Which comes First?

In Romans 1, we that that people take part in and even celebrate all manner of filthy living. Why? Because they did not glorify God as God.

Bad theology will always lead to bad conduct.

 

Paul's statement in I Corinthians 15 that "evil communications corrupt good manners" means that bad doctrine produces bad conduct. But that doesn't mean it doesn't also work the other way around.

My speculation would be that it starts when an evil man invents and evil doctrine - such as denying the resurrection - to justify himself. He teaches this doctrine as fact thus leading others astray who might not have otherwise indulged the flesh. Peter spoke of this when he said,

"For when they [false teachers] speak great swelling words of vanity, they [false teachers] allure through the lusts of the flesh, and through much wantoness, those [the people] who were clean escaped from them [the world] who live in error.

While they [false teachers] promise them [the people] liberty, they themselves [false teachers] are servants of corruption."

Mark Osgatharp

 

That's a tough one, because it is a vicious cycle that feeds upon itself. I think people start off with pretty high standards in their doctrine. After all, they are following God and He is perfect. Then, when they see that they cannot life up to that standard, they rationalize that, surely, He must have meant something else for them and lower their standards. The next spiral downward is easier and the next is easier still.

 

A and B have both led me into "a wilderness".

I don't like the wilderness.

Dave.

 

I agree. It's a never-ending circle...

I believe bad doctrine leads to wrong living.

I also believe that many people WANT to do something wrong and they take a scripture out of context and twist it to justify their actions.

 

Did Adam and Eve have bad theology?

 

Eve did. She believed the serpent.

 

Bad doctrrine leads to bad conduct. If we can glean anything from the scriptures is that God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. His doctrine does not change. We just need to follow Him with looking from side to side.

Dr. Bob, we just need to keep our our eye on the "carrot".

 

I also think that, for the most part, bad theology does lead to bad conduct. However, I do believe that if a person is desirous of something that is evil, such as a mistress or to drink alcohol with his friends after work etc, that conduct, if not dealt with, will lead to bad theology. If not, it will cause that person to leave the fellowship of believers.

 

Usually the slide to bad doctrine is because the individual really does not believe and possess what they preach.

Until a theologocal position or viewpoint becomes your own, because you have studied and affirmed it yourself, it is merely intellectual in nature. "I believe this because my first pastor did", etc. That type of "belief" results in the sliding scale as soon as the doctrine contradicts what I want to do in my flesh!

When you truely hold to a doctrine, or a principle, you govern your lifestyle and choices based on the truth of God's Word, not the other way 'round. Biblical truth is not relative. I would say that those people who do change their position for those reasons, never really held to them in the first place, it was all a lie! One has to question whether they are truly indwelt by the spirit, or if they were merely going through the motions in an effort to satisfy their own fleshly motives.

 

I believe that bad doctrine leads to legalism and hopelessness and many other things.

 

Where the teaching of doctrine is given, then its the man who chooses to do wrong. He then will go to the place that condones his desires.

If the teaching is not there, then you can blame the lack of teaching as the beginning of the man doing wrong.

Both statements are correct.