"Doctrine, teaching, instruction. That is the preacher's job. That is his life's work.
"And we note in the pages of the Word of God that doctrine, teaching, instruction always has two parts - there's the doctrine itself, and then there's the application of the doctrine.
"The pattern we always see in the Bible is doctrine first, then the application for living. You can't have proper application until you have a proper grasp of sound doctrine.
"In Exodus, the law comes first, that great thundering standard of God. That's doctrine. people, this is how you are supposed to live. Here is God's moral law. And then in the rest of the Pentateuch comes the civil law for Israel that is rooted in and based upon that moral law. That civil law is the application of the moral law to the circumstances of the nation of Israel, and God's plan and purpose for them. And then also comes the sacrificial system to deal with violations of God's moral law, and violations of the civil law code...
"It is always interesting to note how the Apostle Paul, for example, presents his arguments under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The pattern is always the same. His standard procedure is to begin with right doctrine. He reminds Christians of what they already know. Then he teaches and instructs them further. He takes them deeper. And he constantly draws from other Scriptures to make his points. And he constantly uses the conjunction 'therefore' to lead us on, point by point by point - 105 times in all.
"But as he leads you along, you always come to a vital 'therefore' that indicates that Paul is moving from the presentation of doctrine to the application of doctrine..."