Tim Challies: The Christian’s responsibility is clear: We are to learn God’s truth by searching God’s Word. We must carefully evaluate every teaching according to God’s unfailing standard. What passes the test is sound doctrine, and what fails the test is false doctrine. False doctrine confuses truth and error, while sound doctrine distinguishes truth and error. False doctrine fails to distinguish between what God has revealed in his Word and what has been fabricated by men or demons. In the book of Hebrews, we see a church that has backslidden, that has reverted to ungodly behavior. They have done so because of their failure to heed sound doctrine. Their pastor writes this: “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food … solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by
False doctrine
Counterfeit Gospels
My thanks to Matthew Lee Anderson for this: Trevin Wax has solidified his role as one of the Christian blogging community’s most insightful writers and one of the leaders of a new crop of young writers who are working to clearly and confidently articulate the shape of the gospel over and against the challenges of contemporary substitutes. Trevin’s new book, Counterfeit Gospels, is a helpful contribution that does precisely that. Trevin has a great ability as a writer to make complex ideas accessible in an easygoing way. It is thoughtful, careful engagement with alternatives that is pastorally and spiritually helpful without watering down any of the substance. Trevin takes on the lack of judgment, moralism, a therapeutic gospel–and, in a section which I particularly appreciated–takes on quietist notions of the gospel that strip away any of the social or political ramifications of it (yes, even those). But I’ll let him tell you that: Here’s my formal endorsement: “Trevin Wax has done
8 Symptoms of False Doctrine by JC Ryle
J. C. Ryle Quotes is a nice repository of ever-relevant quotes from the 19th century pastor. Here is the latest: Many things combine to make the present inroad of false doctrine peculiarly dangerous. 1. There is an undeniable zeal in some of the teachers of error: their “earnestness” makes many think they must be right. 2. There is a great appearance of learning and theological knowledge: many fancy that such clever and intellectual men must surely be safe guides. 3. There is a general tendency to free thought and free inquiry in these latter days: many like to prove their independence of judgment, by believing novelties. 4. There is a wide-spread desire to appear charitable and liberal-minded: many seem half ashamed of saying that anybody can be in the wrong. 5. There is a quantity of half-truth taught by the modern false teachers: they are incessantly using Scriptural terms and phrases in an unscriptural sense. 6. There is a morbid craving in the public mind for
Already Not Yet 