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| Pastor Simeon O. Oladokun |
By 'Gbenga Bankole & Boluwatife Oparinde
"Apostle Paul says a lot about the importance of sound doctrine. The biblical doctrines are not mere dogmas, or men's opinions, on the contrary, they are God's inspired teachings (2 Timothy 3:15,16) about sin, repentance, justification, election, salvation, marriage, new heaven, hell and many more," the Regional Superintendent, Christ Apostolic Church, Anosike Region (Europe), Pastor Simeon O. Oladokun has said.
Pastor Oladokun spoke expressly on the topic "Sound Doctrine: God's Molding Tool for Spiritual Growth" being the topic of the third lecture of the ongoing CAC 2023 Pastors' Conference holding at Joseph Ayo Babalola Memorial International Miracle Camp, Ikeji Arakeji, Osun State.
According to him, sound doctrine has been the tool that God uses to shape, mould and grow his people, alluding that, "when Israel was in Egypt, she learned the acts of Egypt. To purge Egypt from her, she was given the Law, the doctrines, to mould her into a spiritual theocratic state. Temptations of polytheism and syncretism were always present for Israel. Doctrines became God's mouldimg tool for growing Israel's spirituality."
Pastor Oladokun lamented that the problem with the church today are people who insist in wrongness while claiming that is what God told them.
The cleric who posited that sound doctrine provide answers to all issues of life such as "how do I determine right from wrong? What happens to me when I die? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do people act the way they do? Where do I find the life that I long for" etc; explained that there are three kinds of authority to choose from, which are external, internal and eternal authority.
Speaking on external authority, he explained that it refers to the educational, cultural, societal, religious etc world around individuals, stating that the danger of external authority includes heresies.
Internal authority, according to him, refers to an "authority based on how you feel" while eternal authority is "not the world around me but the voice within me. It is the God above me."
Stressing on sound doctrine as a molding tool in God's hand, he stated that "sound doctrine opens our inners eyes to the Fatherhood of God" who he described as, a powerful Father, personal Father, and praiseworthy father.
On sound doctrine moulding clergies to live ecclesiologically, the clergyman stated that "looking out for the interest of others is a mark of spiritual maturity and this only comes when we have imbibed ourselves in the biblical doctrine of how to live as people of God. Like a solid foundation of a building, so is the sound doctrine solidifies the church. It is the article of faith on which a believer's faith is fastened."
Highlighting that the development of creeds, the standardization of the church's organisation, the exposition of the church's own beliefs as the fourfold defence of the early church against heresy, Pastor Oladokun expressed that the Bible describes how Pastors are essentially teachers, pastors' teaching materials have been entrusted to them in the scriptures and pastors are required to be faithful.
He concluded by challenging contemporary ministers of the gospel to imitate the practices of the early discipleship Jesus who were not ignorant of the necessity of being rooted in doctrine.