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Why Doctrine Is Not the Enemy of Devotion
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Doctrine is simply what you believe about God. You already have some. The only real question is whether it is true.
People sometimes say they want Jesus and not doctrine. But the moment you say the name Jesus you have said something doctrinal. You have said he is real. You have said something about who he is and what he has done. The man who says God is love is teaching doctrine. So is the man who says God would never send anyone to hell. Nobody stands outside of doctrine. We only stand inside good doctrine or bad.
There is a real danger here, and it should be named. A person can know the terms and never know the Lord. He can argue well and pray little. That is a hard and pitiful thing, and Scripture warns about it. But the cure for cold knowledge is not less knowledge. It is knowledge that reaches the heart. You cannot love a God you have refused to learn anything about. You cannot trust a Savior whose work you have never understood. The doctrines on this page are not a cage around Christ. They are windows. Each one lets more light in on his face.
If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
John 8:31-32 (KJV)
So read slowly. Look up what is cited. Ask God to show you himself in it.