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Died: Jack Iker, Anglican Who Drew the Line at Women’s Ordination

By Daniel Silliman — 4 months ago

“Almost every day I am in conversation with one of our attorneys. We have engaged six different law firms to respond to the litigations brought against us.” The legal battles dragged on for 12 years before Iker and the Anglicans ultimately won. Finally, a Texas Supreme Court judge ruled that “under the governing documents, the withdrawing faction is the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth.” The national church appealed, but the US Supreme Court declined to take the case, letting the ruling stand. Throughout the long legal battle, Iker maintained there really was only one thing at stake: whether or not the church was going to remain committed to the faith handed down by the apostles.

Jack Iker, a Texas bishop who took 48 congregations and 15,000 parishioners out of the Episcopal Church USA and helped start the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), died on October 5. He was 75.
Iker was a conservative Anglo-Catholic who made common cause with evangelicals—whom he called “strange bedfellows”—in order to fight against liberal theological revisionism. He was especially opposed to the ordination of women. He would not accept women as priests in his diocese nor submit to the leadership of a woman elected as presiding bishop over the Episcopal Church in 2006.
“It puts me in a compromising position,” Iker told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram at the time. “It’s not against women. It’s a theological position. We believe the ordination of women … is a fundamental break with apostolic tradition and biblical teaching.”
The Texas bishop became one of four bishops to found ACNA in 2009. He continued to quarrel with the more conservative ACNA over the issue of women in ministry, however. The Anglicans ordain women as priests in some dioceses, but not others. For Iker, this was a line in the sand.
“It would be a bad legacy to be remembered as the bishop who didn’t ordain women,” he said. And yet he believed he had to fight to protect Episcopalians and then Anglicans in America from becoming “a church that acts more and more like a rebellious Protestant sect and less and less like an integral part of the one holy catholic and apostolic church.”
Iker was a polarizing figure, especially in Texas, where his followers were sometimes derisively called “Ikerpalians.”
“He didn’t back down from what we’ve received in terms of Biblical faith,” said Ryan Reed, the ACNA bishop who succeeded Iker in Fort Worth after Iker’s retirement. “His stance for the biblical Christian faith made him either a hero … or it made him despised.”
Many of the men who served under Iker in Texas praised him for his faithfulness in the face of sustained opposition. The word they used most often was steadfast.
Iker was “an incredible example of a Godly man faithfully living the gospel of Jesus Christ,” according to Mark Polley, an Anglican priest in Bedford, Texas. “God only knows how many people he positively influenced with his faith, courage, steadfastness.”
Iker was born in Cincinnati on August 31, 1949. He said little publicly over the years about his childhood, early faith, or call to ministry. He got married in a Methodist Church in 1968 as a freshman at the University of Cincinnati and pursued ordination in the Episcopal Church after graduation. He was ordained at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Dayton, Ohio, in 1974 and went on to serve quietly as a priest at Church of the Redeemer in Sarasota, Florida, for 15 years.
Iker didn’t become a public figure—or a lightning rod—until he was nominated to become a bishop in 1992.
The Episcopal Church had allowed women in ministry for 16 years at that point, but church canons could not force a bishop to ordain anyone. A bishop’s authority over his diocese was considered inviolate. And Iker said he wouldn’t ordain women, nor allow them to serve in any parish under his care.
One female critic said Iker’s nomination was “appalling” and predicted he would hold the Episcopal Church “hostage” to misogyny.
Iker was narrowly elected, however, with the support of John Shelby Spong, the liberal Episcopal bishop who rejected traditional Christian doctrines including Jesus’ resurrection and even theism itself. Spong said that though he wanted to force the church to evolve and believed it had to change or die, he thought Episcopalians should also tolerate traditionalists.
Spong later complained that “the act of gracious inclusion has never been reciprocated.”
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Meaning, Purpose, and the Will to Live

By Bill Muehlenberg — 4 months ago

“What is it about the kingdom that is of such profound value? It is a multifaceted treasure, but at the center of its value is the possibility of ultimate meaning. Jesus’s gospel of the kingdom is good news because it offers us deep, durable meaning powerful enough to sustain us through life and through suffering and dying. Our story becomes part of God’s grand story, the story behind all of our stories. it is the story in which our suffering is shown to be for good, to be meaningful, to matter, to be worth it.”

