The Very Words of God

"For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you.  They are ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord."  Jude 4

One of the several things I have learned the hard way over the past few years is that heresy is rampant, including in places you wouldn't expect to find it.  A typical American can probably not go through a day without witnessing it in one form or another.  It isn't new to us.  Maybe we even become a bit "immune" to its effects after awhile.

What has shocked me to the core is some of the sources of false teaching.  People I know personally, people I don't know but have trusted in the past (I mean "famous" Christians, I guess) . . . formerly solid-in-their-faith individuals, or seemingly so, who have wandered into dangerous territory.

Now, before I go on, I want to assure you I'm not talking about anyone at SGC.  It's very important to me that you know I'm not talking about anyone you probably know personally.

But maybe you have your own acquaintances or famous people whose opinions you respected in the past but seem to have gone off the deep end theologically.  If not, you and the people in your life are extra blessed!  But let us remain vigilant . . .

And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times. Psalm 12:6

The heresy flying here, there, and everywhere is one of the main reasons we need to keep learning.  It is not safe to take our eyes off the Word of God.  Satan often begins his deceptions subtly, and we can slowly become swayed from the path if we allow false teaching to go unchecked.  Pretty soon we could be so deceived that we become heretics ourselves, not even seeing our errors.  My heart aches to even think of being in that state.  May it never be--for any of us!

First Corinthians 5:6 reminds us that a little leaven affects the whole lump of dough.  In other words, if we tolerate sin and/or false teaching in small amounts, it will affect the whole local church where it isn't nipped in the bud.  Or, as many of us have probably witnessed, it can take over one person's life, spilling over onto his or her family, friends and acquaintances, poisoning those who don't know or aren't paying attention.

The only way to recognize the counterfeit is to know the real thing.  The Truth.  The Bible.  And the only way to know it is to read and study it faithfully!

There are so many excuses not to.  Believe me, I've used quite a few of them over the years.  "I don't have time."  "I can't decide what part to read or where to start."  "It's hard to understand, so why bother?"

An awesome opportunity to throw away the excuses and dig in to the Word is through a group Bible study.  Sugar Grove Church has several times and studies available for women in the fall and again after the holidays.  There's something for everyone!  Participating in a group study provides us with accountability, inspiration and help in understanding what we're studying.  I have been attending the Precepts study for years and love everything about it.  One great thing about meeting together with other believing ladies after we have done our homework is that the discussion helps me understand things I may have had trouble with on my own.  There's no shame in asking for help or learning from others!

If for some reason you just can't make a Bible study group, maybe there's one person you can pair up with.  But, in any case, we need to be studying our Bibles, even if it's alone.  There are tools online (one of my favorites is e-Sword) or available for purchase that can help us understand and get the most out of what we are studying--the very words of God!

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 Tim 3:16-17