Two people can hold the exact same doctrine, same confession, same theological system, same convictions about sovereignty, grace, election, and predestination, but one produces rest in people and the other produces fear. One draws people to truth, the other drives them away from it. One feeds hungry souls and the other just displays their own knowledge. What's the difference? It's whether doctrine is being used as bread or as a trophy.

Welcome to the Pristine Grace Podcast. I'm your host, Brandon Kraft, and I'm thankful you're here with me today. This is a show where I discuss the gospel, Christian living, theology, and other Bible subjects. And if you're new here, I'd encourage you to subscribe and check out my website at pristinegrace.org.

And also before I really get into it, I just want to talk quickly about a book recommendation of mine. It came up because I was talking with a friend, Crystal, on Friday night. We were at my wife's charity event for cats. She plays the saxophone and was giving a little concert for cats. And she showed up. She's also in my community band. And we just really hit it off. We had a good time, had a good time of fellowship, talking about the gospel and the Bible and Turns out she happens to have a love for Spurgeon and other old writers just like me, and she mentioned one of her favorite daily devotional books. And I was thrilled to hear her mention it, and I agree. It's a great one.

I thought I'd recommend it on today's podcast. I know some listeners out there might might appreciate it. And the book is called Jewels from John Newton. I don't know if you can see that very well or not here for the camera. There you go. Hopefully it comes into focus. But it's basically daily readings from the works of John Newton. And John Newton, most people know him as the author of the hymn Amazing Grace. And he's one of my favorite writers of the past. And someone has gone through all of his works and turned them into small articles for reading on a daily basis. And I got to say, they are excellent. So if you're looking for a good daily devotional, I can certainly recommend this book. It's not the only devotional I like, and it's not necessarily my favorite, but I just thought I'd mention it.

There are others I would recommend, which include Spurgeon's Morning and Evening, of course. J.C. Philpott, probably one of my top three writers of all time, he has a couple of devotionals. And another one is, somebody else has recently published Octavius Winslow's Morning Thoughts, which is a devotional for every day of the year. And he's also, they've also published his Evening Thoughts. Octavius Winslow, great writer of the past that wrote, he was prolific in his abilities and I really enjoy them. So, let me fix this. Here we go. And I think you'll really like them if you're into that sort of thing. I mean, not everybody's a daily devotional reader. I tend not to be a daily devotional reader myself, but I do like to, I like to sit down and read a chunk of articles at a time. And so, yeah, I find these devotionals to be very good and beneficial to the reader.

So just thought I'd make those recommendations. and we're going to go back on topic now. So you heard my opening remarks and we're going to talk about something today that I think is desperately needed in reform circles and sovereign grace circles, really in all Christian churches where sound doctrine is valued. And we're going to talk about what happens when doctrine stops being bred that feeds people and becomes a trophy that displays our knowledge, when the truth stops serving others and starts elevating ourselves.

Now, you know how these episodes go. I like to state up front that this isn't going to be a quick episode. So get comfortable. Pour yourself coffee, tea, soda, whatever you like to drink, because we're going to take our time with this as usual. And I think it's something that a lot of us need to examine within our own hearts. And I include myself in all that whenever I preach. Most of the time I'm preaching to me and you just happen to listen to it, okay? Because I've been guilty of this. I've been using, I've been guilty of turning doctrine into a weapon, of wielding the truth like a club, of caring more about being right than actually being helpful. I know that may sound surprising to some of you, but those of you who've known me for a long time, you know what I'm talking about. Like I said, this is me preaching to me and just as much as to anyone else.

So let me start by defining what I mean when I say doctrine becomes a trophy. First of all, you all know what bread is. Bread feeds. It nourishes the body. Trophies, on the other hand, they display. You put them in a shelf for everybody to look at. Bread, it nourishes. Trophies though, they prove you won something. Bread, that sustains a life. Trophies though, they sit on a shelf showing everyone how accomplished you are. And when doctrine is bred, it feeds hungry souls, it comforts struggling believers, it points people to Christ, and it gives them something to rest in. But when doctrine becomes a trophy, it becomes a status marker, a way to show how much you know, a way to prove you're more theologically sound than someone else, a way to establish yourself as superior, And instead of serving others with truth, you're elevating yourself through truth. That's the difference. That's the difference I was talking about, and it's a critical difference, because the same truths, the same glorious doctrines of grace can either feed people or absolutely crush them, depending on how they're wielded.

And Scripture warns us about this explicitly. We're going to turn straight to 1 Corinthians chapter 8 and look at verses 1 and 2. Which Paul writes, Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. And if any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.

