Showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things (Titus 2:10).

In the circumstances concerning the studying of Bible doctrine, I realize many do study in different ways and seem to get along just fine. However, no matter what method of study we use, there are some rules or guidelines that ought to be followed in the study of doctrine.

1. Study all doctrines contextually. Nothing is more dishonest than to study the Word of God by looking for proof texts. We dare not go to the Word of God to prove our doctrine. We go to the Bible to get our doctrine. If you want to know what the Bible teaches about a given subject, go to the place in the Bible where that subject is explained, interpreting all relevant texts in the light of those passages. Honesty compels us to interpret obscure passages by the obvious, not the obvious by the obscure. For example:—If you want to study believer’s baptism, you go to Romans 6, not Genesis 17.—If you wish to understand the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper, you must go to 1 Corinthians 11, not John 13.
2. Study the Word of God submissively. Let us bow to the Word of God. Always be prepared to give up any doctrine or practice that is not found in Holy Scripture and to embrace anything revealed in the Book of God, no matter what the sacrifice, no matter what the consequence.
3. To the degree that it is possible, we ought to state our doctrine in the very language of the Bible. I realize that for the sake of clarification and faithful exposition, we sometimes use terms that are not specifically used in the Bible (sovereignty, satisfaction, trinity, substitution, etc.). Bible doctrine is both simple and clearly revealed. The Word of God is not the secreting of God, but the Revelation of God. If a man has to take you around the world . . . trying to prove his doctrine, his doctrine is probably false.
4. Give no doctrine greater or less prominence and importance than it is given in the Scriptures. The dominant theme of Holy Scripture is the gospel of the grace of God, the message of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. The message of the Bible is Jesus Christ and Him crucified (Luke 24:27, 44-47; John 1:45; Acts 10:43). If Satan gets our focus off of Him and on something else, he has won the day.
5. “Adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things” (Titus 2:10). Let us take great care to conform our lives to our doctrine. Doctrine and duty cannot be separated. Every truth discovered in the Word of God ought to be applied to our lives. If our character and conduct does not reflect the grace and glory of God revealed in the gospel, our doctrine is utterly meaningless.

Test all doctrine by two things, two simple questions. First, Who gets the glory—God or man? Second, Does the doctrine lead you and cause you to rest in Christ? All true doctrine gives glory to God and abases man, and directs sinners to Christ, to find rest for their souls in Him (Jeremiah 6:16).

Adapted and modified from Don Fortner, Basic Bible Doctrine
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.