Categorical Doctrine

You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them and that from childhood, you have known the sacred writings which can give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture [graphe – that which is written] is inspired by God [theopneústou – God-breathed] and profitable [advantageous] for teaching [doctrine], for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.                 2 Timothy 3:14-17

There are 66 books of the Christian Bible recognized by the Christian community as canon, meaning an acknowledgment as inspired by God and, thus, given divine authority. Paul understood the importance of this when he wrote the following in 1 Thessalonians 2:13 to the church: For this reason, we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted [dechomai – accept an offer readily] it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work [energeo – effective, operative work] in you who believe. As quoted above, all Scripture is God-breathed and has a divine purpose: doctrine, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. If the believer is to receive everything God intends, he needs to accept it as if God spoke it. So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it (Isaiah 55:11). 

The Mind of the Lord

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining [sugkrinoe – joining together] spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.          1 Corinthians 2:12-16 

We understand from the above passage that the Word of God is ultimately taught by the Spirit of God to each true believer; the non-believer cannot understand them since he cannot discern the Holy Spirit. By joining together spiritual thoughts with spiritual words, the Holy Spirit creates in the believer the mind of the Lord, the mind of Christ. According to Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, expounding the Spirit-inspired Old Testament by comparison with the Gospel revealed by the same Spirit, conversely illustrating the Gospel mysteries by comparing them with the Old Testament types. The organized thoughts of God as taught by the Spirit give believers the ability to think with God, His thoughts as confirmed by His Word. 

Seeking the Truth

Be diligent [spoudazoe – diligent, eager, earnest] to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling [orthotomeoe – correctly teaching] the word of truth.       2 Timothy 2:15

To properly understand Scripture, the believer seeks truth expressed in the entire Bible as a laborer, pursuing God’s complete thoughts on a subject. It requires diligence and an eagerness to discover the deeper understanding God intends each believer to find. Scripture is filled with historical accounts of events, while the deeper meaning of those accounts requires a systematic pursuit and an intensity, a seeking to find it. According to Proverbs 8:17, “I love those who love me, and those who diligently seek me will find me.” It is a pursuit of the heart and a journey driven by love. There is a reward at the end of that journey; it is to know Him.   

Paul writes in 1 Timothy 4:6, In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound [good] doctrine [didaskalia - instruction, that which is taught] which you have been following. Paul wanted Timothy to appreciate the importance of sound doctrine as a good servant of Christ Jesus. In his second letter, Paul warns Timothy of the spiritual warfare surrounding this journey: For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths (2 Timothy 4:3-4). Paul writes to Titus of purity or soundness in doctrine that demonstrates a ministry above reproach (Titus 2:7-8). 

Methods of Preaching 

There are three basic methods that preachers have used to prepare and deliver their sermons: expository, categorical or topical, and textual. The most common of these today is expository, presenting the meaning and intent of a particular biblical text and providing commentary and examples to make the passage clear and understandable. The intent is to “expose” the meaning of the Bible, verse by verse. 

To prepare an expository sermon, the preacher starts with a passage of Scripture and then studies the grammar, the context, and the historical setting of that passage to understand the author's intent. In other words, the expositor is also an exegete—one who analyzes the text carefully and objectively. Once the preacher understands the meaning of the passage, he then crafts a sermon to explain and apply it. 

Topical Sermons

In a topical sermon, the preacher starts with a topic/category and then finds passages in the Bible that address it. The focal point is a clear presentation of the category in a way that provides a depth of understanding of that subject that usually includes passages from both the Old and New Testaments. If the believer is to understand the mind of Christ related to a category, he needs to combine or join together spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. 

Textual preaching dominated the homiletical landscape in the latter half of the 1800s and the first half of the 1900s and remains popular in some circles today. n. At the dawn of the 21st century, when topical preaching and expository preaching get most of the press in America, what is the role of textual preaching? That question can be answered only after defining what textual preaching is. In a textual sermon, the preacher uses a text as a springboard for discussing a particular point. 

According to John Broadus, a Southern Baptist preacher and seminary president, a subject or topical (categorical) sermon is structured according to the nature of the subject rather than the biblical text(s) on which it is based. He notes that the Bible does "not present truth in a succession of logical propositions," so when the preacher needs to present a doctrine or moral issue, the topical form works well. However, while the sermon must be faithful to Scripture, its structure does not take its cue from the biblical text(s) on which it is based. 

Benefits & Shortcomings 

In both topical and textual sermons, the Bible passage is used as support material for the topic. In expository sermons, the Bible passage is the topic, and support materials are used to explain and clarify it. Each method has its benefits and shortcomings and should be chosen based on the particular intent. Many preachers like myself will combine these three in the same sermon, taking advantage of the benefits and avoiding many of the downfalls. Sticking to only one method can be shortsighted. 

Finding categorical doctrine is the process of acquiring God’s organized thoughts that enables the believer to think with God in accurate light. It provides the ability to reciprocate and receive God’s thoughts in an absolute category as set forth in the Word of God. There are no prerequisites other than an honest effort to study and meditate on Scripture categorically. Consider the following: 

Albert Einstein once said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” This comes from a genius – a genius who didn’t talk until he was four or read until he was seven. Einstein’s teachers labeled him “slow” and “mentally handicapped.” He may have been last in his class to do what the rest could, but certainly, Einstein wasn’t any less than his peers. He just had his own way of thinking — a way of thinking that would earn him the Nobel Prize and change the way we understand our world.

The Victorious Life

"You shall therefore impress [sim – place, fix] these words of mine on your heart and on your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. "You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up. "You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates so that your days and the days of your sons may be multiplied on the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens remain above the earth. "For if you are careful to keep [shamar – maintain, observe for a purpose] all this commandment which I am commanding you to do, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and hold fast to Him, then the Lord will drive out all these nations from before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than you. "Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours; your border will be from the wilderness to Lebanon and from the river, the river Euphrates, as far as the western sea. "No man will be able to stand before you; the Lord, your God, will lay the dread of you and the fear of you on all the land on which you set foot, as He has spoken to you.”  Deuteronomy 11:18-25 

Thinking with God’s thoughts is the doorway into the victorious life over the sin nature and an avenue into intimacy with Him in all circumstances. Psalm 119:11, Your word I have treasured [sapan – conceal something of great value] in my heart, that I may not sin against You. Take note of the following verses and the importance of meditation: 

“This book of the law [torah – doctrine] shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate [hagah – ponder] on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.       Joshua 1:8

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.          Psalm 1:2-3

One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple. Psalm 27:4

Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility, receive the word implanted [emphutos – engrafted from another source], which is able to save your souls (James 1:21). The humble heart is the environment through which the Word of God does its work.