Sticking to Sound Doctrine… An Uncomfortable Truth

I’ve been so afraid of doing things out of pride, that I often choose not to “post” or “share” because I have this fear of me wanting the recognition.  Oftentimes I think Holy Spirit is prompting me to do or say something, but then fear tells me I’m doing it for the wrong reasons… so I refrain from sharing.  The enemy has used my fear of pride to withhold me from sharing the things God shares with me.  “Are you really posting that because you think God wants you to share or are you posting it to try and be right?”… “Did God really say that to you or is it just in your head?… Did God really say…?” I don’t know how it has taken me this long to spot the enemy in it.  He makes me doubt the voice of God by inputting the idea of pride in place of it.  I often find myself questioning certain dreams or thoughts that I feel are from God and then find myself asking the exact question the serpent used to manipulate Eve in the garden… “Did God really say?”  Genesis 3:1… and there entered the first sin.  

I want to remind you of one of the most simple, yet frequently used tactics over and over again by the enemy.  The way the enemy deceived Eve from the very beginning was simply by asking and planting the seed of doubt in her head, “Did God really say?” Genesis 3:1 The serpent didn’t do anything grand and crazy, but simply put doubt in her mind and made her question God by asking the simplest of all questions, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’” Genesis 3:1 Eve heard the question and answered it correctly by using God’s word, “The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.” Genesis 3:2 But then the enemy does what he does best, he manipulates God’s Word to try and fit the narrative they are in to deceive whomever he is talking to, “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.  “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like god, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:4-5 The serpent added to God’s word and made it appealing to Eve’s ears.  He added to God’s word what Eve’s itching ear wanted to hear… and Eve was deceived and fell into sin.  Eve let the seed of doubt get watered and there it grew, by starting with a simple question of “Did God really say?”.  I think this is extremely relevant in our society today.  How often are people questioning God’s Word, the very sound scripture that has been around for thousands of years?  Not just the words within His Word, but the rules, the commands, the reasons, the how, the when, the interpretation… Did God really say?  

THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE BIBLE

Before we move on, I think it’s critical we understand the reliability of the Bible.  If you are a professing Christian and are questioning the authority of the Bible, the reliability of the God’s Word and the authenticity of the writers over thousands of years, then you need to bring this to Jesus immediately.  As we see from the above story, Satan’s easiest way to get the Christian to doubt is by using such a simple question of “Did God really say?” and this is why the Bible is so important because the Bible DOES tell us what God really said.  In present day culture, many question the reliability of it because God’s word was replayed through prophets and written by men, but every story, every word, every book written, comes first from a mind.  The origin of the words have a beginning place.  The beginning place of the Bible, God’s Word, came from God’s mind first and this is why John 1:1-2 makes so much sense.  “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.” The Word was with God from the beginning because the Word was in his mind. If you are struggling to believe in the accuracy and reliability of the Bible, you are likely being manipulated by Satan.  

Sisters and brothers, do not forget what Jesus told us in Matthew 24 about the sign of the end times, “Jesus answered, “Watch out that no one deceives you.” Matthew 24:4 This is the very first thing Jesus answered his disciples with when they asked about the signs of his second coming and the end times.  In today’s social media driven culture, we are being massively deceived by so many different avenues, friends, family, favorite social media influencers, news outlets, etc.  It is more important than ever to look to God’s Word and trust in the authority and reliability of the scriptures alone, not your favorite influencer.  “I urge you brothers and sisters to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teachings you have learned.  Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites.” Romans 16:17–18

Why is it that we are more willing to trust the influencer we follow over God’s very Word?  How is it that we can love someone so much to the point of affirming their sin, even if it goes against God’s commands?  How have we become so prideful that we think we are more loving for just loving someone, rather than following God’s commands which tells us to deny ourselves and repent?  How are we more afraid of offending man to the point of going against God’s commands to be at peace with man and not God?  If you are reading God’s Word, then you are so much less likely to be deceived.  Friends, this is Biblical.  This deception and questioning of God’s Word is Biblical and if we are sticking to sound doctrine, we can spot the deception of the enemy’s question “Did God really say…?”… or maybe he changes up the wording to suit your situation… “Did the Bible really say that God created them male and female?… Did God really say there are only two genders or is there a broad range in between?… Did God really mean that or did someone change the Greek word?… Did God really say you should deny yourself?… Doesn’t God call us to love everyone though?… Did God really say you should abstain from sex until marriage?” 

This is why we are called to test the Scriptures to ensure that what we are hearing from our favorite influencer, friend, family member, neighbor, etc. is in line with God’s Word.  We, as followers of Christ, need to ensure that we are reading God’s Word consistently in order to spot the deception the enemy is throwing our way.  It is much harder to be manipulated when you are actively reading and interpreting God’s Word, not that one kid on TikTok who tried to invalidate God’s word.  We see this exemplified in Acts 17:11, the Berean Jews “received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”  People will find any way to manipulate God’s Word to fit their own goals, desires, motivations, etc.  It is so easy to manipulate the Word of God to fit your own narrative.  We do it all the time.  Everyone needs to wake up and spot the deception.  “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine, instead to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”  2 Timothy 4:3-4 Sounds like “new age” spirituality to me. People don’t want to have to deny themselves. People don’t want to believe in a God that enforces his design for life over their desires.  

God’s Word is Truth and this is where we can ensure we aren’t being deceived by people asking “Did God really say?”… can I be sure of this? GotQuestions.org put it perfectly by saying  

“Jesus said, “Your word is truth.” When we look at the Bible, we see truth. The Bible does not merely contain the truth; it is the truth. Every word is truth, in every part of the Bible. “The words of the LORD are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times” (Psalm 12:6). This is the doctrine of the verbal, plenary inspiration of Scripture. How we respond to God’s written Word and the Word made flesh has an eternal impact on us. Since God’s Word is truth, rejecting the Bible and rejecting Jesus is rejecting God Himself. Believing, cherishing, studying, and obeying God’s Word is the key to salvation, understanding God, and living abundantly (John 10:10). No matter what we may face in this world, we are sustained by the truth prayed over us in Jesus’ prayer: “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).  To read full article https://www.gotquestions.org/your-word-is-truth.html

If what someone is trying to convince you of is contrary to God’s Word, it’s not from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit would never affirm anything that is contrary to God’s Word.  How can we be sure of that? Because God’s Word is truth and God does not change (Matthew 24:35, Isaiah 40:8, Hebrews 13:8). Questions and doubts are natural, but do not let the seed of “Did God really say?” get watered.  The best way to refute the enemy is by God’s very Word- the very thing the enemy is trying to make you question.  Jesus himself used scripture to fight the enemy’s deception and his modeling of fighting back with the Word is a picture of how we are to fight back too.  So, stand firm with the belt of truth and let God be the author of your beliefs, not some new age spirituality that comes and goes.  Stand firm.