Is it Good to be Dogmatic?

Editor's Note: This article was authored by my physical cousin, but spiritual brother, W.I. Helterbrand. He has been a major force and influence in my spiritual walk with Christ since childhood. May this article bless and spark your thinking in what the Scriptures say about liberty and truth. "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God." (I Peter 4:11)

Is it Good to Be Dogmatic?

Dogmatism is defined as the tendency to decide a principle is an absolute, incontrovertible truth. As Christians, shouldn’t we be dogmatic? After all, we believe we have the Truth of God. The Lord’s Church tends to attract concrete sequential thinkers. That means we always try to use logical reasoning to find appropriate answers for the questions of life. Debates and arguments and strong feelings have been known to arise over issues because of Christian dogmatism. Certainly it is important for the Christian to use good logic and sound reasoning so that the will of God may be understood as it is written. Paul himself wrote to the Ephesians that they should “…not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Eph. 5:17). So it is true that the Christian is able to understand the Word of God and draw conclusions from it. However, it is the Word that is perfect, true, and unwavering, not necessarily the logic and reason that the Christian used to interpret it.

 1. If the Christian must utilize outside sources or extreme measures of reconciling scripture to hold their stance, the stance is not from God. 

The Bible clearly and repeatedly sets forth that the Christian should not rely on earthly wisdom to seek out knowledge of our Lord. Yet, how often do we spend our time in thoughts and studies of philosophy and theology and draw conclusions in God’s Word based on what we would call deductive reasoning? Paul wrote to the Colossians, “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.” (Col. 2:8). If, then, philosophy, traditions of men, and even the most basic principles of the world can be deceiving, we have nothing else to rely on than God Himself and His Word for direction. 2Tim. 3:16-17 reads, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” If the Christian believes that God gave us His entire will in the Bible, then one must understand that the Bible is the only authority and the whole authority. A warning sign that a stance or message is not from God is if anything other than the Bible is used to advocate for that stance. One may very well cite the Constitution, the New York Times, or a research study conducted by trained scientists, but these sources have one big flaw; They were created by men! God’s Word is the only source the Christian can stand on for absolute Truth. 

2. When a Christian stands upon God’s Word alone, they have no need to be dogmatic, the gospel will do it for them.

 Paul gives a powerful message to the Corinthians in this passage from 2:1-5, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” Paul’s testimony to the Corinthians was not based on the wisdom of men, it was not based on his ability to speak or present well. There was no need for those things! Paul preached only by the power of God. Paul says in another place, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” (Rom 1:16). The gospel is the power of God to salvation. If we stand on the scriptures we have no need to take our own stances and try to find ways to support them. We can be truly solid in what we say and do because the Word of God backs us up. 

3. If a Christian takes a stance that is not expressly supported by the scriptures, they should not bind that stance on others.

 It does not take a diligent observer of Christianity to notice the many splintering factions, denominations, and divisions of the religion. There are many who, looking in from the outside, are even deterred by our quarreling amongst one another. This causes the world to blaspheme the name of our Lord when the Church was designed for the very purpose of bringing glory to Him. The Church is forced to endure these divisions for two opposing reasons. The first circumstance is when there are members of the Body practicing sin. There is a specific pattern given by the scriptures to handle those situations. The other times there are divisions, it comes from the faithful imposing rules, regulations, stipulations, or traditions that are not required or commanded by the scriptures and then alienating those who do not follow. That is the very practice of the Pharisees. In Matthew 15, the Pharisees ask Jesus ``Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” (Vs 2). Jesus responds with a prophecy of Isaiah saying, “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” Christians have to be absolutely certain they do not overstep God’s authority by requiring obedience to tradition of each other. This has been the downfall of many. 

Conclusion 

With these issues in mind, it is clear that the Christian only has room to speak where God speaks. Judgements can only be made by the standard of the Word of God, not by any one person and their opinion on a matter, not by any one Church and their opinion on a matter. This is why diligent study of the scriptures is of the utmost importance for the Christian. Dogmatism is good and bad for the Christian. We must stand firm and be dogmatic where the Bible stands firm and is dogmatic. However, we must give flexibility where the Bible gives flexibility. If we are dogmatic on issues where God is not, we have gone beyond our authority as mere humans, but if God takes a stance, a Christian has the duty to defend that position to the utmost.