Question: I listen to preaching all the time from different people and it sounds like they say different things. Who is it that we are supposed to listen to? Can they all be right?
Good question. I hope you like the answer but chances are you may not. To set all this up we need to first read Jude, 2 Peter chapter 2, and 2 Timothy 2:2-4 to see that there are false teachers (not false prophets) who we are to be aware of and how they operate. Remember that these letters are to the body and about things going on within the body. “These men” as Peter calls them, are people who bring in “destructive heresies” (2 Peter 2:1) and “fabricated stories” (2:3). “These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit” Jude 19. Notice that these men do not have the Spirit (of God) which means they are not saved, but they are in positions to greatly influence the body of Christ at the place where they are. Note: denominations have played a huge role in dividing the body. It is reasonably concluded that these men are pastors and teachers (elders) within the body of Christ and, again, unsaved. Now read 1 Corinthians 2 and pay special attention to verses 10-14 where we see that anyone without the Spirit cannot understand spiritual things (the mind of God) as they are foolishness to him. In 2 Timothy 4:3-4 Paul tells Timothy that “For the time will come when man (the body) will not put up with sound doctrine…” and verse 4 “They will turn their ears away from the Truth and turn aside to myths” and the time has come where this is exactly what is happening.
Today, in many cases, not all, people are moving toward assemblies that make them “feel good” and gather with teachers that can do that, rather than teachers who help them understand the will of God. They are taught that we are to “love everyone” because we don’t want to offend anyone regardless of whether the things being taught are sound or not. Most people today, not all, don’t want to check out (study the Scriptures) whether someone is telling the truth or not. They just want to be told what the Scriptures mean so that they can feel good about it.
It is important to understand the things discussed above because without knowing what is happening today, we can be enticed to listen to anyone who sounds good, has a large following or seems to be very sincere. So, how do we know?
The Word of God is how we know. He is right 100% of the time and if you don’t know what He says about any particular subject, in context of what He says about it, you put yourself in a position to be deceived. It ultimately comes down to you being responsible for the knowledge you have of the Scripture so that when you hear someone, anyone, say something about the Word you can, by the Spirit within you and the knowledge of God’s Word you have, discern if what that person is saying is accurate or not. Just because a man has been to seminary does not necessarily mean he has a lot of understanding. Some have a great deal of understanding about some subjects and other subjects they may have almost none at all and it is up to you to investigate everything that you hear to determine the truth by comparing what they say to the Word of God. Read Acts 17:10-12.
Today, for whatever reason (refer back to the passages above), most elders do not want people to ask questions about what is said, what is believed, why things are done any certain way and so forth. In other words, they don’t want to be challenged about how they do things. If you observe something, an action, statement, belief, program or anything else that you don’t understand, by your knowledge of the Scripture, you should ask about it or challenge it. Be warned though - false teaching has so permeated the body that when you do ask questions you may be the one labeled as rebellious and a troublemaker as very few elders want to be questioned about their beliefs and the way they do things. I know because I’ve done it and have been there.
We will give one example of a very common false teaching today. If you ask me “What must I do to be saved?” and I give you the “ABCs” which is Admit (that you are a sinner), Believe (in Christ) and Confess (sin), have I told you the truth? No. As one studies the Epistles which are given to all of Mankind after the cross, we find that we are told to believe in Jesus the Christ’s death, burial and resurrection to eternal life for the forgiveness of sin, which is the gospel or good news that Christ’s sacrificed blood on the cross now can remove sin. We are saved by the grace of God through faith, not the ABCs. Nowhere in the Epistles is anyone directed to admit that they are a sinner or to confess their sin to be saved. The Scriptures simply do not exist! See the Salvation tool in the toolbox. But if you don’t know this, it could be very convincing because ABCs is a nice catchy phrase that sounds good but is as false as anything else that is contrary to the Word of God. Read Galatians 1:6-9 for what the Holy Spirit says through Paul about a false gospel. Anyone who gives a false gospel I personally will not listen to at all and this is only one of several things. God’s Words are absolute Truth, where man’s interpretation and opinion is not.
So, no, they are not all right if what they say contradicts God’s Word and it is your responsibility to know what it actually says and means. This understanding will only come through diligent study, prayer and then the Holy Spirit will reveal the Truth. It’s your job to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2) as we study for ourselves and test everything we hear and observe with what God says about it, not man. This is how we grow and mature in Christ and learn to distinguish good from evil as Hebrews 5:14 tells us. Thank you for the question.