Pastor Luther Walker continues his teaching on Bibliology, focusing on accurately dividing the Word of God. He emphasizes 2 Timothy 3:16, explaining that all Scripture is God-breathed (not merely “inspired”), meaning every word carries value. He distinguishes between two Greek terms often translated as “teaching” or “doctrine”: didaskalia (teaching – information to be learned for admonition, comfort, and hope, such as Old Testament examples of God’s faithfulness, but not applied in practice) and didachē (doctrine – information to be learned and put into practice).
He critiques dynamic equivalence translations that paraphrase, such as rendering Ephesians 6:12 as “we do not wrestle against people” instead of the literal “flesh and blood,” which changes the spiritual context of the armor of God passage. He argues the New Testament begins doctrinally in John 13 (after the New Covenant is introduced), not Matthew, with Matthew–Mark–Luke and early John belonging predominantly to Old Testament/Mosaic law and millennial kingdom teaching for Israel.
Healthy teaching prevents believers from being tossed by every wind of teaching through the trickery of men (Ephesians 4:14). He discusses gifts given after Christ’s ascension (Ephesians 4), including pastors who must also teach, equipping saints toward maturity and oneness of faith. Unhealthy teaching includes imposing Old Testament regulations on Christians (e.g., Lent as “do not touch, do not taste” – Colossians 2:20–22) and teachings of demons (1 Timothy 4:1), which often modify truth or mimic godliness while promoting hypocrisy.
He explains the true gospel from 1 Corinthians 15: Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and rose again on the third day – with no mention of water baptism, confession of sins, or lordship requirements for salvation. He corrects misinterpretations of Acts 2:38 (baptism because of, not for, remission of sins) and Romans 10:9–10 (confession flows from belief, not as a requirement for salvation).
False doctrine includes the leaven of the Pharisees (Matthew 16:12), divisions and scandalous additions to doctrine (Romans 16:17), strange doctrines like food restrictions (Hebrews 13:9), the doctrine of Balaam (merchandising God’s people for gain – Revelation 2:14), the doctrine of the Nicolaitans (clergy-laity separation and victory over the people – Revelation 2:15), and the doctrine of Jezebel (spiritual fornication and idolatry – Revelation 2:20–24). Proper doctrine to obey includes victory over the sin nature (Romans 6:17 – know, reckon, yield), loving one another as Christ loved us (John 13/15; 1 John 3:23), and believing on the name of Jesus Christ. Doctrine maintains healthy teaching and centers on the doctrine of the Christ.
