…but, speaking the truth in love, [we] may grow up in all things into Him who is the head – Christ...

  - Ephesians 4.15

The Lord chose him so that he might teach the barbarian
nations, so that he might fish with nets of doctrine;
so that he might draw believers out of the world to grace,
and they might follow the Lord to a heavenly seat.

  - Sechnall, Audite Omnes Amantes, Irish, 6th century[1]

Personal Mission Field: Preparation
In explaining his astonishingly fruitful ministry among the pagan Irish, Patrick insisted that it was necessary for him to “fish well, and diligently.” Sechnall, a contemporary and the successor of Patrick, says that he did precisely that, “with nets of doctrine.”

Poor Patrick. He didn’t get the memo, in wide circulation among many Christians today, that doctrine is strictly out, no-no, impolitic, intolerant, and very un-postmodern. Doctrine, my friend, is the last thing people want to hear today. Tell us stories. Make us laugh. Pander to our felt needs. But by no means – none, nada – give us doctrine.

Sechnall sang of the essence of Patrick’s ministry: through the preaching and teaching of sound doctrine, Patrick brought salvation to the lost and sanctification to the saved. Now this is interesting. Unwashed, pagan, immoral, Celts in Ireland repented of their sins and devoted themselves to follow Jesus upon hearing the doctrines of Christ, the Trinity, the Kingdom, salvation, and so forth.

Are we more hard of heart and shallow of mind than those ancient Celts?

The current suspicion toward all things doctrinal on the part of many Christians has yet to prove its power, compared to the preaching of Patrick. We have avoided doctrine like the plague for at least a generation now, and the Church is more irrelevant to the times, and more studiously avoided by the lost, than ever in our lifetimes. Perhaps it’s time to give doctrine another try?

Don’t you love that metaphor: “fishing with nets of doctrine”? It is the truth of God, proclaimed in love, that reaches the hardened hearts of rebellious sinners and the revives the redeemed hearts of eager disciples. The longer we allow doctrine to languish, the shallower and more indistinct our faith and our churches will become.

Jesus said the truth will set us free – not sentiment – and truth is communicated through doctrine. There was nothing un-doctrinal about the preaching of Celtic missionaries. They stood the early medieval world right-side up by fishing with nets of doctrine and gathering a catch that few eras of Church history have ever witnessed.

Christian doctrine is the truth about Jesus that sets us free from fear, doubt, hopelessness, anxiety, and aimlessness. We despise or neglect doctrine to our detriment, as well as to that of the lost men and women of our day.

The world is awash with lies and half-truths, and people are drowning in deceit. It’s time to get out the nets of doctrine, my friends.

Psalm 51.10-13 (Passion Chorale: “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded”)
Create in me a clean heart, renew me from within!
Take not Your Spirit from me because of all my sin.
Salvation’s joy restore, Lord, and keep me in Your hand;
Thus shall I tell Your strong Word to sinners in the land.

Lord, do I know enough doctrine to lead someone to a saving knowledge of Jesus?

Speaking of doctrine
One of the great doctrines of Christmas is that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil ( cf. 1 Jn. 3.8). I’ll be talking about this next Saturday, the 19^th, in our ViewPoint column for the day. Christmas marks the coming to earth of God’s eternal Kingdom – a new beginning with a new King and a new promise for every day of our lives. But it also marks the end of a kingdom – that of the devil. If you’d like to learn more about the power of Christ to destroy the works of the devil, I encourage you to order a copy of Satan Bound: A Theology of Evil, from our online store. In fact, order two copies and give one as a gift to a friend. Then get together to read, discuss, and study this unique approach to a major Christmas theme.

Thank you to those of you who, having sought the Lord in prayer, have begun giving to the support of The Fellowship of Ailbe. We rejoice to see the Lord working in you in this way, and we pray that many more of you will come before the Lord and wait on Him with this question in mind: “Lord, should I support this work through my gifts as well as my prayers?

It’s easy to give to The Fellowship of Ailbe, and all gifts are, of course, tax-deductible. You can click here to donate online through credit card or PayPal, or send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Dr., Essex Junction, VT 05452.

Blessings in our Lord Jesus Christ.

T. M. Moore, Principal
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All Psalms for singing from The Ailbe Psalter. Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.