All right. Knowledge. It puffs up. It inflates. It makes us proud. It inflates our enormous heads and feeds our egos. Okay? But love, on the other hand, love edifies. Love serves. Love helps. It aims to help people. And notice that second verse. If any man thinks he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. The very act of thinking we know, of being confident in our knowledge, is often the beginning of pride. The beginning of using that knowledge wrongly. Because true knowledge produces humility. It produces a recognition of how much we don't know. Okay? So, It tells us how much we still need to learn, how dependent we are on God's teachings. But false knowledge that's become a trophy, well that produces arrogance. It produces self-confidence and a sense of superiority. And folks, that is absolutely deadly, spiritually deadly.

Now, let me give you some signs that doctrine has become a trophy instead of bread. OK, because I think we need to be honest about what this looks like in ourselves and in others.

OK, so the first sign is that everything becomes a salvation test. That's the first sign that I've noticed. When doctrine is a trophy, you start making every doctrinal point a test of whether someone's saved. Every disagreement becomes a question of whether they're truly regenerate and trusting in the Lord. And if someone doesn't understand imputation the way you do, they're probably not saved. That's the way that goes. Someone uses language you don't use, well, they're probably a false professor. Someone hasn't grasped all the implications of sovereign grace. they're probably still dead in sin. Okay? Everything becomes a salvation test. And the bar just keeps getting higher and higher and higher. Okay? That's the first sign.

Now the second sign is obsession with precision and wording. Okay? When doctrine is bred, you care about truth being communicated clearly, but You have grace for imprecise language, not only in yourself, but in others. And you understand that people are learning, they're growing, they're developing, and God is watering them and feeding them and causing them to grow in grace and knowledge. But when doctrine is a trophy, you become obsessed with exact wording. You pounce on any phrase that's not technically precise. And you correct every little imperfection. There are people out there that listen to my podcasts and are writing down all the things that I've said wrong. And I'm sure they're going to do on this one as well. Okay. They're, they're, they're cynical nitpickers. That's okay. But, and it's not because they're interested in helping people to understand. It's about them showing that they understand better than you do. Okay.

And the third sign is constant correction and call-outs. Okay, when doctrine is bred, you correct when necessary, when error is significant, when someone's in danger of departing from the faith. But when doctrine is a trophy, well, you're constantly correcting. You're constantly calling people out. You're constantly finding fault, not just on primary issues, but every little secondary issue and everything that can possibly create a difference. Because correction becomes a way to display your knowledge. to show everyone how sharp you are, to prove you're more discerning than others, that you have your finger on the pulse of truth more than others, and that you're wiser than everybody else. All right? That's the third sign.

And the fourth sign, it's a lack of pastoral concern or tenderness. It's a lack of gentleness. And when doctrine is bred, you correct others with love, with gentleness, with a genuine concern for that person's spiritual well-being. But when doctrine is a trophy, well, there is no tenderness. There's no compassion. There's no pastoral heart. It's just cold correction. It's hard rebuke and it's sharp critique. And if you do teach, it's nothing more than a theology lesson because you're not trying to help people. You're trying to show off your knowledge.

And the fifth sign that truth is a trophy for you, that's people that are around you. They start to feel measured around you, not helped. When doctrine is bred, people walk away from you feeling fed, and they feel encouraged, and they feel built up, and they feel helped. But when doctrine is a trophy, People walk away feeling measured. They feel evaluated. They feel found wanting. And they don't feel like you're trying to help them. They feel like you're trying to grade them to see if they measure up to your standard. And that is tragic because that's not what doctrine is for. Now let me show you what scripture says about how God's servants should handle truth.

2nd Timothy chapter 2 verses 24 and 25 say, and the servant of the Lord must not strive But be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.

Okay. The servant of the Lord must not strive, must not be quarrelsome, must not be contentious. Instead, they should be gentle, be patient, be apt to teach, which means they're skilled at teaching, be able to communicate truth effectively, And notice how we're to instruct. We're supposed to instruct in meekness, not in harshness, not in pride, not in superiority, but in meekness. Instructing those that oppose themselves, people who are confused. people who are wrong, people who need correction. But how do we do that? Paul says, with gentleness, with patience, and with meekness, not crushing them, not humiliating them, not displaying our superior knowledge, but helping them, serving them, and building them up.

And notice at the end of that verse, Paul says, if God peradventure will give them repentance, if God will give them repentance. It's God who changes hearts, okay? It's God who brings people to truth. It's not our harsh corrections, it's not our superior knowledge, and it's not our perfect precision. It's God. And God does that through gentle, patient, and meek instruction. And that is the biblical model. And it's the opposite of using doctrine as a trophy.

