And the New Testament says if there is anybody in your midst who doesn't conform to these standards, put him out. If there is somebody in your midst, I Cor. chapter 5, who is living in an immoral manner in your midst, put him out. If there is somebody, in II Thes. Chapter 3:6-7, who is walking disorderly, who is doing what they ought not to do and they don't respond to you put them out. If there is somebody, Paul said to Timothy, who is seeking things that are not consistent to what we know to be the truth of God, put him out.

Doctrine, now watch this, always is the basis of duty. Duty always flows out of doctrine.

There can be no Godly living unless there are principles for it. There can be no Christian lifestyle unless there is a theology at the bottom of it. There can be no practice if there are no precepts. Doctrine and duty are linked as closely as the flower and the stem. As closely as the branch and the trunk. As closely as the trunk and the roots. Doctrine and duty.

Look at Galatians chapter 5 and I'll give you another illustration. And we could go to any of Paul’s epistles, really to do it, but I'll pick out a couple here. Galatians...in the first four chapters of Galatians Paul is discussing the liberty of the believer, he is free from circumcision, he is free from the Mosaic Code as a way of salvation. He is free from the ceremonial law. It doesn't mean that God's righteous moral law has changed at all. But he's not to look at laws as a way of salvation; he's free from that. He's free from circumcision. He's free from having to keep the ceremonies. And he said all of this. He said we have freedom in Christ. That's all first four chapters, heavy on that. In fact, he closes out chapter 4, "So then, brethren, we are not children of the bond woman, but of the free." He gives that great allegory of Sarah and Hagar. And then he closes with this great statement – “We are free.” Great thing. Liberated for life.

We are to walk worthy of our calling. We know what He's done for us. We know who we are. We know the principles. We are to walk worthy. I Thes.4:l says this, "Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus that as you have received of us how you ought to walk and to please God so you would abound more and more." Now do you get the point? We have taught you how to walk and oh, I exhort you now to do it. To do it.

You see, first there has to be the teaching. You can't expect the believer to function on what he doesn't know. You can't live a principle you don't know. You can't behave in a way you don't understand, and you must search the word of God to know the principles.

Proverbs tells us that you'll know the wisdom of God when you desire that wisdom like you desire gold, like people search for silver, when you search to know God's wisdom, you'll know it. The 28th chapter of Job, it describes the first part of the chapter describes how men will work to mine out treasures. And it talks about the fact that they will go to any length conceivable to get treasure out of the ground. When you put as much effort to know the wisdom of God as men will do to find gold and silver then you'll know God's wisdom. And listen, until you know God's wisdom, until the basis of doctrine is there, you don't know how to live. You have to know God's wisdom.

Back to Colossians for a minute. Verse l, or chapter 1 verse 9, "For this cause, we also, since the day we heard it do not cease to pray for you. And to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will." Now listen, "In all wisdom and spiritual understanding." Paul says - Oh, I want you to be filled with the knowledge of His will.

That's in your mind. All wisdom, all understanding, the result, verse l0, "In order that ye might walk." what’s the next word? "Worthy." You see again, the worthy walk is predicated on knowledge. Being fruitful in every good work, predicated on knowledge. Strengthened with might, predicated on knowledge. Giving thanks, predicated on knowledge. That's why we teach the Word of God, beloved and teach principles of the Word of God.

 Colossians 1:l0 he says, "That you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing being fruitful in every good work." That's the goal. How? Increasing by the knowledge of God. The best rendering of the preposition - by the knowledge of God. As you know God you walk worthy. As you know God you're fruitful in every good work. Colossians 3:10, "Put on the new man that is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him." To know God, to know Christ, to know His word, that's the issue. Peter says at the end of his second epistle, chapter 3 verse 18, "Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Knowledge, people, knowledge, you've got to know the Word of God. You should hunger for it and you should search for it and you should seek for it as treasure the way men will go to the pits of the earth to seek gold and silver. Paul wanted people to be perfect, mature, complete. Colossians 1:28 he says, "Christ whom we preach, warning every man. teaching every man that we may present every man perfect." We want mature saints. You say, “That's great, Paul.” Colossians 4:12, Epaphras is praying that everybody would be perfect and complete in all the will of God. They wanted mature, perfect, complete people. And, of course, the answer came in II Timothy 3:16, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God that the man of God may be perfect. Thoroughly furnished unto all good works." You can't do the good works without the knowledge of the Word of God. And so, you need to learn the principles.