The Bible Answers                                                          By Harold Smith

QUESTION: How can we know the teachings of these false teachers today?

ANSWER: There is only one criteria for testing the teachers and that is the word of God.  Be very careful of who you listen to and what you  read.  The worse error is that why is hidden behind a lot of  the truth.  Not only listen to what is taught, but take note of what isn’t taught.
    
However, the particular area of testing is most important. As to where Cain got his wife from, one can speculate and be right or wrong, but when it comes to the major doctrine of the Bible then one that is wrong holds false doctrine.
    
The most important doctrine in the Bible is the person of Christ. 2 John 10.  If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: This doctrine is called the doctrine of Christ. V.9
This can be tested by seven things about Christ. 1)His deity, means He always existed as the eternal Son of God ),   2)His virgin conception and birth,  3) His impeccable sinless humanity, 4) His atoning blood sacrifice, 5) His bodily resurrection,  6) His ascension to heaven, 6)  His visible bodily coming again.  Any denial of one of these doctrine is false teaching to be avoided. Don’t support, listen or tolerate it for a moment. Rather reprove them.
    
The second is the gospel. There are many false gospels being preached today. Any gospel that has works, baptism or law keeping to obtain salvation is a false gospel. The gospel is the grace of God given to man by faith in Christ  Eph 2:8.  It is preceded by repentance of sin toward God. Easy believism is not the way to get the salvation of the gospel, although it is the most popular of all today. Salvation is more than signing a card, or going up to the front. It is trusting Christ all the way. It is all of Him or not of Him at all.  He provided it and He produces it in those that trust Him, and He will perfect it at the Rapture.
    
The light of the gospel is how to get the benefits of it. The popular gospel today is just believe on Christ and you will be saved.  That is true, if you do it as a repenting sinner. When you realize you are lost, hopeless and helpless and then trust Christ 100% that is the way of salvation.
    I was at a funeral the other day. The young man gave the letter of the gospel very well and then said, “all you have to do is to believe in Christ.”  That isn’t all. What he didn’t say is what was wrong. He did not say that they first had to repent of their sinning against God.  He was presenting the gospel, but failed to give the two necessary steps into the benefits of it.
   
Beware of the preaching of the gospel that has self-esteem and no preaching about sins We have far more professors than possessors of salvation today.

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All comments and questions to: Harold Smith

Updated January 2008, by Shelly Allen