Why do people believe a lie?
Many times, people believe a lie when that lie is something they want to be true. Sometimes people believe a lie because they have heard it so many times. In fact, a study at Villanova University proved just that. If a person hears something often enough, they will start to believe it’s true.
Is there any way to know what is really true and what is not? There is! God’s Word is true. The longer you study it, the more you will realize how true and relevant it is today!
One of the best things you can do to protect yourself is to commit to a “Read the Bible in a Year” chronological reading plan. The reason I recommend it so highly is that you will be exposed to “the whole counsel of God’s Word” and begin to see God’s Word as the complete story of Christ.
At the very least, read the New Testament cover to cover at least once a year (although twice a year would be better). But remember that the Apostle Paul encouraged Timothy saying,
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16 NIV
Paul is talking about the Old Testament! It must not be neglected because it has much to teach us! Some preachers have said the Old Testament is not relevant today, but that is clearly a contradiction of 2 Timothy 3:16.
Many preachers claim God wants you to be wealthy and rich. That’s called the “Prosperity Gospel” and it’s very popular. (Possibly one of those things people believe because they want it to be true.) But the Bible says something different.
“These are the things you are to teach and insist on. If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.” 1 Timothy 6:2-5 NIV
Errant teaching thrives when specific verses are taken out of context, as in the two examples above. We can pray for discernment, but we must still check what is preached against the Word of God.
Let’s take Harriet as an example. Harriet goes to church on Sunday, has a devotional at home (usually a passage from Psalms, and reads random verses for encouragement. She even attends a Ladies’ Bible Study in which they study the latest best-selling book of a well-known Christian author. For the most part, Harriet gives well-known Christian personalities a lot of respect and she trusts their teaching. She has attended church her whole adult life.
Here’s the question I have for you: Is Harriet a mature Christian woman? Is she safe from false teaching? She thinks she is. But is she? Is she developing discernment? Take another look at Harriet’s habits. She depends almost entirely on Bible teachers to guide her beliefs. She has never read the whole Bible, not even the entire New Testament. Is she well-equipped to recognize false teaching or is she vulnerable? You decide.
In his book, The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment, Tim Challies compares spiritual discernment with identifying counterfeit currency.
Challies writes, “We can best know what is wrong by first knowing what is right. Experts on counterfeit currency know this as well. They train others first to know the traits of genuine currency… Experts in counterfeit money study every aspect of their currency including how it feels and every detail of its appearance and color. Only after they do this are they shown counterfeit currency. And guess what? They know immediately what is not real!”
In the same way, the better we know the Bible the easier it will be to discern truth from error.
“I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.” Psalm 119:16 NIV (emphasis mine)
Learn more about discernment in the following articles:
How To Be a Discerning Christian
Why Do Christians Listen to False Teachers?
The Skill of Discernment
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Photo by Kristina Paparo on Unsplash
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