Rebar is necessary for strengthening cement.
Doctrine is necessary for strengthening Christian living.
Watch our Truth in Two to find out why (full text below).
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Picture Credit: Luke Renoe, Snappy Goat
FULL TEXT
Cement, by itself, is not enough. A strong foundation needs rebar. Concrete columns holding up highway overpasses use it. Sidewalk masonry depends on the stability it brings. The “it” is something called “rebar.”
I remember working with cement as a teenager, pouring driveways and house foundations, always making sure that steel rods and wire mesh were embedded in the cement before it dried. You see, cement by itself can crumble under severe compression. Steel rebar – or reinforcing rod – is necessary to withstand the stress and strain of wind for columns and the weight of 18-wheelers on the roads. Materials, such as concrete, that can become brittle in extreme cold or hot environments, need the sustaining concentration of rebar. Concrete structures depend on the strength steel rebar provides.
Rebar illustrates the structure of belief. The steel reinforcement rods for a well lived Christian life are the rebar of biblical doctrine. Paul in the fourth chapter of Ephesians gives the reason for a believer’s structural stability saying we should not be “blown about by every wind of doctrine.” Doctrinal doubt is the concern of James who says the person who doubts is “tossed by the wind.” And Jude says that contending for The Faith necessitates not being “swept along by winds.” The teaching of Scripture supplies the doctrinal core strength for a believer’s life. My belief in the reality of a supernatural world, created and governed by The Personal Eternal Triune Creator, is the poured footer of my foundation, supplied by the rebar of biblical doctrine.
The next time you see a high rise, a skyscraper, a highway overpass, or a business tower, remember rebar. And then remember, that the strength of your beliefs depends on strong doctrine.
For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of the Comenius Institute, personally thankful for the foundation supplied by God’s Word, the Bible.