Here are five tests which will enable us to determine if a doctrine is truly Biblical or merely an invention of man.
1. Does it give God all the glory? There is no getting around this acid test. That which does not glorify God, in all of His perfections, cannot be of God. That which shares God's glory with the creature, cannot be true. Salvation accomplished by, or in accordance with, the works of man, the will of man, or the merits of man, is contrary to sound doctrine for it takes away from the glory, of God's free grace and mercy.
2. Does it humble man and put him in the dust before a great and sovereign God? In all doctrine, "He must increase, and we must decrease" (John 3:30). True doctrine always does two things: it puts man in his rightful place, in the dunghill, and it puts God in His rightful place, on His throne of majesty. The Lord God rules and reigns over all His creatures disposing of each one according to the good pleasure of His will. Any teaching that elevates man from the dust inevitably must lower God from His throne. That which makes man to be more than he is must make God to be less than He is. Such dogma is heretical!
3 Does it honor the justice of God and the Law of God? Whatever God does must be in accordance with His own righteous character. God cannot justify without satisfaction to His Law and where satisfaction has been made, God must justify and forgive.
4. Does it exalt the Person and work of Christ? All doctrine begins and ends with Him. He is the center and substance of the entire Word of God. Any teaching which detracts from Him or His successful work of redemption, to any degree, is untrue.
5. Does it give consolation to believers? True doctrine, far from being harmful to God's people, brings solace to their hearts.