"But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4

The standard for all Christian living is the Word of God! The Canon of Scripture is not the final authority for Christian living! It is the only authority for Christian living. Every believer in Jesus Christ is under a mandate to live by faith (see Rom. 1:17; Hab. 2:4; Gal. 3:11; Hebrews 10:38). We are not to live by blind faith (fatalism), human knowledge (rationalism) or human experience (empiricism). We are to live by faith in the teachings of the written Word of God (see Rom. 10:17).

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:" II Timothy 3:16

Much of what passes for Christian living in the United States today is not based upon the Word of God but upon American Christian cultural traditions. Scripture is taken out of context to defend a religious system of human works designed to keep people busy and keep them involved with some church or para-church organization. Meet their taboos and they say everything is great! Just keep busy working for God their way, in their group, following their cultural lifestyle and they will consider you to be a spiritual Christian. That's religion and not Christianity! The Christian way of Life is the same for all believers in all nations without regard to their race, social status or cultural heritage (see Gal. 3:28).

The Word of God must be rightly divided at all times (see II Tim. 2:15). It must not be taken out of context to defend our personal opinions (see II Pet. 1:20-21). Pastors have a duty to teach the "whole counsel of God" and not just pick and choose to serve their own interest (see Acts 20:27). Under the Spirit's guidance, as the pastor studies and teaches he may become more knowledgeable in certain areas of Bible doctrine such as Christology, Paterology, or Eschatology than in others. He should still be proficient in Pneumatology, Angelogy, Ecclesiology, etc.

The entire Canon of Scripture is of value to every believer. Scripture originates with God and He has given it to us for doctrinal teaching. We must be filled with the Spirit (see Eph. 5:18) so He can teach us (see I Cor. 2:9-16). The Father has given the Canon of Scripture for the purpose of doctrinal teaching. The spiritual gift of pastor has been given to certain men so that they can study and teach the Word of God to their congregations (see Eph. 4:12-16).

When we study the word of God it will rebuke us and convict us of false beliefs and human prejudices. It not only will rebuke and convict us but it will give us divine viewpoint to replace the false viewpoint. The Spirit uses the divine viewpoint we have resident in our souls and guides us in our daily actions (see Rom. 8:14). Doctrinal teaching is designed to rebuke us, correct us and to instruct us for righteous living. Righteous living is the Christian way of life. Righteous living cannot exist apart from the filling of the Spirit (see Rom. 8:8). It is a lifestyle of "walking in the Spirit" (see Gal. 5:16), "walking in Christ" (see Col. 2:6) and "walking as children of light" (see Eph. 5:8 with I John 1:3-10).