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Does Christianity Contain 'New Doctrines'?

The usual claim is that doctrines like the Trinityi or forensic Justificationi by faith alone are "new" doctrines. That is, that these doctrines didn't exist at the time of the apostles or within the early Church. Depending on the honesty of the individual, the claim will be that these and other doctrines are completely new doctrines or that they are "developed" doctrines. By developed, they usually mean that the doctrines were there all along in the Bible but had to be better developed or understood by subsequent generations of Bible readers.

When Pastors Go Bad

After the Harold Camping debacle in 2011 where "pastor" Harold Camping predicted the end of the world -- which obviously failed to come true -- people should be asking what should they do when pastors go bad.

Or how about a local pastor who may have started out on the straight and narrow but at some point either embraces some radical individualistic view or begins supporting some blatant heresy.

Further, what if an entire ministry goes bad? What should the "lowly" Christian do? Often, we're told we just should move on. Vote with our feet per se.

In the Bible, there are very few examples of elders/pastors who go bad and eventually return to the Faith. Most examples are of elders/pastors going bad and never again returning to the Faith. The Bible has an of example of warnings of how to avoid installing a bad pastor. (1 Tim 3:1-7)

When Pastors Teach Bad Doctrine

CrumpledSo, we Christians have all been in the situation where we are either sitting under the guidance of or know of a pastor who is teaching bad or wrong doctrine. What is our obligation as "laymen"? Perhaps it depends on the severity of the bad doctrine. Maybe we will be told that we would need to go through an official process such as an elder board, but not all church structures even have an elder board. Sometimes the pastor is the end of line.

Scripture says:

"Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses." -- 1 Tim 5:19

But is this really speaking of challenging a pastor on bad doctrine or rather on bad behavior. Verse 20 goes on to say:

"But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning." -- 1 Tim 5:20

So, clearly the "accusation against an elder" is in reference to his sinning.

WARNING: An Important Message to Elders, Pastors, and Churches

Most people don’t set out to fall into heresy or to join cults.  There is typically, but perhaps only in retrospect a clear line of degradation into heresy or a cult.

Hyperpreterism has several launching points of which I’d like warn elders and pastors.  First, — I AM A FORMER 15-YEAR LONG HYPERPRETERISTi — how did it happen? There are 3 factors:

1. 40 years of exposure to “Left-Behindism”.
2. Distorted understanding of the concept of “Sola Scirptura”
3. Gateway “Partial-Preterism” into the heresy of Hyperpreterism

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