Religious error is dangerous in many ways.  Even from a physical standpoint, error has ruined many lives over the years.  For example, so-called prosperity preachers have deceived many people into giving them their life savings.  They tell them it is the will of God that they give a seed offering as a way of showing their love for the Lord.  Many of these people who lose their savings are older and live on fixed incomes.  However, they want to please God so much that it is easy for a smooth-talking preacher, who is out to make a profit, to deceive them.

Let me give you another example.  Many have been caught up in the charismatic movement associated with many denominational churches.  Preachers, who claim to have the ability to lay hands on the sick and heal them, have, on occasion, talked parents into refraining from getting their children medical attention when they have become sick.  They persuade them that to do so would show a lack of faith in God.  Unfortunately, there have been times when children have died due to this false teaching.

While these kinds of situations are devastating to the ones who are taken advantage of, there is something much worse than losing money, or even lives, and that is the loss of souls.  The most dangerous part of religious error is that it stops people from being saved.  Sadly, this is a regular occurrence in the religious world today.

Most preachers today teach a man-made doctrine when it comes to God’s plan of salvation.  You hear everything from being saved by faith alone to being saved by being baptized with the Holy Spirit.  As a result, many fail to do what the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of Peter, commanded to be done in Acts 2:38.  When the people in the crowd asked Peter and the apostles what they had to do, Peter simply told them to, “repent and be baptized…”  How simple is that?  Peter was not vague in answering the people’s question.   They understood perfectly what they had to do, and as a result, about 3,000 souls repented and were baptized (Acts 2:41).  Today, most religious people refuse to do what Peter taught in Acts 2:38, and there is only one reason they refuse—religiouserror.

Religious error also causes people to lose their salvation after they come to know the Lord.  A Bible example of this is found in 2 Timothy 2:17-18.  Two false teachers, Hymenaeus and Philetus, were teaching false doctrine, saying that the resurrection had already passed.  Paul tells us that their teaching was responsible for overthrowing the faith of some.  That is the real danger of religious error.  It not only stops some from ever obeying the gospel, but it also has the power to overthrow (the Greek word means to overturn) faith.

This is where the value of the Word of God can be seen.  If you study the Bible like you should, you will become familiar with truth and be able to distinguish it from error.  Since there will always be false prophets in the world (2 Peter 2:1), this is an important ability to possess.  Remember, there is never an excuse for being led astray by false doctrine.  Jesus said, “…if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch” (Matthew 15:14).  

It is our responsibility to know the truth and distinguish it from error.  To do that, we must study the Bible.  In the Word of God, our heavenly Father has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), but it is up to us to read it regularly so that we can know God’s will for us.  Paul once said, “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:17).  We can all understand the will of the Lord.  However, since there are so many in the world who corrupt God’s Word (2 Corinthians 2:17), we must be diligent in our personal study so that we can distinguish between truth and error.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.