Let me preface things by saying that I am about to ban the word “coincidence” from my lips – and my fingers on the keyboard. As happens so very often, a number of different but related things happen at almost the same time, not only giving me the stuff of another article, but making me see how God’s hand is behind what we experience in life.
In the period of a day or so, three quite separate events occurred, all centring on the issue of suicide, self-worth, and why we must resist the culture of death. The first one was this: in a radio interview speaking of rock stars and rejection, the conversation steered to how sometimes when things get really bad, we can see that God is there to help us out of our downward and dead-end spiral.
So I ended up briefly recounting one example of this in my own life when as a depressed and bummed-out hippy I was quite suicidal. I had no sense of purpose or meaning, no sense of self-worth, so the idea of ending everything seemed to be the way to proceed. That episode is recounted in an earlier article of mine: link
The second thing that occurred during the same period was stumbling upon one of those many cop shows on television. The episode was about an officer called to deal with a woman on a bridge threatening to jump to her death. It turns out she was a youngish mother who kept shouting about how she was a failure and there was no reason to go on.
It was quite a tense and traumatic situation, and she was obviously in great distress and turmoil, thinking she was of no use to anyone, not even to her own children. The problem was, she was on the outside of a curved (from bottom to top) fence, which was over another busy road some thirty feet below. So it was quite difficult for the policeman to get to where she was at on the other side of it.
He had to try to comfort her and talk her out of it , telling her that she was not a failure and she was needed. She kept shouting “I’m sorry” as well, so he had to say she had nothing to be sorry about. He had to draw upon all he learned in his training to deal with people in this situation.
Soon a female officer came along, and as she talked to the distraught mother, the officer managed to get to the top of this fence thing, and tried to grab a hold of her. She still seemed intent on jumping, so he finally managed to get her two wrists into handcuffs which he also connected to the fence so she could not jump. A fire truck crew came and finally managed to get her down.
It was quite an intense and lengthy standoff, but finally ended with a good outcome. But what would have driven a mother like this to want to end her own life? How low of a view of her own worth and value did she have? And as the police told her, her children certainly needed her.
The third thing involves – no surprises here – a new book. It is on euthanasia and I was reading it at the same time. It is Ewan Goligher’s How Should We Then Die? A Christian Response to Physician-Assisted Death (Lexham Press, 2024). Although a brief book (140 pages) it offers a helpful look at this crucial issue of how suicidal thoughts are so closely connected to our sense of worth and importance as human beings.
Obviously those with a deep awareness of their own value as a person and their importance to self and to others will be far less tempted with thoughts of taking one’s own life. It is only when we lose all sense of meaning, purpose and value that the will to love is radically undercut.
Of course the idea of meaning and purpose contributing to our will to live is well-documented, and has been written about by many. One famous work on this is Man’s Search For Meaning by concentration camp survivor Viktor Frankl. I have discussed him before, and Goligher also mentions him and his book.
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A La Carte (October 21)

By Tim Challies — 4 months ago

Good morning. Grace and peace to you.
Today’s Kindle deals include several excellent picks by Francis Schaeffer. If you haven’t read classics like How Should We Then Live? or No Little People, now’s the time! You’ll also find a C.S. Lewis collection which includes 8 of his best books for just a few dollars.

Warren Peel describes the growing culture of death that has come with the rise of euthanasia. “If human beings are not by God with an intrinsic dignity that comes from being his unique image-bearers, if we did just evolve from ‘goo via the zoo’ as a friend of mine puts it, if human existence is nothing more than the survival of the fittest, why wouldn’t we claim the right to end our lives?”

This is a wonderful piece of writing from Pierce Taylor Hibbs.

This month marks the 30th anniversary of Renewing Your Mind, the daily broadcast started by R.C. Sproul to help Christians grow in their understanding of God’s Word. Now, the Renewing Your Mind podcast is available on YouTube, featuring daily teaching videos from Dr. Sproul and other gifted theologians. Subscribe to the new channel today. (Sponsored)

David Mathis has a very level-headed and clarifying explanation of what it means for a man to manage his household well.

