing to the soulish non-spiritual man.

1 Corinthians 2:9-14 (KJV) ⁹ But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. ¹⁰ But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. ¹¹ For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. ¹² Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; [so] that we might know the things that are freely given [already] to us of God. ¹³ Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. ¹⁴ But the natural [Gk. psuchikos, of the soul, soulish] man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ But he that is spiritual [Gk. pneumatikos, of the spirit, spiritual] judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 1 Corinthians 2:15 (KJV)

In religious Christianity it is supposed that ‘feeling God’ is better than ‘knowing God.’ Everyone has a feeling or an idea, or their own impression or interpretation but this is fleeting and can change twice a day and with the weather. Yet the “word of God” has ‘no private or personal interpretation’ that is able to supersede the “sound doctrine” of “the word of truth – ‘rightly divided.’

What Paul calls “sound words” describe the “sound doctrine” of pure grace age Christianity, are not related to today’s many religious practices, empty traditions, cheap emotionalism, and a meaningless list of rules of manmade religion. Yet, these traits describe how most church attendees view Christianity today. This should tell us something.

The “Sound doctrine” of the Pauline epistles reminds us that … God has rescued us from our sin, reconciled us to himself, and pledged himself to provide for all of our needs, now and forever by “the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” as our new life to be enjoyed as we live in rest and peace of soul, whatever the situation.

On a foundation of ‘sound doctrine,’ Christianity is a life-changing force suffused in truth believed. Paul calls the grace gospel that he preached and taught, “power of God unto salvation” (Rom 1:16). It is “the preaching of Jesus Christ,” not motivational jargon mixed with a few clean jokes or stories from a pulpit.

There actually was a time when “doctrine” was actually discussed intelligently and fervently. Men of God would write about it in their biographies, give up riches for it, and some even died for the truth. Some of these men probably evangelized your ancestors and maybe built the church building you might assemble in today.

Over the past 75-100 years the once staunch doctrine-based fundamentalist of old have withered away and become the neo-evangelicals of the touchy/feely megachurches we see today - thus being man-centered rather than Christ-centered… as we see among most of the TV preachers. But now “sound doctrine” is a bygone relic of the little used Bibles among so-called Christians of today. Hardly anyone talks about the “sound doctrine” of Paul that is able to establish the believers in “the faith” of “the word of truth” that is for today anymore.

Yet we as believers ought to be delving into all the elements of Paul’s “gospel of the grace of God” as the prescribed way of becoming “established” in the faith and searching out the “revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,” - Romans 16:25

“Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my [Paul’s] gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,” - Romans 16:25 (KJV)

The roots of “sound doctrine” have been all but eroded and in their place is but a pretense of religiosity. The Bible describes this sad condition as childlike being “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine” - Ephesians 4:14.

Our Christian life will not succeed without an emphasis on discovering “sound doctrine.” … ‘it will not function properly on the basis of ignorance.’  We would be unsteady Christians, not established in “the faith” to undergird our own lives. Only then can Christians become reestablished, mature, and ultimately bear good fruit in their lives.

“Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” – Colossians 2:7

We need to reopen the doors of debate and value “sound doctrine” from the Bible “rightly divided” instead of institutionalizing ignorance with empty traditions, spoiling believers by the vain philosophies of the world (Colossians 2:8).

A good place to start is 2 Timothy 2:15 in “Study” that bears fruit in our lives. When the Christian’s life progresses, it will be a result of having come to “sound doctrine” produced by studying the Bible “rightly divided.”

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. - 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)