Now let me show you another passage, Romans chapter 14 verse 1, where it says, Him that is weak in the faith, receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. Him that is weak in the faith. Okay, there are believers who are weak. There are those who don't understand everything yet, who haven't grasped all the doctrines, who still have wrong ideas about some things. What does Paul say we should do with them? Receive them. not reject them, not question their salvation, not measure them against our standard of theological precision, but receive them, welcome them, treat them as brothers and sisters in Christ. And not to doubtful disputations, not to argue with them about every little point, not to make them prove they're sound enough to be accepted, but just receive them because they're weak in understanding, not rebellious in heart,

And weakness assumes patience. It assumes growth will take time. It assumes they need teaching, not rejection. But when doctrine becomes a trophy, we don't receive the weak. We police them. We scrutinize them and we test them at every turn. And that's not biblical. That's not the heart of Christ. That's not how God treats us.

Now let me show you what godly wisdom looks like, because I think this is crucial. James 3, verse 17 says, All right. Wisdom from above. Godly wisdom, true spiritual maturity. It's pure. Yes, truth matters. Sound doctrine matters. You'll hear me repeat that a lot because I get accused of not believing it. But notice what else it is. It's peaceable. It's gentle. It's easy to be entreated or it's approachable or reasonable, willing to listen. Okay, it's full of mercy and good fruits without partiality, without hypocrisy. That's what godly wisdom looks like. And harshness isn't on that list. Not at all. Intimidation isn't there. And pride isn't there. And trophy-wielding isn't there. Gentleness is. Mercy is. And being approachable is there on that list. And if our doctrine isn't producing those things, we need to examine whether we're using it rightly.

Because harsh doctrine, doctrine wielded as a weapon, it's not a mark of spiritual maturity. It's a mark of immaturity. And I don't care how old you are, if you've been preaching for 50 years, or if you're brand new to the faith, it's a mark of immaturity. It's a mark of pride, of insecurity, of needing to prove ourselves through knowledge.

Now, I want to make something clear because I don't want anyone to misunderstand what I'm saying. I am not saying we should compromise the truth. We shouldn't. Truth matters. And I'm not saying we should never correct error. Okay, we should because error is dangerous. I'm not saying we should be soft on false teaching. We shouldn't. False teaching destroys people, destroys souls.

But what I am saying is that there's a difference between clarity and cruelty. You can be firm without being violent. You can hold to truth without wielding it like a club. And you can correct without crushing people. And don't even think of being a Bible thumper, because that's not right. Okay? Truth can be sharp without being harsh. Conviction doesn't require intimidation. Correction should aim at restoration, not humiliation.

And let me give you another example here. Two people correct the same error. Okay, this could be in Facebook, this could be in a church, it could be anywhere. And you've got one person, person A we'll call them, and they'll say, that's wrong, that's heresy, if you believe that, you're not saved, you need to repent or you're going to hell. Now ask yourself, how many times have you heard people talk that way? I've heard that a lot. All right, now let's talk about the second person. We'll call them person B. And they say, I think there's confusion here. Can I show you what scripture says about this? I want to help you see what Christ has actually accomplished. Okay? It's the same truth. And it's the same error being corrected, but it's a completely different spirit. The first one, it crushes The second one builds. The first one drives away. The second one draws in. The first one displays knowledge. And the other one, the second one serves with knowledge. And that's the difference between doctrine as a trophy and doctrine as bread.

Now I want to give you some self tests because I think we all need to examine ourselves here.

First question I have for you is, do people feel helped after you speak? When you correct someone, when you teach someone, when you share truth with someone, do they walk away feeling helped and fed or built up? or do they walk away feeling crushed, measured, and found wanting? If it's the latter, you might be using doctrine as a trophy.

Second question, do people feel safe asking you questions? Can people come to you with honest questions without fear of being attacked? Can they admit confusion without being judged? Or do people avoid asking you things because they're afraid you'll use their question as an opportunity to show how much more that you know? If people don't feel safe asking you questions, you're probably using doctrine as a trophy.

Third question. Am I more concerned with being right or being useful? That's a question you need to ask yourself. When you engage in theological discussions, what's your primary goal? To prove you're right or to help people understand truth? Is it to win the argument or to serve the person? Is it to display your knowledge or to feed hungry souls? And if it's the former, well, you're using doctrine as a trophy.

Fourth question, does my teaching lead people to rest in Christ? When people hear you teach, when they listen to you explain doctrine, do they walk away with more confidence in Christ, more rest in his finished work, more assurance in his blood? Or do they walk away with more anxiety about whether they believe correctly enough? more fear about whether they measure up, more uncertainty about their salvation. Because sound doctrine, that should lead to rest in Christ and not anxiety about our understanding. And if your teaching produces anxiety, something's wrong. And it's not with the doctrine necessarily, but with how you're wielding it.

Now, let me bring this all back to the gospel because this all matters in light of what Christ has done for us. Our assurance doesn't rest in our theological precision. It rests in Christ's perfect work. Romans 5 verse 8 says, But God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Well, we were yet sinners, not while we understood everything correctly, not while we had perfect doctrine. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, and he shed his blood for us, and he bore our sins in his body on the tree.