Jake Meador writes about some of the blessings and hindrances of Substack as it takes its place as the foremost tool for forming writers.

If you’re not familiar with Rebecca Protten, you should! This is a brief but fascinating biography of her.

“Women are leaving the Christian church, and organized religion altogether, at surprisingly high rates. Historically, women have almost always outnumbered men in religious service attendance, but that tide is shifting with younger millennials and Gen Z.”

While there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with blogging a sermon, it does involve mixing media. Just like a blog post typically won’t make a great sermon, a sermon typically won’t make a great blog post.

One of the most serious dangers of inconsolable sorrow, is that it may lead us to neglect our duty to the living, in our mourning for the dead.
—J.R. Miller

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Are You Scattering Bad Seed?

By Tim Challies — 4 months ago

It was an unconscionable crime—grossly immoral and terribly destructive. In the middle of the night, he snuck onto the property of one of his enemies and ruined his crop. Knowing that this man had recently sowed good seed throughout his fields, he stealthily followed behind and sowed seeds he knew would spring up into weeds, thorns, and brambles. Though he knew his crime would go undetected for a time, he knew also that soon enough the weeds would begin to grow up alongside the crops to overwhelm them and choke them out.
This morning your wife began her day by reading the Bible and a brief devotional to go with it. She spent a few minutes praying and seeking the Lord’s blessing for the day ahead. Good seeds were planted in her heart. But did you then emerge from bed in a grumbling mood and immediately begin expressing your displeasure at her or your discontentment with life in general? Did you interrupt her worship or steal her joy? In other words, did you follow behind and sow weeds among the wheat?
On Sunday, your friend heard a sermon that blessed and encouraged him. He listened attentively as the Word was being preached and he meditated on a few ways he could apply it to his life. Good seeds were planted within, seeds that would spring up to love and good deeds. But did you immediately suggest ways the sermon may have fallen short or express your view that the pastor may not have perfectly exposited the passage? Did you tempt him to doubt instead of trust and to complain instead of rejoice? Did you follow behind and plant weeds among the healthy growth?
Every day good seeds are being sown into the lives of the people around us, the people we love and are called to serve. And every day we are tempted to plant thorns among them, to sow weeds among the wheat and tares among the crops. We are tempted to add doubt to faith, discouragement to hope, evil thoughts to pure and holy desires. We are tempted to do the work of the devil instead of the work of the Lord.
We are in every moment influencing the people around us with our words and deeds, with our actions and attitudes. And in every moment and every situation our sacred calling is to promote good growth instead of poor growth, to scatter good seed rather than bad. It is to do all we can to foster the kind of growth that will spring up into a bountiful harvest of love, joy, grace, and peace. And for that reason, each one of us must be willing to ask ourselves: Am I in the habit of scattering bad seed?

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Lost in God’s Providence: How He Works Our Wanderings for Good

By Greg Morse — 5 months ago

Saul stands as a controversial first king in Israel’s history.

At times, he fought valiantly against the Philistines and judged them on behalf of the Lord. At other times, we see a man selective in his obedience. Still at other times, we see him with a King Lear paranoia, hurling spears at David, raging at his daughter, and threatening to kill his own son. He had the Spirit, and he had the Spirit taken away; he had the kingdom, and he had it torn from him; he ascended to the throne and then was violently cast down.

King Saul was worthy of death and worthy of song honoring him at his death. When Saul and Jonathan fall together in battle, David, the victim of Saul’s demon, leads Israel in the dirge: “Your glory, O Israel, is slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen!” (2 Samuel 1:19).

He is a conflicted character in the storied history — more like Boromir (we hope) than Smeagol. We can sympathize with him. He never asked to be king, after all; he hid from the crown behind the baggage. Though a head taller than everyone else in Israel, he seemed small in his own eyes. Most know the temptation to feel unequal to the task and tiny before others.

I want us to learn from his origin story. How did Saul, an unassuming Benjamite from the humblest clan of the least tribe, ascend to the throne once reserved for God himself? In this article, I want to remind you of the meticulous sovereignty of our gracious God, his care then and his care now, and his ordering of seemingly irrelevant details to further his great name and our great good. Saul stumbled onto the throne at the end of a long search for donkeys.

