2Th 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:

   It is of prime importance to notice here the means that God uses to deliver men from their sin.  There are three in this text;  1. Sovereign election in eternity...  God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation...  2. Separation by the activity of the Holy Spirit... through sanctification of the Spirit... and   3. Belief of the truth.   It is the third element that I want to hone in on in this paper,  mostly because there are countless thousands who call themselves Christians  walking around who would vigorously deny what this verse plainly teaches.  They do so by stating in no uncertain terms that a man can come into the blessings of salvation apart from the knowledge & belief of the truth.  They do so by saying such things as...

* We are saved by a Person... not doctrine.
* No doctrine but Christ.
* Doctrine divides... Christ unites.

Such notions are not only decidedly unbiblical but are actually against the truth of the gospel as taught by Christ & His disciples.  They are a reflexion of the aversion men have to sound doctrine & truth which requires thinking.  People would rather go by feelings & emote then engage their minds in the truth of God’s word.  As a result they think that salvation comes apart from belief in truth & sound doctrine.  They think salvation comes by way of an  ‘experience’.
This is probably the one word used most often when folks ‘give their testimony’ of how they got saved. I shall cite here what others have said which will show what I mean & give us a foundation for this study.

In speaking to a man who is a pastor & a professing 5 point 'Calvinist' he stated that... Salvation is in a Person not doctrine. A man is saved by believing in a Person... afterwards we must teach him doctrine.

Another wrote...
“But it better be more than doctrine you are holding on to.  It had better be more than the word of God... One must trust in more than the word of God he must trust in the WORD of God and in
the God of the word.  I am trying to say that it is a relational experience not JUST a doctrinal one.”  [his emphasis]

Aside from the denial of the orthodox doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture... or... as the reformers say... Sola  Scriptura.... this statement reflects the false notion that doctrine is not enough for salvation.

The next reference ought to astound & shock all who love God’s truth. I cite it for 2 reasons; 1. It presents a good example of the view in as full a way as can be found and...  2. Since it comes from such a ‘well known’ source it demonstrates how pervasive such unbiblical thinking is & how deeply it has penetrated the Christian community.

“We affirm that, although true doctrine is vital for health and spiritual well being, we are not saved by doctrine.  Doctrine is necessary to inform us how we may be saved by Christ, but it is Christ who saves.”
He then goes on to ‘assure’ us all that, even though doctrine is not necessary for salvation it is ‘vital’  to the Christian life, as stated above;

“We deny that the doctrines of the Gospel can be rejected without harm.  Denial of the Gospel brings spiritual ruin and exposes us to God’s judgment.”
Getting the Gospel Right by  R. C. Sproul   Baker  Books... p 107

Such a mistake coming from the rank & file of many untaught people might be excused but when it comes from such a man as Sproul it ought to make us weep!  At least he does not abandon doctrine altogether as many do.  What he does do is display the fact that he is ignorant of the teaching of the Bible on this issue,  which is inexcusable for a man of such influence.  Aside from affirming the unbiblical notion of ‘Christ saves not doctrine’ Sproul entangles himself in a contradiction that should be obvious to anyone.  If we are “not saved by doctrine” then how can the  gospel be defined as “doctrines of the Gospel” ?  Is the gospel doctrine or not?

Let us then, without further ado, examine the Word of God & see if such a notion of “salvation apart from doctrine” is Biblical or not.   I shall begin by stating a principle;  showing that it is Biblical & then show some examples of it in action in the Scriptures.

Principle;
No Doctrine ...   No Salvation!
The verse at the head of this paper is enough to establish this truth. We are plainly told that God saves people by *belief of the truth.*  Therefore, we may state the principle according to this verse...
No belief of the truth ...  No salvation!

And...  hold fast folks... Anybody...  anybody... who denies this... is not a Christian!  Why?  Because he has denied God in the way He saves people & is calling God a liar!   The words Truth, and Doctrine,  as used in the Bible  are synonymous and to say that a man can be saved apart from knowing doctrine is to say that a man is saved apart from belief in the truth which is a denial of the God of Scripture!  Belief of the truth, ladies & gentlemen, is the ‘head’ of the life of salvation;  continuation in that truth is the ‘body’... and you need both!  But men like Sproul want to come along and decapitate the head from the body and would have us believe that men are delivered from the fires of hell by a headless monster... that in reality can save nobody!

The section of the NT that contains the foundation upon which the covenant of redemption is rooted... summarily known to us all as the Sermon on the Mount... is loaded with doctrine. I urge all to study this passage carefully.... prayerfully... with a mind in subjection to the Spirit of Truth.
For our purpose I should like to offer the last two verses which give us what might be known in journalism as a ‘critical statement’ of the Sermon...

