Heb. 12:12-13

12 Wherefore [dio] lift up [anorthoo] the hands [cheir] which hang down [pariemi], and [kai] the feeble [paraluo] knees [gonu];

13 And [kai] make [poieo] straight [orthos] paths [trochia] for your [humon] feet [pous], lest that [hina me] which is lame [cholos] be turned out of the way [ektrepo]; but [de] let it [iaomai] rather [mallon] be healed [iaomai]. KJV-Interlinear

12 Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. NASB

Doctrine is a body of rules, principals, or ideas that form the basis of a belief. Bible doctrine is the content of rules, principals, mandates, and so forth which come to us from God.

Nothing in scripture is more important than the fundamental principles of truth and life which God teaches us. Bible doctrine is the foundation of our spiritual knowledge and understanding, and is the basic ingredient for our spiritual growth. Bible doctrine therefore, is the basis for our orientation to God, to truth, to life, to other people, and to ourselves. Ultimately Bible doctrine is the basis for our faith.

There are two aspects to the spiritual life. The first aspect is learning, knowing and understanding, and believing the teaching of the word God. The second aspect is accepting, living, and obeying the word of God.

You cannot read only, the word of God and expect to grow up spiritually. Both aspects of the spiritual life mentioned above, go hand in hand in bringing your spiritual life to its proper completion.

Lots of people in the world believe in God, believe in Christ, and even believe in the Bible in general. Lots of people in the world understand the difference between right and wrong. But when you take the principles of Bible doctrine and refuse to apply them to your daily life then your spiritual life becomes lame, as described in our current passage.

For example, most folks understand the mechanics of confession, however many folks do not understand the principle of confession or its purpose. Too often we go looking for preacher or priest, or for someone to bear out our guilt. And, this unfortunately does nothing to help our spiritual life.

God designed the principle of confession so that the individual would begin examining his own life on a moment by moment basis, and in confession, assume the responsibility for his or her actions or thoughts. No human being, no individual can forgive you of your sins. Only God can forgive you. That is why all confession is directed towards God the Father, and no one else. The function of confession is not to ease your conscience or your guilt, but it is to bring you into compliance with an action that God demands.

The strengthening of hands and knees is intended to teach us to apply Bible doctrine to our daily life. The function of the hands and the knees is an illustration of our moment by moment activity throughout our life. In order to function in life we need to have strength. Without strength then we become weak.

Strength comes from two sources. The first source is food and nourishment which you take in perhaps three times a day with your daily meals. The second source is through exercise which is the application of the energy which you acquired through those meals.

The same illustration is true with Bible doctrine. You learn, you study, you understand, and you apply. This is what we have called in this study, the circle of wisdom. You repeat this process of learning through application, over and over again throughout your life.

Your path through life is the course you take based on what you believe and what your attitude is towards truth. The straight path of course is the one based on Bible doctrine. Your feet is an illustration of your pattern of thoughts, decisions, and actions which you pursue throughout your life.

Bible doctrine is the only true source of nourishment and strength for your soul. Bible doctrine is the source of spiritual muscle and energy that carry s you through this life and into the next.

Pursuing a course through life without Bible doctrine serves to sap your strength and render you weak and lame in your life. A person that lacks proper nourishment and exercise becomes weak and sickly. And this in turn makes them unproductive in life. A weak and sickly person will always fall and never finish anything that they start. And of course the thing that we are discussing as being started here, is life itself.

There s only one way to avoid failure in life, and that is through advancing in one spiritual life to the point of spiritual maturity.

Advancing to spiritual maturity requires that you apply what you learn to your daily life. There s nothing worse than a person who knows what they should do, but they simply don t do it. Too many people straddle the fence, in their indecision or apathy toward their spiritual life.

In the same fashion to many people misapply the principles of Bible doctrine and they become poor examples of what the Christian life really is. I often receive lots of unsolicited emails that have some form of Christian content contained within them. Sending emails to people you know is one thing, but sending emails to people you don t know is totally out of line. A good Christian respects the privacy of others and does not try to superimpose their belief or opinions on others.

Being a fence-straddler may impact your life, but being a nuisance to others may impact their opinion of Christianity and therefore may discourage them from pursuing their spiritual life.

When we apply Bible doctrine to our daily life, we must apply it correctly, and not be intrusive or abusive toward others.

Now is the time to post a prayer.