Learn to Discern
July 24th, 2010Learn to Discern from Essentials Church on Vimeo.
We examine the issue of testing false teachers and it can be tricky.
Why? because they can be like quicksand. On the surface, they look pretty harmless. But one false step in the wrong place and you have been sucked in. Once someone has been trapped by quicksand, the worst thing she can do is struggle to get out. If she does struggle, she sinks even deeper. The only hope of getting out is a timely and often laborious rescue by another person. It is obvious that it is much simpler to stay out of the quicksand than it is to be pulled out by someone else.
False teachers are like quicksand. On the surface, they look non-threatening and innocent. But the false teacher lies in wait as the person comes near—waiting to suck him or her in. If you love God, stay clear of false teachers; stay clear of quicksand!
In the technological world in which we live, we see and hear many people who proclaim what the Bible says; what God says and what it all means. We see them on the internet; we hear them on the radio; and we read articles by them in the paper.
How do we know what is right and what is wrong when it comes to someone teaching the Bible and interpreting it?
In 1 John chapter 4, the author John contrasts the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
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