And it came to pass, says Matthew...  that when Jesus had ended these sayings,....  sayings which conveyed sound doctrine... that  the people  were astonished at his.... doctrine: !
For he taught them...   teaching that is rooted in doctrine...  as [one] having authority, and not as the scribes. Mt 7:28

And so ladies & gentlemen... we have the example of the Savior Himself demonstrating the principle that without good & godly doctrine a man cannot know God. But I am getting ahead of  my self. What I just said is reflected in John  which we shall come to shortly... or maybe longly because there is so much data in the NT alone that demolishes the false notion of salvation apart from doctrine & truth that this will probably  become a series of articles.  But I am still showing Scripture that demonstrates the principle I have stated above.  Here is another;

Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this you  shall  both save thyself, and them that hear you. 1Ti 4:16

This verse... is a blazing testimony to the truth that salvation is inseparably connected to doctrine and he who would deny this fights against God!  It is by doctrine says Paul to Timothy, that men come into the way of salvation.  Nor is this directed to the teacher only... for what good were any doctrine taught if those who hear reject it? This verse is an exhortation to all who would call themselves Christian, that unless they take good heed to Godly doctrine which is nothing more than an expression of Truth... they will end up in the lake of fire!  Salvation, says Paul, is the offspring of the doctrine of God.  Another;

According as his divine power has  given unto us all things that  [pertain] unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that has called us to glory and virtue:  2Pe 1:3

The word “life” in this verse can be accounted as the “head” of salvation while “godliness” is the “body ”.   Mr Sproul & those who follow him would behead this verse & have folks enter into life by some other means than sound & proper knowledge given to us by God Himself!  Their notion is clearly opposed to what Peter teaches us here. How is it that men pass out of death into life?  Some say it is anything but doctrine.  We must have a “salvation experience” & then we shall know that we have entered into the path of life.  But here Peter says it’s “through the knowledge of him”.  Therefore,  without a proper knowledge of God there can be no salvation.   This is in accord with the very words of the Savior Himself;  Notice...

And this is life eternal, that they might know you the only true  God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. Jn 17:3

Eternal life, says the Savior, consists in the knowledge of God... and of Jesus Christ!  This is of extreme importance because the prophecy of the Savior Himself that false christs shall arise is fulfilled in our very day!  More on this later... but for now it is without contest to say that unless a man knows God AND His Christ of Scripture he is lost!   Experience notwithstanding!
And so... according to both Christ and Peter... if a man has not the knowledge of God he has not life.  No matter how intense an experience he has had... if he does not have the knowledge of God he is still dead in his sin!  More....

And we know that the Son of God is come, and has given us an  understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that  is true, [even] in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and  eternal life. 1Jo 5:20

This verse, which was penned by the same John who wrote Jn 17:3 is an amplification & further clarification not only of the fact that knowledge of God and of Christ is indispensable to salvation... but he explains what the nature of that knowledge is and it  is not in an ‘emotional experience’.  Rather, it is a knowledge that is rooted in a person’s  *understanding*  and  not his emotions.  God is teaching us by these passages that salvation must come to a man by way of understanding... not the emotions.  Salvation therefore, is a confrontation... not with some ‘mystical’ notion of “god” that super-charges one’s emotions... but it is a confrontation with the Truth!  And apart from such a confrontation salvation is nothing but a puff of smoke!  Jesus Christ came to declare unto us His Father & God & He did so by way of doctrine.

Matt 22: 32  I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
 33  And when the multitude heard [this], they were astonished at his doctrine.

and if a man has no doctrinal understanding of God & His gospel then he does not know God.  And if a man does not know God he is....  lost!

And so...  seeing as this material will expand  into a series of articles,  I shall adjourn here by pointing out that one of the foundational principles of the false gospel of the Arminians... who for the most part like to talk about their “salvation experience”... is this notion that a correct & proper understanding of gospel doctrine is not necessary for salvation.  I hope by this short study that that notion has been exposed for what it is; a mis-representation of the truth of God, which is exactly what Satan did in the garden... he mis-represented the truth to Eve... and her error of embracing such misrepresentation extended to her husband, the result of which was to move the entire ensuing offspring of human beings into the precarious & uncomfortable position of being fully exposed to the wrath of God. Why?  Because when one misrepresents the truth of Scripture he misrepresents the God of Truth & the result is nothing but idolatry and God hates idolatry with a holy vengeance.  If anybody thinks that a man can be saved apart from the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit of God... who Himself is called in Scripture the Spirit of Truth... and apart from belief of the truth then that person knows nothing of the gospel of salvation or the God of Truth. He is deluded, deceived... and if he persists... shall be damned!  Mark 16:16

Salvation is not a matter of an emotional experience... or an ‘encounter’ with God.  It is a matter of truth & if a man does not know the truth then he does not know God....

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