Scene One: Out with the Old

In 1 Samuel 8, Israel has just asked Samuel to find them a human king so they might be like the nations. Samuel is getting old; his sons are taking bribes; why not catch up to modern times and find a human king? Samuel tries to reason with them, yet Israel will not be moved, no matter the cost.

“Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you,” the Lord tells Samuel, “for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them” (1 Samuel 8:7). Samuel relents and sends the people home. Where is he to find this new king?

Scene Two: Lost Donkeys

The next verse introduces us to Saul’s father, Kish. A wealthy man of Benjamin, his son is the handsome giant of Israel: “From his shoulders upward [Saul] was taller than any of the people” (1 Samuel 9:1–2). But the first domino falls rather unexpectedly: “Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, ‘Take one of the young men with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys’” (1 Samuel 9:3–4).

Saul and his servant pass through territory after territory but fail to find them. Saul wants to return: “Come, let us go back, lest my father cease to care about the donkeys and become anxious about us” (1 Samuel 9:5). But before they turn, an idea just happens to come to the servant’s mind: “Behold, there is a man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honor; all that he says comes true. So now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us the way we should go” (1 Samuel 9:6). Saul asks what gift they might offer the man for his help. “Here, I have with me a quarter of a shekel of silver, and I will give it to the man of God to tell us our way” (8). Persuaded, Saul goes forth to meet the man who would make him king.

Now, here is what should amaze us. Rewind to the previous day:

Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed to Samuel: “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen my people, because their cry has come to me.” (1 Samuel 9:15–16)

Behold the God of meticulous, donkey-dispersing sovereignty. A God who brings forth a king from a nobody wandering after lost beasts of burden. A God who brings along just the right companion to bring him into his destiny. And a God, not just of meticulous sovereignty, but of meticulous mercy. Did you catch it? “I will send to you a man. . . . He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen my people, because their cry has come to me.” This God has no equal. When rejected as king over the people, he nonetheless sees and hears their cries and brings his replacement to deliver them.

“Trusting God to govern our lives quiets many anxieties and affords much peace.”

At any point, the plan could have aborted; yet it couldn’t have, because at every point the Lord guided the plan. He told Samuel to expect Israel’s deliverer “tomorrow about this time” — and in stumbles the clueless Saul from stage left. When Samuel sees Saul, the Lord tells him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall restrain my people” (1 Samuel 9:16–17).

Providence, Not Puppetry

Can’t we be reminded of God’s minute orchestration in Saul’s life and learn how to better read our own stories?

First, consider the nature of our God’s “sending” of Saul to his fate. From lost donkeys, to the right servant chosen, to the idea about going to Samuel for help — these were finely tuned secondary causes (or means) used by the First Cause to fulfill his will and achieve his ends. Westminster helps us understand the mysterious interplay: “Although, in relation to the foreknowledge and decree of God, the first cause, all things come to pass immutably and infallibly: yet, by the same providence, He ordereth them to fall out according to the nature of second causes, either necessarily, freely, or contingently” (5.2).

In other words, the Lord sent Saul to Samuel, not by taking over Saul’s mind and puppeteering him against his choices, but by creating the precise circumstances (secondary causes) to guide his will this way and that. As God guides the stream of a king’s heart, so he directs the steps of kings-to-be (Proverbs 21:1). So, over the same event, it can be spoken: Saul chose to obey his father and search for the donkeys and go to the man of God, and God sent him to Samuel. God placed the walking stones that he knew Saul would freely step upon to bring him to Samuel. I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin.

Lost in the Fields

Saul remains a controversial first king in Israel’s history. I do not know whether those lost donkeys led him down a path that ended in eternal life. God will judge. But we do know that for his children, minute sovereignty is working for them, not against them, for their eternal good.

Apply this lesson to your own life, Christian. If we believe in this God of meticulous providence, we will put more confidence in him than in our meticulous planning. “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). We do our little planning, but if we know this God, we will mostly pray that he will establish our steps and keep us open to his many surprises along the way.

