Any deviations from the eternal truths of Scripture are of such consequence as warrant vigorous debate. However, truth in connection with the saving of the soul must be argued without concession and unyielding fervor. It is beyond doubt the single most critical issue of mans existence, for the loss of the soul is not only that which is irretrievable, but the extent of such loss is beyond the bounds of our ability to conceive, as we are constrained by our finite nature.

Scripture throughout reveals God speaking in the first person as in Isaiah 45:21, “Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me.” It is riddled with terms like “God said” or “Thus saith the Lord” We are told in Luke 1:70 that“He [God] spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old”. One can only conclude then, that either the Bible is the Word of the living God, or the Prophets, the Apostles, and Christ Himself were deliberate liars. If the latter were true then the book becomes worthless. For who can be so foolish as to accept a book written by deceptive liars to be a good moral book? Nevertheless, this is what men do. They reject the Scriptures as God’s revelation of truth, and then theorize and come up with their own concept of truth that it might conform to that which best meets their own needs as they perceive them. We can then “pick and choose” those “truths” which satisfy the flesh and reject anything that is offensive to the same. However, this is nothing more than foolish speculation based on the corrupt reasoning and the philosophical assumptions of men. The truth, on the other hand, is the actual state of things irrespective of human thought and reason. In other words, if we interpret the Word of God according to our own preconceived notions, biases, or predilections, which are contrary to the actual state of things, we do not alter the truth, but rather we deceive ourselves into believing a lie. However, if we acknowledge the words of Scripture as being “God breathed,” then we must acknowledge as well that any teaching that is contrary to the nature and character of God, as revealed in His Word, must necessarily be false.

"Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar" (Prov. 30:5, 6).

It is here that we find the most subtle, and therefore the most dangerous of all deceptions. It is through those who profess to accept the authority of Scripture as inspired of God, yet they misinterpret, misquote, and twist their true meaning (2 Pet. 3:16). We are all guilty of this to some extent, since no man can claim a perfect understanding of the Scriptures. However, with the false teacher it is characteristic and even as Satan is referred to in Scripture as“the father of lies,” his children, the false teachers, take on the same attribute (John 8:44), even though they themselves may be entirely unaware of their true spiritual state (John 8:39). Thus Scripture gives us this warning, “You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;” (2 Peter 3:17)

Christ said, “I came that you might have life...” (John 10:10). “And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3). The gospel is the living truth which when applied to the heart, by the Spirit, brings forth life. Eternal life is not simply an extension of that which the unbelieving already have, but rather something wholly new of which we have no prior knowledge or experience. In other words, the Bible states that those who are separated from God on account of their sin are dead while they live, and if they continue in a state of unbelief they will ultimately suffer eternal death; the everlasting judgment of God.

We find then, that according to Scripture, the majority of men are deceived in that they believe they have life when in fact they are dead; “Dead in their trespasses and sin.” However, they are completely unaware of it and will continue to be so unless by God’s mercy he heals them of their blindness and grants them repentance. It is only when our eyes are opened to spiritual truth, as we become partakers of the Divine Nature, that we experience our first taste of life. It is the birth of the Christian. It is not simply acquiring a new belief system, but rather it is a new principal of life supernaturally implanted within the soul (1 Pet. 1:23). It begins as a sprouting seedling, thirsting after the water of the Word, drinking in God’s truth, gradually growing into maturity as God gives the increase (Gal. 6:3). And even as a small child seeks to imitate his earthly father, even so the converted child of God seeks to imitate his heavenly Father (Eph. 5:1). All the while the richness of the vision of heaven, the hope of life in all its fullness, the “beauty of His holiness,” keeps him eagerly seeking and watching, purifying his heart in the light of its reality (1 John 3:3). We persevere, having the Father’s solemn promise, sealed by the Spirit, that what we taste of now we will one day feast upon in glory. He who started this work in us will complete it until the Day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6), and for this we give Him continual praise with thanksgiving!

