Christ before doctrine

Opening

This manifesto argues that the deepest division in Christianity is not, firstly, between Catholics, Orthodox, Reformed, Pentecostals or Baptists. It crosses all these traditions — and the heart of each reader — as two possible postures before Jesus.

One uses Jesus to confirm an already ready system. The other allows your words, your gestures and your character to judge the system. The first transforms Christ into a seal of approval for a tradition. The second recognizes that every tradition, including the oldest and most intellectually sophisticated, remains beneath Him who is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

Christ does not exist to protect doctrine. Doctrine, when it is faithful, exists to testify about Christ.

This does not disregard theological reflection, creeds or church history. He simply refuses to allow confessions, councils, leaders or theological schools to neutralize what Jesus taught and lived. Jesus should not be interpreted from a theology. All theology must be judged from Jesus.

What the biblical text says

Jesus confronts the possibility of a religious tradition becoming an obstacle to God's will. In Mark 7:6-13, he rebukes leaders who preserved ancient practices and yet “made the word of God invalid” because of their tradition. The problem wasn't all tradition; it was a tradition that claimed religious authority while producing concrete disobedience.

In Matthew 23:2, the text states that the scribes and Pharisees “sat on the seat of Moses”, an expression commonly understood to refer to a teaching position. But Jesus does not treat this position as a guarantee of faithfulness. He denounces leaders who say and don't do, who tie “heavy burdens” on others without lifting them with a finger (Matthew 23:3-4).

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus states that he did not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17). Then he repeats: “You have heard what was said... But I tell you” (Matthew 5:21-44). There is debate about the scope of these contrasts: in some cases, Jesus may be deepening the intent of the Torah; in others, confronting traditional applications; in all, however, he speaks with singular authority. Reading it leads to reconciliation, inner purity, renunciation of revenge and love for enemies (Matthew 5:21-26, 27-30, 38-44).

John 5:39 can be translated as “Search the Scriptures” or “Search the Scriptures”. In both readings, the point of John 5:39-40 remains: the Scriptures testify to Christ, but mastering them does not replace going to him. It is possible to quote the Bible, defend it and study it without surrendering to the one to whom it points.

This demand appears in Luke 6:46: “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I command you?” It also appears in his practice: Jesus touches a leper (Mark 1:40-42), receives people publicly identified as sinners (Luke 5:29-32), interrupts commerce in the temple and denounces the corruption of a house that should be “a house of prayer for all nations” (Mark 11:15-17). He also rejects the logic of power by which rulers dominate their people (Mark 10:42-45).

Historical and theological context

Christian doctrines did not all emerge in the same way or at the same time. The first Christians answered decisive questions: who is Jesus? How to confess your divinity without abandoning monotheism? How can we understand his real humanity, his death and his resurrection?

Historic creeds and councils sought to preserve central truths of the Christian faith: Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man; his incarnation was not appearance; his resurrection was real. This work matters. Without it, Christ can be reduced to a moral symbol, a teacher among others, or a tool for political projects.

But a correct formulation can become protection against Christ himself when he demands superior loyalty to the Gospel. Denominations were also often born from sincere disagreements about biblical texts, sacraments, authority, predestination, spiritual gifts and church organization. Not all disagreement is rebellion. Calvinists and Arminians, cessationists and continuationists read relevant texts and arrive at different syntheses.

The error begins when a human synthesis becomes an obligatory filter for Jesus. Then inconvenient texts are domesticated, the character of Christ is subordinated to abstractions, and tradition ceases to serve the truth to protect itself.

The objection is legitimate: placing “Christ before doctrine” could open space for a subjective Jesus, molded to each person’s taste. Christ cannot be separated from the apostolic testimony that presents him. But the opposite risk is also real: building a system so closed that the Jesus of the Gospels can only say what the system has already decided.

Analysis from Jesus

Jesus taught doctrine. He spoke about God, the Kingdom, judgment, forgiveness, prayer, resurrection and his own identity. “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15) is not a secondary question. The Christian faith is not merely inspiring ethics.

But Jesus refused a religion that got formulas right and got the heart of God wrong. To the Pharisees he said they tithed herbs but neglected “justice and mercy and faith” (Matthew 23:23). It did not abolish the practice; replaced it in its place. No religious discipline compensates for the absence of justice and mercy.

Therefore, every doctrine must be examined before Jesus. If a theology makes it acceptable to despise the poor, silence victims, idolize leaders, accumulate wealth in the name of faith, or treat adversaries as enemies to be destroyed, it collides with Christ.

The theology of prosperity, when it promises financial return as a measure of faith and transforms contributions into a mechanism of religious enrichment, contradicts those who warned against avarice (Luke 12:15), called the rich to detachment (Mark 10:21-25) and identified with the hungry, foreigners and prisoners (Matthew 25:31-46). The tithe cannot be converted into a religious tax to support clerical luxury.

The same goes for the celebrity pastor and for any ecclesiastical model in which authority becomes dominance. Among Jesus' disciples, greatness is not measured by visibility, money, or unrestricted obedience to a leader, but by service (Mark 10:43-45). Leadership without accountability does not imitate Christ; contradicts his way of reigning.

We are called to read adfontes: going back to the Gospels, the historical context, the biblical languages ​​when possible, and the full testimony of Scripture. And when a reading of the Old Testament seems to contradict the character revealed in Christ, it is Christ who interprets Scripture for the church—not the other way around.

Conclusion

Jesus has unique authority. He confronts traditions that nullify the Word of God and demands that his followers practice what he taught (Mark 7:8-13; Luke 6:46; Matthew 28:18-20).

Creeds, councils, confessions, and theologians have derived authority. They serve the church when they help to see Christ with greater fidelity. They fail when they are used to protect systems against Christ.

Many doctrinal and ecclesiological questions remain open among faithful Christians. But it remains open who judges them all. Christ is the way, the truth and the life, not religion.