How can Christians sort out false teachings and deception?
Christians sort out false teachings and deception by depending on the Holy Spirit’s direction and using their God-given mind and intelligence to search the Scriptures. They test every teaching and practice against the Book, rejecting anything not found in Scripture, because what is truly part of the Christian walk is taught there.
Les explains that Satan can transform himself into an angel of light and appear to promote the Scriptures while leading millions astray; he is a master at that. The Lord has therefore given believers the direction of the Holy Spirit, plus a mind and intelligence, so that by searching the Scriptures they can sort these things out. Les illustrates this with a caller who wanted verses showing a practice was wrong. His counsel was to look for a verse that instructs people to do it; when it cannot be found and is not in the Book, it must be wrong, since anything that is part and parcel of the Christian walk is in the Book. He stresses that it is as important to realize what is not in the Book as to know what is in it, because many believe something is in the Book only because they heard it somewhere.