And 1 Peter chapter 1 verses 18 and 19 say, For as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. Okay, we were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, not with perfect theology, not with flawless understanding, not with precise doctrinal articulation, but we were redeemed with His blood, His sacrifice, His substitutionary death.

In 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 21 says, For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Christ was made sin for us. Our sin was laid on him and his righteousness was given to us. And that's what saves us and that's what secures us and that's what gives us assurance. not how well we understand doctrine, not how precisely we can articulate truth, His blood, His righteousness, His finished work.

And when we really grasp that, when we understand that our salvation is all of Christ and none of us, it produces humility. It kills the pride that wants to use doctrine as a trophy. It destroys the arrogance that wants to display our knowledge. Because we realize we're just sinners saved by grace. People who were dead and who were made alive. People who had nothing and were given everything. And if that's true of us, well, it's true of every other believer too. They're just sinners saved by grace. People who need patience. People who need bread, not trophies.

In theology, that should lead to humility and peace, not pride and fear. It should make us more gentle, not more harsh, more patient, not more critical, more helpful, not more superior. Because truth came by Jesus Christ, and Jesus was full of grace and truth, and he still is. John chapter 1 verse 14 says, And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glories of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Full of grace and truth. Not truth without grace, not grace without truth, but both together. and grace softens how we speak truth. Truth gives substance to the grace we show.

And verse 17 says, For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. grace and truth together in perfect balance and in perfect harmony. And that's what we're called to grace and truth, not just truth wielded harshly, not just grace with no substance, but both speaking truth, but speaking it in love and holding to sound doctrine. But, also holding it with humility, teaching accurately, but teaching gently. And that's doctrine that is bred. That's truth that serves. That's knowledge that builds up instead of puffing up.

Now, before I end, let me speak to those of you who've been hurt by doctrine wielded as a trophy. I just got to say, I'm sorry. I'm sorry you've been crushed by people who care more about being right than being loving. And I'm sorry you've been measured and found wanting by people who forgot they were sinners saved by grace. That's not how Christ treats his people, and that's not the heart of the gospel, and that's not what sound doctrine is supposed to do. Sound doctrine is supposed to feed you, it's supposed to comfort you, and point you to Christ, and give you assurance, help you rest in His finished work, not crush you, not make you anxious, and not make you feel like you'll never measure up. And if you've been hurt by harsh theology, please don't let that drive you away from the truth. Don't let trophy wielders make you afraid of sound doctrine, because the problem wasn't the doctrine, the problem was how it was used. Truth is still true. Sound doctrine is still worth holding. And sovereign grace is still glorious. But it should be shared with gentleness, with patience, with a pastoral heart that cares about your soul, not just about proving a point.

And let me speak to those of you who recognize yourself in what I've been describing, those who realize you've been using doctrine as a trophy. Me too. I've been there. I've done that. I've wielded truth harshly and I've corrected cruelly. And I've cared more about being right than being helpful. And I had to repent. I had to ask God to change my heart. To give me love for people and not just love for being correct. and to help me use truth to serve, not to elevate myself. And I'm still learning and I'm still growing and still having to guard against that pride that wants to make doctrine about me instead of about Christ.

So I'm not standing above you preaching down. I'm standing beside you saying, we both need to grow in this. We both need to remember that knowledge puffs up and love builds up. And we both need to be gentle, patient, and meek in our instruction. And we both need to receive the weak instead of policing them. We both need to use doctrine as bread, not as a trophy.

Galatians chapter 5 verse 15 says, But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. Biting and devouring, that's what cannibals do. And that's what happens when doctrine becomes a weapon, when truth becomes a trophy, when knowledge becomes a tool for attack. And it doesn't just hurt the person being attacked, it consumes everyone involved. It destroys fellowship, and it crushes joy, and it drives people away from the truth. And we have to stop. We have to repent. And we have to learn to wield truth with love. Because the goal isn't to win arguments. The goal is to feed hungry souls, to point people to Christ, and to help them rest in His finished work. That's what doctrine is for. That's what truth is for. It's not for display. It's for nourishment. It's not for trophies. It's for bread.

And that's about all I have for you today. I hope it's challenged you like it's challenged me and I hope it's made you examine how you use doctrine, how you share truth and how you treat other believers. Are we feeding people or just displaying our knowledge? Are we serving others or elevating ourselves? Are we using doctrine as bread or as a trophy? And those are hard questions, but necessary questions.

So may God help us to be gentle, patient, and meek in our teaching. May he help us to receive the weak instead of policing them. May he help us to speak truth in love. And may our doctrine always point people to Christ and his finished work, not to ourselves and our superior knowledge.

So if you have questions or need to talk, You can go to my website, pristinegrace.org, and there's a contact form on there. And I'd love to hear from you. And that's all I have for today. So grace and peace to you. Goodbye.