What is the right order—doctrine, faith, and experience?
The right order is faith first, then doctrine, then experience. Faith is the God-given ability to believe what God says, doctrine is what we believe, and experience is the result when faith and doctrine are combined. Experience must not take the place of faith or doctrine.
Les teaches that the believers in Greece were abounding in faith, and that faith is the beginning of it. He explains that we have to begin with doctrine, and doctrine comes by faith. When you put faith plus doctrine, then you are going to have experience. But too many people are forgetting doctrine and always talking about nothing but experience. That is not going to fly, and God is not pleased with that, because we have to start with faith—that God-given ability and power to believe what God says. This is the whole basis of studying and understanding the Word of God. Les also warns that we must be careful not to bring into operation things God told Israel to do in the Old Testament, such as bringing gifts, tithes, and offerings into the storehouse, or animal sacrifices and priestly duties.