A CHRISTIAN RIGHT AND RESPONSIBILITY
Acts 17:11
Most Christians agree in order to assure spiritual growth Christians should read the Bible daily. They should verify what they have been taught. Luke tells us the Bereans were more noble-mind in their character shown by their open-mindedexamination of the Scriptures than the Thessalonians. He does not criticize or condemn the Bereans. Confirming what we are taughtis a basic Christian right and responsibility. It should be done in a spirit of humility. Pastors and teachers should have no
problem with the confirming of what they preach and teach. They should encourage it.
There should be no conflict in what the pastor preaches and the teacher teaches and what is written in the Bible. This does not mean there is not the possiblity for minor disagreement in what is preached and taught which might be due to a lack
of spiritual growth. However, if “warning bells” begin to go off too frequently and too loudly in the verifying of what is preached and taught they should not be ignored. The “warning bells” are the voice of the Holy Spirit warning believers in Christ what has
been preached and taught, even though it may sound like it has been based on sound doctrine,it did not come from the Holy Spirit, but an imposter.
The apostle Paul told the Galatians, "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!"(Galatians 1:8-9). It is clearly stated in the Word of God we are to evaluate everything (1st Thessalonians 5:21) and "test the spirits to see whether or not they are from God" (1st John 4:1).
We need to remember all correct preaching and teaching must start with the proposition, "every spirit that confesses that Jesus Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God" (1st John 4:2) and includes the following, all or some which is denied by false
teaching. In Jesus Christ "all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form" (Colossians 2:9). He came into the world to die for all mankind (John 3:16), He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness (2nd Peter 2:24), His work was deemed acceptable by the Father (Romans 3:21-26) and we are saved
on the basis of our faith in Him and in His work alone and not by our own works ( Ephesians 2:8-9). Apart from faith in Jesus Christ, there is no way to approach the Father (John 14:5) and the true believer in Jesus Christ follows Him and His teachings through- out his/her life on this earth (Matthew 7:20; 1st John 2:4).
If we are to follow Jesus and His teachings, we must learn about Him and about His teachings. This comes from two sources: (1) the Bible and (2) accepting the authority of legitmate, prepared Bible teachers and pastors. Regarding the second source for learning about Jesus and His teachings, it must be remembered all correct teaching is ultimately derived from the
Bible. How else can we evaluate the correctness of what we are taught unless we make it a daily habit to go to the source of truth itself. This source of truth is the Bible. Just as Jesus is the living reflection of the complete truth of God, so the Bible is the concrete expression of the person and mind of Jesus, given to us that we might learn to knowthat truth. It is God’s written Word (Hebrews 4:12) and divinely inspired Word that reveals the truth (Timothy 3:16).
We can offer no excuse for not reading the Word of God daily even though we live in a world filled with modern
conveniences that make heavy demands on our time and attention and at the same grant us opportunities that were unavailable to former ages. Dispite facing obstacles and disadvantages we seldom face,such as Rome’s organized persecution and the destruction of
copies of the scriptures, the Christians in these troubled times were faithful in reading or attending gatherings where the scriptures were read. It was not uncommon for the people to hear the entire Bible read through the course of a year.
Ignorance of Biblical truths has played a major role in making many Christians vulnerable to the teachings and tactics of the numerous cults in the United States and the world. It will play a major role in a massive falling away from the Christian faith at the end of the age when many Christians will be taken in by false and non-Biblical teachings (1st Timothy 4:1ff; 2nd Timothy 3:1ff; 2nd Peter 2:1ff).
In the United States we are witnessing the first stage of the predicted falling away from the Christian faith. This is why it is important we understand the principles of truth contained in the scriptures and the teachings and tactics of the numerous cults in the United States.
The growth of cults in the United States can be traced to the effective use of “mind control” techniques, such as peer pressure, basic fears, and guilt. As Christians, we are most vulnerable to groups that disguise themselves as Christian (Matthew 7:15), when in reality they are agents of Satan (2nd Corinthians 11:14). This deception can cause even the most self-confident of people to surrender their will to the will of the cult leader (2nd Corinthians 11:14). The first line of defense against these agents of Satan and organizations must be the Bible, because they will use the Bible in an attempt to deceive Christians. This is why we must beware of any person or group that downplays the importance of reading the Bible, wants to supervise or take control of our reading of the Bible, suggest you read only their “special version” of the Bible and claim all other versions are wrong.
It is our responsibility to see to it we are not deceived