Trusting God to govern our lives quiets many anxieties and affords much peace. Think of it: isn’t the unfolding of our lives wrapped in mystery? One small step this way and not that, one thoughtless act, one unexpected conversation, one small tilt in the rudder, and all is changed. One insignificant donkey hunt ends in a throne. If left to navigate ourselves, ours are perilous waters below and a sky of shifting stars — we would be lost before morning. How vital for us not to play Captain: Lord, establish my way!

And praise be to God that he hears our cries and will deliver us, even after we once rejected him as King. Lay hold of the promise: “For those who love God all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28). And he will not merely wave the wand at the end of time and renew our shipwreck, but he is working all things for good now — even that thing you never chose. He surrounds his children with inescapable good — even though his providence can be hard and confusing, and we foolish and sinful. His promise to us shall not break.

You cannot see now how a path of pain or fields of pointlessness lead to eternal good, but he does. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6) — even when those straight paths follow wandering donkeys.

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Road Trip DL: Even-Ezers, Long-term Thinking, True Christian Examples of Heroism and Faith

By James White — 5 months ago

On the May 8, 2008, edition of Catholic Answers Live, I was amazed to hear Steve Ray reference (seemingly approvingly) a book called, “The Secret of the Rosary,” for the idea that wearing a rosary “around your neck keeps the Devil away – it keeps the evil powers away, because they hate the rosary and they hate the crucifix …

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God Is Good to Forbid Sin

By Justin Huffman — 5 months ago

It is the goodness of God to forbid us from sin. It is the goodness of God also to describe sin for us in his moral law, so that we might know it when we see it and keep from it with all our might.

Not long ago our church studied through the Ten Commandments together. In preparation for considering this formidable and famous piece of Old Testament law, it was helpful for me to consider, or reconsider, the goodness of God in all that he does, including giving us the law.
More than just a list of do’s and don’ts, Jesus later summarizes all the law, including these “top ten,” in terms of love. So, we might well approach each commandment as an answer to this question first and foremost: how can I better love God and love my neighbor? And, like everything that God says and does in this world, it is for our good as well as his glory.
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Mark 14:66-72: The Courageous Lord II

By Paul Ritchie — 5 months ago

Why did Peter’s courage fail him? Primarily because he hadn’t taken Jesus’ advice! Do you remember back in Gethsemane? Jesus had said to Peter, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Sadly three times Peter had failed to pray, and now three times he fails to identify himself with Jesus. Sincerity and passion, in and of themselves, are not enough. If we want to remain faithful to Jesus when the pressure is on then we need to be dependent on God and asking him for the faithfulness that he alone can give. You might be the most naturally courageous person in this room but if you are not a person of dependant prayer there will come times when your courage will utterly fail you and you let your Saviour down.[1]

Imaginary John has just started a new job.  He hasn’t yet got around to telling his workmates that he is a Christian.  When he sees how people make fun of Jane, the other Christian in the company, he is not sure that he wants people to know that he too follows Jesus.  It’s difficult to be faithful to Jesus in John’s workplace.
John is told not too put certain things through the company books.  It’s explained that some transactions are best run on a ‘cash only’ basis, he knows that this is to avoid paying VAT.  John is aware that this is wrong but doesn’t want to upset his boss.  It’s difficult being faithful to Jesus in John’s workplace.
In the canteen the conversation revolves around dirty jokes and juicy gossip.  He believes that it is good to be friendly with these guys but he feels the pressure to laugh along at what is being said.  He doesn’t know what to do.  It is difficult being faithful to Jesus in John’s workplace.
Being faithful is difficult.  It is difficult for us.  As we see in this passage, it was difficult for Peter.  And remember too, it was difficult for Jesus.
Peter crumbles under pressure.
It is the night before the cross.   Jesus is in the high priest’s house where he has been tried by the Sanhedrin.  Outside in the courtyard is Peter, who has followed at a distance.  He is sitting with the guards warming himself by the fire.
One of the servant girls of the high priest comes by and sees Peter.  She looks at him closely and says, in front of the guards, “You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus.”   What a scary position Peter finds himself in!  If he admits to being one of Jesus’ disciples will they arrest him also?
Now Peter by nature is not a coward.  I reckon that if I were one of the disciples I would not have followed all the way to the high priest’s house but would be with the others wherever they had fled to.  Neither is Peter half-hearted.  After all he had been sincere when he had passionately promised Jesus, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”  However, what does he do when the pressure is really on?  He denies knowing Jesus, “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about,” he said, and went out into the entrance.
You’re at the hairdresser or barber, you’re sitting on the train or in a taxi, you’re in school or at work and someone begins to ask you questions about yourself.  How do you feel about letting them know that you are a Christian?  Are we a bit uncomfortable with being different?  Are there times when we would rather not be thought of as a Jesus-freak?  How many times we have denied Jesus with our silence!
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Marie Durand (1711–1776), the Famous Prisoner of Faith — Introduction

