The Doctrines of Men

Thirsty Theologian has a great post on an issue my fellow Two or Three.net contributor Aaron has commented on previously: the Southern Baptist Convention's unbiblical prohibition of alcohol use by its membership. (Hat tip: Evangelical Outpost)

The argument that this resolution is a clear violation of Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone is authority over the life of a Christian) is compelling. In fact, I'm not sure which is worse: the fact that the SBC would sink to such depths of legalism or that the passage cited to justify the resolution was ripped totally out of context and twisted to justify the convention's actions.
This is, of course, nothing new for the SBC or other churches, for that matter. Different groups have longed try to use Scripture to justify positions that are not directly addressed in God's word. These teachings are what Jesus referred to as the "doctrines of men".

When our attention becomes focused on issues of Christian liberty and practical applications of God's word (in which there can be legitimate disagreement) rather than Scripture itself, Christians run the risk of becoming irrelevant and losing our influence in a world that so desperately needs to hear the truth.