Fellow Traveler
Active Member
The lure of false doctrine is that it presents itself as the truth. False doctrine pretends to be corrective measure to established doctrine. It is peddled by those who are certain they have discovered some new revelation of truth or a better interpretation of old, established truth. Either way, they are convinced they are right and everyone else is wrong. Don't buy into it.
It's Satan’s oldest trick. He appeals to our self-conceit and leads us into self-deceit. When he first approached Eve, Satan questioned the integrity of God’s command and appealed to her selfish desire to be like God—the same desire that led to his own fall. And there is something selfish enough in all of us to want to believe that we can know what no one else knows. That special, personal knowledge like whats found in Gnosticism.
Gnosticism is literally, “the cult based on special, personal knowledge.” The apostle Paul specifically warned against this kind of division, which has spawned several very large Christian-like religions, dozens of very closed denominations, and hundreds or thousands of small sects. Each of these groups claims some “special personal knowledge,” which they have, and you do not, which makes them more acceptable to God than you, and which keeps them separate from you in attempt to separate the body of Christ.
Once the false teacher falls into the illusion that he or she alone is God’s messenger and has a corner on His truth, spiritual deception is inevitable. Once spiritual deception sets in, it leads to spiritual darkness. It is not long before the deceived cult leader begins to espouse heretical doctrine.
It's Satan’s oldest trick. He appeals to our self-conceit and leads us into self-deceit. When he first approached Eve, Satan questioned the integrity of God’s command and appealed to her selfish desire to be like God—the same desire that led to his own fall. And there is something selfish enough in all of us to want to believe that we can know what no one else knows. That special, personal knowledge like whats found in Gnosticism.
Gnosticism is literally, “the cult based on special, personal knowledge.” The apostle Paul specifically warned against this kind of division, which has spawned several very large Christian-like religions, dozens of very closed denominations, and hundreds or thousands of small sects. Each of these groups claims some “special personal knowledge,” which they have, and you do not, which makes them more acceptable to God than you, and which keeps them separate from you in attempt to separate the body of Christ.
Once the false teacher falls into the illusion that he or she alone is God’s messenger and has a corner on His truth, spiritual deception is inevitable. Once spiritual deception sets in, it leads to spiritual darkness. It is not long before the deceived cult leader begins to espouse heretical doctrine.