Be Proactive

Stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. —Ephesians 6:18

There’s no such thing as a safe dose of poison, so we must be careful about what we allow to enter our lives. We must protect ourselves with a clear understanding of what God teaches in His Word.

To be proactive, we can learn to correctly handle Scripture, knowing that it is eternal, unchanging, and trustworthy (Psalm 119: 89, 137–138). It is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16). It originates in God Himself by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:20–21).

We can also know for certain that God’s Word will be fulfilled—unlike the prophecies of false teachers (Deut. 18:22). It’s understandable through the Holy Spirit’s teaching (John 14:26). It is unified, neither contradictory nor inconsistent (Psalm 119:160), and it’s the standard for testing all spiritual teaching (2 Cor. 11:4).

Ephesians 6:12–17 exhorts us to put on the whole armor of God, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the “cosmic powers of this darkness.” His pure Word will protect us against lethal error.

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Learn to Discern: How to Recognize and Respond to Error in the Culture ©2008 Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible ®. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible ® and CSB ® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.