The Leimma.net "approach" to building sound doctrine

There is an old saying along the lines of "how do you eat an elephant?".

The answer?

One bite at a time!

Bible study to some believers can seem a daunting task, especially with regards to tackling the dominant theologies that are operating within today's ekklesia - the "called out" body of men and women who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, Redeemer, and soon coming King.

This seemingly daunting task is the reason why many believers embrace and cling to particular theologies which appear to have everything already figured out!  It then just becomes a matter of finding the one that you like best.  Which one makes the most sense to you?  Which one makes you feel good?  Which one does not make you feel uncomfortable?  Which one is the one under which you were raised, or went to Bible school for, or is the one for which you possibly may occupy a leadership position - paid or unpaid - in a Christian church or fellowship?

What is the central problem with everything just described in the above paragraph?

Simple - it's all about YOU!  It's all about what YOU want!  It's all about what YOU like!

On the other hand, one of the wonderful Biblical principles that we have learned so far is that God Himself has made it clear in his own words that "I declare things that are right" (Isaiah 4:19).  We don't get to read what He says in His Word and then turn around and tell Him and His Church that what those words and principles actually mean is something other that what they plainly say.  Our job is to reason together and to focus upon how the myriad and wonderful truths that He simply declares in His own Word speak to us directly.  And then, to just accept what God is telling us!

Therefore, with so many wonderful brothers and sisters in the Lord going to so many different churches and fellowships, how on earth did we ever get to the scrambled situation we now find ourselves in?  We literally have churches in the same town that proclaim Christian unity yet hold fast to doctrines and theologies that are mutually exclusive.  In other words, for some of these churches to be 100% correct, the others must be 100% incorrect.

This is madness, and it is exactly what Paul warned us of in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, that there would be "divisions" among the church.

The enemy that we face operates under some very basic strategies, and premier among them is the strategy of divide and conquer.  Create division, then use that division to split churches and fellowships and keep the ekklesia from operating in true Christian unity.  Jesus said Himself that "a house divided cannot stand".  The enemy knows this and uses this regularly to attack the Church.  And it is quite clear that today's Church suffers greatly from the lack of true unity and cohesiveness caused by these substantial fractures in theological conclusions.

Now then, are we trying to suggest that there can exist some wonderful and perfect Christian utopia here on earth as we await our Lord's Second Coming?  That is obviously not going to happen.  We all see "through a glass, darkly".  We are all "different parts of the same body".  We all have different gifts and administrations.  We all have different ways of looking at the same thing.  At the same time, we are also all sinners in need of a Savior.

But one thing that we can do a better job of is this:  We need to be equipped and vigilant in realizing when a particular doctrine or theology has grown so pervasive that it can no longer realize that it is in fact teaching concepts that are (at best) extra-Biblical and (at worst) outright heretical.  This is all and only with respect to the information provided by God's Word.

Take all of the theology books, and, well, just set them aside.  It is the theologies themselves that are divisive because they create Biblical paradoxes that require the other "side" of a Biblical discussion to be wrong in order for them to be right.

We are of the humble but firm conviction that the one thing that all of the theologies have in common is that none of them are correct.  Not only are they not 100% correct as they would have their adherents to believe, they are considerably less than 100%.  Like a lot less.

In fact, a cursory cruise through the central tenets of today's dominant Christian theologies reveals doctrinal flaws that are so grievous that they actually cause the entire theological structure to collapse upon itself.  The theologies are built upon a shaky foundation consisting of less than sound conclusions.  As the rest of the theology is then built on top of this shaky foundation, the structure teeters and sways as it attempts to maintain integrity.

This is just not the way in which the New Testament has called us to operate in with regards to teaching sound doctrine.

So then in what ways are we called?

