Before we get into the subject, let me just say a word about Bible doctrine in general. The word “doctrine” means teaching. It encompasses both what we’re taught and hence what we believe. And by extrapolation it determines how we live. In essence, it is what we accept as the truth. To the Christian, truth is not relative, it’s established by what the Bible teaches. If this is true, why then are there so many factions and denominations within the church? Why are there groups of believers who seem to hold, sometimes, completely opposite interpretations of the same scripture? I believe the reason is, although our soul has been converted, we still live with our fallen human nature. None of us possess 100% capacity to understand fully. And we will not, this side of glory. The Apostle Paul says, “now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that we know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me completely.” 1 Cor 13:12 NLT Further, the palmist wrote in PS 119:89, Forever, O Lord, they word is settled in heaven. Rest assured, God is not up there wondering if he should lean more towards Arminianism than Calvinism. He’s not grappling with if he should be pre trib, mid trib, or post trib. Any error in doctrine lies squarely on the shoulders of man.
Because what we accept as truth can have profound ramifications, spiritually speaking, we really need to make sure that those who are teaching us are teaching us sound doctrine. We should all be like the Bereans who were commended in Acts 17:11 (NIV). “Now the Berean Jews were more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scripters every day to see if what Paul said was true.” Additionally, the Father has given each of us the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth. It doesn’t matter WHO is doing the preaching or teaching! We have the right to examine it in light of God’s word for ourselves! Even the Apostle Paul said, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under a God’s curse!” Gal 1:8 (NIV) Often too many Christians are impressed by “big name” preachers, evangelists, and teachers, that they swallow everything they say, hook, line and sinker! I can tell you that some of the most erroneous, heretical things I’ve ever heard came out of the mouths of some of these ministers (i.e. Joel Olsteen, Joyce Meyer, Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copland, Charles Capps, Fred Price, Creflo Dollar). Just because they may be right in some areas, have a huge following, and are very rich, doesn’t mean they are right in everything they teach. I’ve always taught my daughters, “eat the chicken and spit out the bones.” If something you hear doesn’t sit well in your spirit, put it on the shelf. Come back to it and ask the Lord if it’s good to eat. There are a lot of things that sound good, appeal to our flesh, but are not from the Lord (see 2Tim 4:3). This is even more true to those of us that identify as Pentecostal Christians. Not all supernatural manifestations are of the Spirit of God. (But I’ll save this for another time)
Now that we established what doctrine is, let me say a word about heresy. (Hang with me. I promise I’ll get to the Word of Faith movement, but I feel this is important to understand)
When is a teaching considered “heretical”? What is heresy? According to Easton’s Bible Dictionary, the word heresy comes from the Greek word, meaning a self-chosen opinion. Heresies came to be understood as self-chosen doctrines that do not originate from God.
Sometimes it’ very difficult to distinguish heresy from the unadulterated Word of God. Reason being, because some part of it may be true. It could even be true, but it’s presented in such a way that it’s taken out of context. When something is taken out of context you often arrive at the wrong conclusion. The first law of hermeneutics (the interpretation of scripture) is to examine a scripture with other scripture(s). And utilize inductive Bible study methods. The sad thing today is most Christians don’t even read their Bible daily, let alone study and meditate on it. Consequently, they become easy prey to all sorts of heresies. But I digress.
For the sake of time, I can’t go into it here, but if you read the temptation of Christ when he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness you can see how Satan twisted scripture and how our Lord responded. (See Matt 4:1-11)
(Up next, Part 2, The Word of Faith Movement. Sound Doctrine or Hersey?)