Yes, Jesus Did Care about Correct Doctrine, and So Should We

Alex Crain | Contributor | Updated: Nov 18, 2014

Yes, Jesus Did Care about Correct Doctrine, and So Should We

“Jesus was always around people. He had a life full of relationships… What is fascinating
is that these relationships were not based on these people holding to the same theology
and doctrines as Jesus did. In fact, it's safe to say that
none of them believed like Jesus did.”
Mick Mooney: Jesus Didn't Care About Correct Doctrine, and Neither Should We

At HuffPost’s Religion Blog, author Mick Mooney recently posted a popular article with the intriguing title “Jesus Didn’t Care About Correct Doctrine, and Neither Should We.” Mooney’s title hardly squares with the actual… well, Bible, but he does make a valid point: Christians need to befriend people in every social sphere.

Christians who constantly isolate themselves from non-Christians are—plain and simple—not following Jesus. Maybe Mooney had this kind of self-centered, unfaithful-to-Jesus sort of Christian in mind when he wrote his article. Perhaps, Mooney has had a few bad experiences with dead or dying churches. That wouldn’t be surprising. Healthy churches are rare. But throwing out Christ’s vision of His church (which includes belonging to a local church) doesn’t solve the problem.

Yes, Jesus enjoyed people from all walks of life. He healed them, hung out with them, and—lest we forget—He also taught them. He knew His beliefs were 100% true. So, He invited everyone to join Him in His accurate view of God, man, sin, salvation, angels, the church, and last things—that’s doctrine. Doctrine has the unfortunate reputation of being dry, dusty, and divisive. But when Jesus said “The Scripture cannot be broken” in John 10:35, He was expressing His commitment to the foundational doctrine of Scripture’s inerrancy. When Jesus stood before Pilate and summarized His life’s mission, He didn’t say He came to befriend everyone. He said: “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice” (John 18:37).

It’s tempting to take a few bits of information here and there that we like about Jesus and make Him into someone we want. But it’s far better and more authentic to embrace the record Jesus left about Himself in the New Testament.

Your Turn: Why do you think it's tempting to believe "Jesus didn’t care about correct doctrine?" Why do people fall so easily for statements like this?

Alex Crain is the editor of Christianity.com.You can follow him on Twitter @alex_crain.

Yes, Jesus Did Care about Correct Doctrine, and So Should We