Theme: A healthy Church perseveres in sound doctrine.

I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom,

2 Timothy 4:1-4, RVA60 Mark 12:13-17, NVLA

I urge you before God and the Lord in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who has
Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead, for His
dead in their manifestation and in their kingdom, 2 what manifestation and for His kingdom I charge you
Preach the word; be urgent in season and out of season: 2 Preach the word. Be persistent.
in season; rebuke, reprove, exhort with all patience and teaching. Warn, rebuke,
all patience and doctrine. 3 For he will come, exhorting with much patience and instruction.
time when they will not endure sound doctrine, but 3 For the time will come when they will not endure the
For having itching ears, they will heap up sound doctrine, but having itching
masters as per a sus own ears, according to their own wishes,
lusts, and they will turn away from the truth and will accumulate for themselves teachers,
They will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn to myths. But you be.
sober in everything, endure afflictions, do the work, they will return to the myths
of the evangelist, fulfill your ministry

Introduction

This morning we want to take a step further in understanding those characteristics that
they will lead us to be a healthy church. With the hope that through His Spirit, we can discover or
rediscover what it means to be a healthy member of a local church, and what it means to contribute
to the general health of the church. For that, join me to the text of the scriptures that Paul writes to
Timothy...

This passage has a double meaning (it speaks directly to the pastor, preacher, and to the members of a
church
preach the word (sound doctrine)
Member = to retain, to endure sound doctrine

A healthy church feeds on healthy doctrine

Nowadays, many churches or denominations claim to have or feed on sound doctrine, but there would be
that we must be very careful when hearing that term and that is why the first thing we are going to discover,
because we are surely asking ourselves is

What is sound doctrine in the Bible?

Doctrine (gr. Didaskalia) 'teaching, instruction'; A term frequent in the NT that can denote the act
to teach (1 Tim 4:13; 5:17), but more frequently it designates the content of the information or ideas
that are transmitted.

The word doctrine in simple terms means teaching, which is nothing more than the action and effect of
to teach (to instruct). The term healthy is closely related to health, with hygiene, free from
illness. Something that is trustworthy

Therefore, sound doctrine is an untainted, accurate, faithful teaching that is worthy of trust.!!!

The church is called to retain, not to create or invent sound doctrine (2 Tim 1:13).
Hold fast the form of sound words which you heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

We are under constant pressure to consider what is fashionable, what is being innovative,
that which is 'yielding results,' that which brings 'success' to a church, that which the world applauds.
The temptation is that, to give in to the pressure of what is working... but regarding our faith, we are
calls to retain the standard the standard
Having this foundation, which is extremely important to understand, we will consider 2 brands or signals that
they are essential elements of sound doctrine that will lead us to be a healthy church.

a) A healthy church preaches and listens expositorily

a healthy church is a biblical theologian

As we look at these aspects, the idea we want to have is that expository preaching is
the medium, transportation, the cart to carry the message, while biblical theology is the content,
knowing that both things are important for proper nutrition

I. PREACH AND LISTEN EXPOSITIVELY

The word of God is the most powerful force in the Universe (Jonathan Leeman, editor 9Marks)
Everything that exists has been created by His word, from gigantic stars to tiny particles.
Millions of species of animals, galaxies, and everything that exists was created by the word of God.

Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that
what is seen was made from what was not seen.

Thus, the word of God is evidence of the immense power that is unleashed when it is spoken.
However, the entire universe, as grand as it is, is just a small sample of His greatness!!!!!!!!!!!!

This creation is therefore a type of revelation of God (which we call general revelation)
Through that creation, we can also see how God has been constantly communicating with
the human being.
God creates the Universe by speaking, God communicates with man by speaking, God creates a people to carry
his gospel speaking. (James 1:18, Peter 1:23)

The word of God is the most powerful force in the universe, God continues to speak today through his
written word.
Inspiration makes it possible for the living words of God to continue speaking today through this book.
In such a way that in the Bible we have a record of what God continues to speak even in these days.

What does it mean to preach and listen expositorily? Before answering that question, we need to define
expository preaching.

Expository preaching is that preaching where the message of the sermon is the message of the text, it is
make the passage of Scripture the central point of the sermon. (It is to preach the word of God with the
intention that the Holy Spirit inspired it.

Today's preaching lacks power and authority, the reason for this is because the power and the
Authority lies in the word of God and not in the preacher. We need to reclaim preaching.
expository to regain the heart of God

If churches are to be healthy, then the pastors and/or the preachers must be
committed to discovering the message of Scripture and allowing that message to guide the agenda
of his congregations. (The message of all Scripture is Christ-centered)

When we listen to the preaching of the Word, we should not focus primarily on the advice.
practical guides on how to do this or that, although Scripture teaches us a lot about daily matters.
We should also not pay attention to messages that exalt our self-esteem or that incite us to
political and social activities. On the contrary, as members of healthy Christian churches,
we must first listen to the voice and the message of God revealed in His word. We must
to focus on listening to what He has written, in His omniscient love, for His glory and our blessing.

