Beware The Crooked Truth!

"The gospel is not speculation but fact. It is truth, because it is the record of a Person who is the Truth."  - Alexander MacLaren

Throughout history, there have been deceitful and immoral individuals who have tried to influence or shape the Word of God to serve their own purposes. For example, some individuals may hijack Scripture for their own personal benefit, or abusive churches and cults that twist Scripture to give more authority to the leadership and keep the members under their control (Jude 1:4).

Therefore, it is extremely important that the Christian be vigilant and informed so that they may be less susceptible to deception and seduction by these sinful corruptors. Obviously, the strongest weapon we can arm ourselves with is to familiarize ourselves with scriptural truth. If a person is strongly grounded in God's Word, it is difficult to be tempted by false teaching and doctrine (Colossians 2:8).

In the event that we are confronted with those who attempt to sway our hearts and minds with their erroneous and disdainful teachings, we should follow the example of Jews at Berea and examine their words with patience and candor, "And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth" -Acts 17:11(NLT).

The world is a dangerous place for the unwary and ill-prepared Christian. Jesus was well aware of this and served this warning to his disciples, “Listen! I am sending you out just like sheep to a pack of wolves. You must be as cautious as snakes and as gentle as doves" -Matthew 10:16 (GNT). We must fill our hearts and minds with Christ. In this way we will be less vulnerable to attacks against the principles which Jesus taught and desires us to share with others (Matthew 11:28-29; Mark 16:15).

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; Romans 1:16; John 5:39-40; 2 Timothy 4:3-4; Ephesians 5:11

Prayer: Dear Lord, strengthen me against irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge;  and help me to stand firm in Your trustworthy word, amen.

May your day be blessed,

Edie