There are many calling cards of false teaching that can be easily identified if we know what to look for.
However, if we don’t know what to look for, we can be easily manipulated, or at a minimum, confused.
Confused Christians are in danger of making horrible mistakes, with one of the worst being the drawing of false conclusions which will lead us into false beliefs, which will lead us to taking wrong actions.
One of the most common ways that false teaching occurs is by teachers taking a single verse of Scripture and building an entire belief system based upon that single verse without taking into consideration everything else the Bible has to say, and especially regarding the topic that the teaching is based upon.
For instance, Jesus says in Matthew 19:23, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.”
So, what am I to do with that information? Make sure that I can never be considered rich? Teach that to be a follower of Jesus we must never have wealth?
My point is this- we should never build a teaching based upon a single verse and we can easily see the danger of doing so.
Believe it or not, this tactic is still one of the most common ways that false teachers manipulate people today. It began with Satan in the beginning and continues today.
We are all susceptible of believing false teachings, especially when what we are being taught comes directly, word for word, from the Bible.
But something that all Christians should be taught to do, is when we are taught something from the Bible, ask the question, “Is this teaching consistent throughout the Bible?”
After we ask that question though, we must then do what so few are willing to do – we have to research the Bible to determine what it says regarding whatever topic it is.
The good news is that there are more tools available now than there has ever been for Bible study and research. And don’t forget that you have a guy that’s available a whole lot of the time to help you – I hope I don’t have to tell you that guy is me.
Much love!
Wes LeFlore (918) 607-8489 or huskerwes1@gmail.com