It is through His word that we can grow healthily, through it we are sanctified,
we are maturing (John 17:17 - 1 Peter 2:1-3)
Listening expositorily means paying attention to the central message of a passage of Scripture and
accept that message as the main idea that should be embraced and applied to our personal life
corporal as Christians.

What are the benefits of listening expositorily?

It helps to cultivate a hunger for the word of God. By getting our ears used to listening to the type
of preaching that makes the main point of the sermon the main point of some passage in
In particular, we got used to listening to God.

Psalm 119:103 How sweet are your words to my taste! Sweeter than honey to my mouth.

We will be more skilled at identifying the many voices that rival the voice of God and wish
to control our life. Listening expositorily gives us a clear understanding of what God
wants us to listen.

It helps us focus on God's will and follow Him. Our agenda takes a back seat.
terminus, orders our priorities, and directs us on the path that honors him the most.

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

Protect the gospel from being corrupted: Failing to listen expositorily has effects
disastrous. False teachers enter the church and blur the gospel. Above all things, the
truth is displaced by fables and myths.
When members cultivate the habit of listening expositorily, they save themselves from
to have itching ears and protect the gospel from being corrupted. We grow healthily.

Some recommendations for cultivating this good habit could be:

meditate on the sermon during devotional times (that's why we have daily devotionals),
invest in good biblical literature
listen again to the sermon (platforms)
share, comment with other brothers (GPD)

Do you remember that we said that expository preaching is the means, the transport, the cart to carry the
message, while biblical theology is the content, the message itself. Each of them goes
intimately related..

II. HE IS A BIBLICAL THEOLOGIAN

The ignorance of God, not knowing both His ways and the practice of communion with Him, is the root of
the weakness of the church today. (J.I. Packer)

One of the reasons for this ignorance and weakness in the church is because minds
Christians have been shaped by the modern spirit: the spirit that elevates the ego of man and only
leave room for small thoughts about God.

Sadly, Packer's observations carry more weight today than they did a few years ago.
Ignoring God's ways and communion with Him is very common nowadays. Church members
Christians continue to have small thoughts about God, and very large thoughts about man.

These conditions reveal that many Christians have neglected our most important calling:
to know God.
Every Christian must be a theologian in the innermost sense of the word. If the churches are to grow in
health, members must be committed to being biblical theologians to the best of their ability.

Let us then ask ourselves, what is Biblical Theology?

Biblical theology is the discipline of learning how to read and study the Bible as a story by one author.
divine that culminates in the person and work of Christ, so that each part of Scripture can be understood with
relationship with Christ. (Nick Roark)

Biblical theology is so important because:

It helps me to know God. The Bible is God's self-revelation; it is the material source in
where the great mysteries of God originate. The Christian who is interested in knowing about
his God is a Christian who is interested in knowing what God says about Himself in the Bible.
The healthy Christian is the member who is committed to what the Bible says about
God, because the Bible is where God reveals Himself.

- It allows me to see God's story of redemption for us: Secondly, the theologian
Biblical is a person committed to understanding the history of revelation, the great themes.
and doctrines of the Bible, and how they intertwine with each other. In other words, a member
healthy is committed to understanding the unity of the Bible as a whole--not only
isolated or favorite passages The healthy member approaches the Bible knowing that they read a
wonderful story of how God redeems his people for his own glory.

This way of reading the Word helps us understand the Bible as a great book made up of
a bunch of little books that tell a great story. From the first to the last page, the Hero and
the central axis of this story is Jesus Christ. In summary, biblical theology is for the church, it begins with the
Bible, and it ends with King Jesus and His Church.

How does Biblical Theology promote the health of church members?

It helps us grow in our reverence towards God.

We encounter the God of Scripture who establishes and keeps His covenant promises with His
people, we see something of the majesty of God. When we see that God is, was, and will be the same God
creator, saint, faithful, lover, and sovereign with us, just as he has been with others, we are
moved to believe and worship God. If we want to truly know and worship God,
We must dedicate ourselves to being biblical theologians who understand the narrative and themes of Scripture.
God himself

b) It helps us to correct our erroneous ideas about the Biblical message.

On many occasions, we refuse to accept these teachings due to the hardness of our hearts.
due to sin. We can evade a verse here or there; verses that confront us or us
they disgust. But when we commit to understanding the big picture of biblical revelation and
the overall weight of teaching Scripture on a particular matter, we are quicker to
recognize our erroneous ideas. Biblical theology helps us see how God has spoken
constantly the same message (He is God and is worthy of worship)

CONCLUSION:

On this occasion we have studied 2 brands that identify a healthy Church (Expository Preaching
and Biblical Theology) and it is necessary for us to conclude that:

Both expository preaching and biblical theology should not be the ultimate goal of each one
We must be careful not to dismiss each one of them completely.
neither to go to the other extreme of idolizing each one of them.

Knowing God begins with knowing about Him and His character. This also involves
to give oneself to God, under the promise that he will be with us through the
repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, His beloved Son.

Consequently, knowing God means exalting the sufficiency of God in all things.
Such knowledge of God only comes when we drink deeply from His message in the
Bible and its rich themes. And such knowledge of God belongs especially to
those Christian members who are committed to being biblical theologians