So then, when we consider what is at stake, eternal life or eternal ruin, error concerning the gospel cannot be a matter of which we can simply avoid in the name of love, fellowship, and peace. Although men in this day regard peace and tolerance as the greater virtue, and truth as a secondary issue, love can never speak in this way, for love by its very nature is contrary to error. Error destroys, while love edifies.

Christ himself made it plain that the gospel would not bring peace but division. Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me (Matt. 10:34-37) The gospel, by which men find peace with God, is that same gospel which is the cause of division among men. There is one gospel and there can be no argument as to its essential truths. It is non-negotiable or it ceases to be truth. The only means whereby a man’s eternal soul can be saved must be preserved in its purity no matter the cost. It is to be coveted above all earthly treasures and pleasures. Once obtained, we must guard it as the priceless possession it is. Christ said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matt. 24:35). Therefore, we must cling to His words with a tight grasp if we would hope to dwell forever with the One who spoke them. “If you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the LORD, and discover the knowledge of God. (Prov. 2:3-5) It is in this diligent pursuit that we find abundant life for the once dead soul.

When the Apostle Paul preached to the Bereans, he states that they were more noble than those in Thessalonica, "in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11). It is a noble task and essential to the well being of the soul that we search the Scriptures daily to find out if the teachings of those who profess to represent God, are indeed representing Him by proclaiming the truth according to His revelation. If we are serious in our desire for truth, it will not be enough that we simply read the Word, but that we study its pages considering it as the priceless possession it is. Having no other motive but that of understanding the intended meaning of the words written therein, that it might be applied to our hearts for the glory and good pleasure of God. God says, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isa. 55:9). If we truly seek the mind of God we must lay aside our own low earthly thoughts, pre-conceived notions, and biases; "being renewed in the spirit of our minds" (Eph. 4:23), lest leaning on our own understanding we fail to "hearken unto the voice of the Lord." In searching the Scriptures, we must seek after the sole purpose wherefore God inspired men to inscribe them. The words are not written that we might simply admire their literary content or to arm ourselves for philosophical debate and speculations about God and Religion. They are not written, primarily as a moral guide on which to base the laws of the land, to stir up sentimental emotions, or for those who seek wholesome stories to tell their children at bedtime. They are written that we might come to know the living God in His true person and character, being reconciled to Him through the redemption offered through the Lord Jesus Christ, that we might worship God in such a way that pleases and glorifies Him. "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father is seeking such to worship him." (John 4:23) Here we find what Scripture calls "true worshippers" and therefore by implication "false worshippers." The question whereof all professors of the religion must come to terms is under which category do we find ourselves?

Scripture states, "But there were false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on them swift destruction" (2 Peter 1:21). The warning in this passage is not of false teachers outside the Church, but those that rise up from within. Scripture warns us continually of such teachings and it is imperative that we would take heed of its counsel. It is written,

"Whosoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds" (1 John 10, 11).

What is Christianity? According to the Apostle John, it is abiding in the doctrine of Christ. It is essential that we know and abide in this doctrine, for if not we perish. In this day, many seek to lay the doctrine of Christ aside and embrace the Christ of men’s opinions, which is more accommodating to their own carnal desires. Many claim that since doctrine can at times be difficult to understand apart from diligent inquiry, it deviates from the "simplicity that is in Christ" (2 Cor. 11:2). However, this notion is unwarranted, as F. W. Robertson states,

‘The simplicity of the gospel,’ is constantly mistaken. People suppose simplicity means what a child or ploughman can understand. Now, if this be simplicity, evidently the simplicity of the gospel was corrupted by Paul himself; for he is not simple. Who understands his deep writings? Does one in a thousand? St. Peter says there are things hard to be understood in St Paul’s Epistles. We often hear it alleged as a charge against a book, a lecture, or a sermon, that it is not simple. If we are told that what we are to preach must be on a level of the most inferior intellect, so that without attention or thought it may be plain to all, we are bound to disclaim any obligation to do this; if it is supposed that the mysteries of God, of which we are the stewards, can be as easy of comprehension as an article in a newspaper or a novel, we say that such simplicity can only be attained by shallowness. ‘Simple’ means, according to St. Paul, unmixed or unadulterated.(1)

Many are too caught up in the cares of this life and the pleasures of this age to take time for the study of God’s Word. However, to those who are hungering to know their God, the treasure of sound doctrine is of incalculable value. For, "Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding. For her proceeds are better than the profit of silver, and her gain than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies: and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her...Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those that take hold of her. And happy are all those who retain her" (Prov. 3:14-18). Blessed is the man who counts all things but loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus the Lord (Phil. 3:8), "In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3).