By Campbell Markham — 5 months ago

Marie Durand is quite well known in France, and a number of different causes have taken her as a figurehead.
During the nineteenth century, theologically liberal French Protestants held Marie Durand up as a heroine of freedom of conscience. They portrayed her as the woman who spent decades in prison for a cause being fought out by the French Enlightenment, by such great minds as d’Alembert, Diderot, Rousseau, and Voltaire. Liberal Protestants observed that, while the philosophes fought for freedom of conscience on the intellectual level, Durand’s decades of physical suffering made a powerful social-conscience contribution to the cause.
Conservative French Protestants, fiercely loyal to their religious and cultural roots, viewed Marie Durand as a heroic Huguenot, the ultimate example of a faithful Calvinist holding fast to her sixteenth-century Reformation heritage.
Evangelical Protestants in general have presented Durand as an example of steadfast faith in Christ under severe persecution. For them, Durand exemplifies the faithful Christian martyr, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10). Simonetta Carr, for example, has written a beautifully illustrated biography of Marie Durand as an inspiring example for Christian children and teens.
During World War II, leaders of the French resistance used Marie Durand’s name and story to inspire the French people to resist Nazi tyranny. And in 2016 actress and author Ysabelle Lacamp portrayed Marie Durand as a heroine of religious freedom in a series of books dealing with all kinds of social justice matters.
In short, many have held up Marie Durand as an inspiring heroine for their own causes. Few, however, have examined her life. Fewer again have examined her remarkable forty-eight surviving letters, forty-one of which were written from her dungeon.
Marie Durand was born in 1711 in a remote southern French village called Bouchet-de-Pranles. It remains to this day a delightful region of chestnut groves, undulating streams, green hills, and ancient stone farmhouses. You can still visit her home, which is now a museum devoted to her church and family, the Musée du Vivarais Protestant.
On the lintel above the family hearth Marie’s father etched, in exquisite uncials, these words of praise:

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Pastor, Preach Theology

By Charlie Rampfumedzi — 5 months ago

Theology cannot be overlooked in preaching. Theology must form the core of our preaching. In fact, it will. Whether that’s intentional or not is up to us. Preachers must start with the text of scripture, extract its theology, and then present it to the audience, helping them apply it to their lives for salvation or sanctification.

Theology plays a crucial role in preaching, particularly in the context of the doctrine of salvation. This is often overlooked or soft-pedalled by preachers. But it is essential to incorporate theology into our preaching. In fact, it’s inevitable that our theology will be communicated in our preaching.
This article argues that theology is not an optional aspect of preaching. Instead, theology is the foundation of all preaching. The preacher’s theology is communicated to the audience and helps them apply it to their lives. This is true, whether the preacher is aware of it or not. Our theology comes through in our preaching. So I want to exhort preachers to thoughtfully and deliberately consider their theology as they preach.
The Pastoral Epistles Emphasise Doctrine
Consider the pastoral epistles, the letters to Timothy and Titus. Paul urges his understudies to uphold sound doctrine, emphasising the importance of teaching what accords with sound doctrine and rebuking those who contradict it (1 Timothy 1:10; 4:6; 6:3; 2 Timothy 4:3; Titus 1:9; 2:1). Paul also highlights the grace of God bringing salvation, based on the message of the scriptures, through the preaching of the word.
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