There are 4 core doctrines of the Christian faith: drama, doctrine, doxology and discipleship.
By exploring these 4 core doctrines, we begin to see that they are interconnected. Each of these core doctrines help us know God on a deeper level, experience His greatness and live out an abundant Christian life. Pastor and Professor Dr. Michael Horton shares the importance of looking beyond doctrine.
“It’s a way of talking about how our faith. It is not just doctrine, it is not just the story, it is not just praise and worship, it is not just how we live following the example of Christ. It is all these things together, but we have to put the horse before the cart.”
Dr. Horton outlines each of the 4 core doctrines.
Drama.
“All of Christian truth and practice flow out of the Biblical drama.”
God reveals Himself to us along the way, and teaches us more about His character.
“We learn from what God does, the strong verbs, and who God is, the stable nouns.”
“It’s, first of all, the drama with its doctrinal implications that gives rise to a certain praise and thanksgiving toward God that shapes our lives in the world.”
Doctrine.
“We learn from the unfolding story that Christ is the central character from Genesis to Revelation. Out of that drama, you have the doctrine.”
As Christians, we believe that Christ died for all our sins, not just for the people that lived in Biblical times. Dr. Horton refers us to Romans 4:25,
“We learn not only that Christ was crucified and raised on the third day, the drama, but that he was as Paul says, ‘crucified for our sins and raised for our justification.’ The doctrine, far from being abstract, is what connects the drama to us. This isn’t just a really good story, this affects us; He did this for us.”
Doxology.
We serve a loving and merciful God. Dr. Horton reminds of the importance of our faith,
“We raise our eyes and say, ‘Lord be merciful to me, a sinner,’ and in gratitude praise and thank our God for giving us life and giving us new creation life.
Discipleship.
The recognition of God’s greatness changes the way we live, inspiring us to discipleship.
“Those who have been given the greatest gift they could ever been ever been given, begin to see the world in a different way. They begin to see all of creation as a gift rather than a burden, and their faith begins to look for things to do.”
Dr. Horton explains how this turns our faith into action.
“Out of that praise and thanksgiving, comes a joyful Christian life of obedience, discipleship, witness and callings in the world.”
