Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Matthew 16:6
A group of young Christians was discussing the topic of cults, when one of the group suggested it might be a good idea to read the literature from the cults, so we would understand their doctrine. An older Christian who was with us interrupted quickly to warn against that plan. He said it was often not safe for even mature Christians with a good grounding of Scripture to read such material, because of the doubts and confusion that it would cause. I remembered that warning a number of years later, when a man I was working with gave me a booklet that explained his church’s doctrine that recognizes Jesus as the only Person in the Godhead. When I sat down to read the booklet, I also opened my Bible. There were many Bible references in the book, so I checked them all out. I found that none of the references supported the statements the man made, some of them even said the opposite, and most had nothing whatsoever to do with the topic. I quickly proved the booklet to be nothing but deceptive nonsense.
There were false doctrines during the time of the Lord Jesus’ ministry, too. And Jesus warned His disciples about them. His warning is still valid today, as we see the powerful rise of cults and false religions. Although these evil doctrines cannot withstand the scrutiny of the Word of God, they are attracting many gullible people, and in some cases cause even many Christians to wonder if there might be some good among those doctrines. But if the Lord Jesus had warnings about the false doctrines of His day, we should heed the warnings of the false doctrines of our day. False doctrines are still false, regardless of how popular and powerful they become. For example, the Mormons are still a cult with dangerous, false doctrines, even though the Billy Graham people have removed them from their list of cults.
The first step to countering false doctrines is for us to be firmly grounded on the truths of Scripture. If we know what the Word of God says, we will not be deceived by the lies of the cults. If we have a need to learn about the cults, we should read the writings of scripturally sound, godly men who have studied those false doctrines. Their wisdom and careful study will guide us through the pitfalls that the cults are so clever at inserting into their propaganda. Young Christians in particular need to be careful not to be caught up in the alluring lies of the cults.
The best way to beware of the false doctrines we encounter is to embrace the truth and learn it by heart. -Jim MacIntosh