Someone I love claims to be an atheist. In our discussions about God, it is obvious to me that he is well-read in pro-atheist apologetics. It is clear where he looks for truth, and it isn’t in the Bible.
I would venture to say that one could find support for just about anything one wants to believe. (I considered listing all the crazy things people believe today, but you probably already know what many of them are.)
What you read and listen to (whether it is true or not) does have a tremendous influence on what you believe. That’s because human beings tend to go along with the crowd. Even science backs this up.
In his article, The Science Behind Why People Follow the Crowd, Henderson says, “One lesson from social psychology is the influence others have on us. Research shows we do not have as much control over our thoughts and behavior as we think.”
Research shows that people are greatly influenced by what those around them think and who they listen to.
But there is only one way to find truth and that is in God’s Word, the Bible. We don’t have to wonder if the beliefs put forth in our culture are true or not. God has given us His Word to teach us.
“Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.” 1 Corinthians 3:18-19 NIV
I am thankful that God has given us His precious Word. The longer I live, the more I understand how important it is to life and godliness. Have you ever, in your lifetime, seen such rampant deception as we see today?
“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” 1 Timothy 4:1-2 NIV
Reading and studying the Bible is a vital discipline for the follower of Christ. Do you consider yourself a mature Christian? Why? On what do you base your claim? One can only become a mature Christian by studying God’s Word. And that requires discipline. In other words, we have to discipline ourselves to study God’s Word.
The foremost of the disciplines is that involving the Word of God and constitutes the reading, study, memorization, and meditation of Scripture. If this discipline is neglected, no other effort to discipline ourselves will be successful because we simply do not have the power to overcome the resistance of the sin nature in which our new natures reside. Nor do we have the power to overcome the resistance of demonic influences whose aim is always to separate us from the only means of spiritual growth, the Word of God.“
GotQuestions.org (emphasis mine)
In these times, there is a great need for Christians to have discernment. Discernment comes from knowing God’s Word, the Bible. The more we study God’s Word, the more our ability to discern will grow and develop.
Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
The Science Behind Why People Follow the Crowd, Rob Henderson
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
RealChristianWomen.blog
Like this:
Like Loading...