"Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. . . . "
Some people are enamored with weird, heterodox, "new," and, as this
text says, "various and strange" doctrines. God's faithful churchmen are not to tinker with the bizarre, (any more than they are the occult). If some doctrine cannot find a place in the church's great Creeds, or in her best Confessions or Catechisms, it is not likely that 2000 years later God is "revealing" some new "truth" to her.
The Lord is not seeking to thwart our desire for adventure; instead, He is actually making the way for a fulfilling life possible. Nothing
kills true life and joy more readily than error, or heresy. Remember: sincere humility keeps the believer close to Jesus; pride is what causes us to wander away from Him.
[Puritan quote of the day: "Such a high degree of courtesy in so great a person as this apostle [Paul] reproves all those professing Christians who, though far below Paul, are not courteous and respectful in their behavior to their neighbors, and especially to their superiors."
--Jonathan Edwards, in his sermon, "The Character of Paul an Example to Christians"]
