> The Apostle Paul was not only scholarly and clear in his doctrines,
> but he was also down to earth honest about himself. While he took
> strong doctrinal positions, he also made it a point to recognise and
> acknowledge where he was in real life. He guarded himself from the
> extreme of living in a world of doctrines without any touch with
> reality and also the other extreme of trying to act being realistic
> while discarding doctrinal positions. For those who go merely by the
> letter, it may appear as if Paul is contradicting himself in several
> places. But if we learn to look at doctrine not just from some proof
> verses that we are partial to but as a part of the big picture God is
> trying to reveal to us, we can see how our practical experiences fit
> in with them.

> Paul is well known for standing for the truth of justification by
> faith in Jesus Christ as an undeserved gift of mercy from Him in
> contrast to the common concept that we have to qualify in some way
> before God by the things we do (Ep.2:8,9). He was so strong about this
> that he was willing to 'fight' against anyone who tried to dilute or
> distort this truth. But honest man that he was, he realised that it is
> one thing to believe in the doctrine of free grace and the consequent
> justification and acceptance, and another thing to live believing
> that. He recognised that it was possible to hold that doctrinal
> position and at the same time live as if justification depended on our
> performance! He understood that accepting the doctrine did not
> automatically remove the grooves that our long experience had made in
> our thinking. What does it tell us when we feel accepted sometimes and
> unaccepted at other times?

> As a result, Paul fought a battle with his own thoughts as he sought
> the Holy Spirit to renew his mind into the new way of thinking (2Co.
> 10:5;Ro.12:2). He noticed how he would slip into glorying in his own
> righteousness and how he would need to get back to the position of
> unmerited favour from God (Php.3:8,9). Instead of imagining that
> because he believed the right doctrine he was right in his living, he
> sought to bring his life in line with the doctrine. This is nothing
> new for us who keep hearing, "Walk the talk," and "Practise what you
> preach." What may be new is that Paul was honest enough to acknowledge
> the disparity between the two, and also sincere enough to fight to
> narrow the gap.

> Don't we have a problem with doctrine, when our life does not match
> with it? We may try to focus on the doctrine and repress the truth
> about our life. Some of us even keep confessing the doctrine so much
> that the differences in our life fade into the background. Some others
> think they are very honest with themselves and stop looking at the
> doctrines. This is not just about the doctrine of justification but
> everything else too. Where we need to change is to have an honest and
> sincere approach to doctrines, giving up the dogmatic as well as the
> don't-care-too-much attitudes.