From time to time in these podcasts, we try and think a little together about specific Christian doctrines.

Sometimes the word doctrine is heard as though it were a slightly nasty word.

But it's far too important in the Bible for that to be true.

Knowing biblical doctrine, I think, is rather like having the architect's drawings for a building.

Of course the building is put up in a building site.

But if you don't have the architect's drawings, you don't know what you're building and

you're not going to be very successful in building it.

And if you've got bad drawings, the building is going to be faulty.

And the same is true in the Christian life.

There's a very close relationship between our understanding of Christian doctrine and the

way we live the Christian life.

I know people often say doctrine divides, experience unites.

But actually if you think about it, that's not only far from the truth, it's almost the

reverse of the truth.

The reality is that true doctrine unites, and the New Testament itself teaches us that.

And actually when you think about it, in order to describe your experience, your spiritual

experience, you need to use words.

You're describing your spiritual experience in doctrinal terms.

So doctrine is important.

And I want to think first of all today about what do we think about the doctrine of the Bible.

I remember years and years ago I was reading a document called the Scots Confession.

It was written in 1560 and you'll know the name of at least one of the authors.

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