1. Come and reason together - iron sharpens iron

2. Hear a matter thoroughly (i.e. take the time to truly understand both sides) before deciding the matter

3. Search the scriptures to see if what man says is also so in His Word

4. Engage and put into effect the full counsel of God's Word - do not "cherry pick" the scriptures

5. Embrace seeming contradictions in scripture by digging harder to find the Biblical resolution

6. Acknowledge if at times the scriptures just do not exist to provide closure on every controversial subject

Imagine all of the people in the world today who believe that Jesus Christ is the only Son of God, was born of a virgin, who had a public ministry in the land of Judea, who was crucified and buried, and who rose again triumphantly from the grave in order to conquer sin and death.  Now imagine the "systems" that these people have chosen to come together under, the theological constructs under which various churches and fellowships have been formed since the Apostolic age and are yet still in operation to this day.

Some of these systems may represent a specific "church", and some of these systems may collectively represent many different "churches" who more or less identify with that particular system.  Before we list these dominant theological systems, we cannot even begin to say or judge that every member of each of these systems is 100% a Christian believer who will be raised up at the Last Day.  Nor can we say or judge that none of the members of these systems will be raised up.  Only God can discern the thoughts and intents of the heart.

So without further adieu, here are six systems, presented in order of Church history, that we believe each of them in their own way, with some of course more or less than the others, dominate and/or exert significant influence upon the current Christian landscape as described in the previous two paragraphs:

  CATHOLICISM

  CALVINISM

  ADVENTISM

  DISPENSATIONALISM

  PENTECOSTALISM

  UNIVERSALISM

There are many other systems out there that call themselves "Christian" but which fall short in significant tenets such as the Deity of Christ, that Jesus is not a created being, and/or that also teach so very many other peculiar doctrines that are clearly way outside of the scope of what the Holy Bible teaches.  The Church of today typically uses the word "cult" to describe these para-Christian systems today.  But of course, one man's "cult" is another man's "truth".  So without needing to resort to name calling or offensive labeling, we just seek to respectfully examine the six systems listed as being representative of the vast majority of what most folks might refer to as today's Christian Church.

That being said, we also believe that a careful, balanced, and reasonable examination of the central tenets of each of these six systems will reveal that they all represent, as far as only the Word of God is concerned, false doctrines at best and outright heresy at worst.  This is not done lightly, however, as care is also taken to present and fully explain what each system actually believes in order to demonstrate an understanding of the system that goes beyond mere criticism.  Credit is given where credit is due as these systems also no doubt contain to some extent scripturally sound doctrines as well.  Strengths and gifts are acknowledged where appropriate, yet we cannot hold back on calling out any false teachings.

That's a big elephant to eat, no doubt.  A very bold claim.  And yet, we can back it up with the plain declarations of nothing other than the Holy Bible.  At the same time, in the light of such a bold claim, we must immediately step way back and deliver the following disclaimer - for lack of a better term!

While we seek to present an approach that not only handles all of these systems with respect and humility, we also seek to always remain "teachable".  Our conclusions, while striving to be based on the best and most pertinent and declarative information provided solely by the 66 books of the Holy Bible, are nevertheless still subject to correction.

In fact, we invite it.

All we ask is that you take the time to honestly examine the matter from both sides before you decide it.  We strive to put emphasis on only those things we can know for sure from scripture, and yet we are going to also make mistakes no matter how hard we try to be accurate, objective, and independent.  These may be mistakes of "commission" whereby we may be getting a little too overconfident or overbearing in our approach, or mistakes of "omission" whereby we may have left out key scriptural truth when dealing with the subject at hand.

If you see this happening, please let us know.  Your input is valued and welcomed and will be taken seriously.  What we also ask, however, is that you please do not engage with us from the point of view of your preferred theology.  Please don't push or defend your construct.  Please just focus on calling out Biblically related errors in the subject at hand where our offered reasoning and conclusions are clearly flawed.  Any such flaws will be cheerfully acknowledged and modified as needed to reflect the correction that was offered.  Additional scripture references on any and all subjects at hand are and will always be especially appreciated.

Let's build our understanding together!

Our contact page therefore is crafted to facilitate the submission of input that begins with a focused and reasonable appeal which can then serve as the opportunity for us to reach back to you for follow up and further discussion.

And so with all of that in mind, let us come and reason together through these six dominant theologies of today, one bite at a time!