The Apostle John says we must embrace the doctrine of Christ, if we are to embrace the person of Christ. We define Christianity, not by one’s opinion, feelings, emotions, or philosophical insights, but by the teachings of Christ, the founder of the faith. Christianity is an adherence to the doctrine of Christ in belief and practice, in heart and life, as revealed in His Word. It is the doctrine of the Spirit of truth. Scripture tells us that many worship God, but they do so in vain. "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me, and in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Matt. 15:8, 9). We understand then, that it is not enough that we would worship God. For according to this passage, even if it is the God of Scripture we worship, if we do not do so "according to the doctrine of Christ" we worship Him in vain. For we find in this passage that God is not referring to those idolatrous souls who openly seek after other gods, but rather He says, they worship "Me" in vain. With their mouth, they draw near to God in His proper Name, but it is in name only. They distance themselves from true doctrine and holdfast to the doctrines and commandments of men. Whosoever does not draw near to the Word in truth, is one whose heart is far from God. God has revealed His person and character through His Word, and there can be no true relationship with the person of God without a closeness and intimacy with the Word of God. Therefore, it is written, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed" (John 8:31). Charles Spurgeon wrote:

We cannot separate Christ from His Word. In the first place, He is the Word. In the next place, how dare we call Him Master and Lord and not do the things that He says, rejecting the truth He teaches? We must obey His precepts or He will not accept us as disciples; especially that precept of love that is the essence of all His words. We must love God and our brethren. We must cherish love to all men and seek their good. Anger and malice must be far from us. We must walk even as He walked. If Christ’s words do not abide in you — both as belief and practice — you are not in Christ. Christ and His gospel and His commands are one. If you will not have Christ and His words, neither will he have you or your words.(2)

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). Christ was both a wretched liar and the son of a serpent, or He was indeed the sole embodiment of truth itself. To those who believe the former, may God have mercy on their souls. To those who know Him, they know that to seek after truth, they must seek after Christ, the sole source of truth.

What is truth? We find it clearly delineated in Scripture. The entirety of His word is truth (Ps.119:142). God’s law is truth (Ps. 119:142). The word of truth is the gospel of our salvation (Eph. 1:13).

Scripture states, "God is the Spirit of truth" (1 John 5:6). We are sanctified by His truth. (John 17:17) God desires truth in the inward parts (Ps. 51:6). "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth" (John 4:24). The word "must" leaves us without option. We "must" worship Him in truth and this truth is bound up in the person of Christ. He is the gospel of truth; the fulfillment of the law in truth; the Word of truth; the truth which dwells in our inward parts by the Spirit of truth; which enables us to worship God in spirit and truth. He who does not come to know Him in truth will most certainly suffer the consequences, namely, eternal damnation "…that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (2 Thess. 2:12). Note here that it is a contradiction, according to this verse, to say that we can "believe the truth" and at the same time have "pleasure in unrighteousness."

J.C. Ryle whom Spurgeon called "the best man in the Church of England" wrote:

The times require distinct and decided views of Christian doctrine. I cannot withhold my conviction that the professing Church is as much damaged by laxity and indistinctness about matters of doctrine within, as it is by skeptics and unbelievers without. Myriads of professing Christians nowadays seem utterly unable to distinguish things that differ. Like people afflicted with color–blindness, they are incapable of discerning what is true and what is false, what is sound and what is unsound. If a preacher of religion is only clever and eloquent and earnest, they appear to think he is all right, however strange and heterogeneous his sermons may be. They are destitute of spiritual sense, apparently, and cannot detect error. The only positive thing about them is that they dislike distinctiveness and think all extreme and decided and positive views are very naughty and very wrong!.. These people live in a kind of mist or fog. They see things unclearly, and do not know what they believe. They have not made up their minds about any great point in the Gospel, and seem content to be honorary members of all schools of thought. For their lives they could not tell you what they think is truth about justification, or regeneration, or sanctification, or the Lord’s Supper, or baptism, or faith or conversion, or inspiration, or the future state. They are eaten up with a morbid dread of controversy and an ignorant dislike of party spirit; and yet they really cannot define what they mean by these phrases. And so they live on undecided; and too often undecided; they drift down to the grave, without comfort in their religion, and, I am afraid, often without hope....Now I do beseech all to beware of this undecided state of mind in religion. It is a pestilence which walketh in darkness, and a destruction that wasteth at noonday. It is a lazy, idle frame of soul which, doubtless, saves man the trouble of thought and investigation but it is a frame of soul for which there is no warrant in the Bible. For your own soul’s sake, dare to make up your mind what you believe, and dare to have positive, distinct views of truth and error. Never, never be afraid to hold decided doctrinal opinions; and let no fear of man and no morbid dread of being thought party–spirited, narrow, or controversial, make you rest contented with a bloodless, boneless, tasteless, colorless, lukewarm, undogmatic Christianity.(3)

In the book of Revelation, when Jesus spoke to the various Churches (Rev. Chapters 1-3), He taught a vital principal; most often the soul, individually, takes on the characteristics of the body to which it is attached, bearing the consequences thereof. In Rev. 3:14 Christ says to the lukewarm Church in Laodicea ." . . you say ‘I am rich, wealthy, and in need of nothing, and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked" (Rev. 3:17). In other words, Christ says, you are deceived and are entirely unaware of it. You are the exact opposite of what you imagine yourselves to be. This is a frightening statement. Surely, if men were aware that they were in such a Church, they would flee for their lives. However, the blindness of those who lead them, and the "deceitfulness of sin" blind their own eyes from seeing their true spiritual condition. If those who lead are blind, then so it is with those who follow after them, and in the last Day both will find themselves in the ditch of everlasting darkness (Matt. 15:14). The only remedy being the "eye salve" of God’s Word, which when applied to the eyes by the Spirit will heal them of their blindness that they might see the truth in Christ (Rev. 3:18). Arthur W. Pink, wrote,

The apostles of Satan are not saloon-keepers and white-slave traffickers, but are for the most part ordained ministers...In addition to the fact that today hundreds of churches are without a leader who faithfully declares the whole counsel of God and presents His way of salvation, we also have to face the additional fact that the majority of people in these churches are very unlikely to learn the Truth for themselves...The Bible is not expounded in the pulpit and it is not read in the pew. The demands of this rushing age are so numerous, that the multitudes have little time and still less inclination to make preparation for the meeting with God. Hence the majority who are too indolent to search for themselves, are left at the mercy of those whom they pay to search for them; many of whom betray their trust by studying and expounding economic and social problems rather than the Oracles of God. (4)

Samuel Davies, who succeeded Jonathan Edwards as president of Princeton in 1759, wrote of the distress of his own soul over the fact that the clergy of Virginia did not prepare men for eternity. His words are as relevant today as the day in which they were written:

I find to my sorrowful surprise, that the generality of them, as far as can be discovered by their common conduct and public administrations, are stupidly serene and unconcerned, as though their hearers were crowding promiscuously to heaven, and there were little or no danger; — that they address themselves to perishing multitudes in cold blood, and do not represent their miserable condition in all its horrors; do not alarm them with solemn, pathetic and affectionate warnings, and expostulate with them with all the authority, tenderness and pungency of the ambassadors of Christ to a dying world, nor commend themselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God; that their common conversation has little or no savor of religion ...that instead of intense application to study, or teaching their parishioners from house to house, they waste their time in idle visits, trifling conversation, slothful ease, or at best, excessive activity about their temporal affairs. ...The plain truth is, a general reformation must be promoted in this colony by some other means or other, or multitudes are eternally undone; this is not owing to their being of the Church of England, as I observed before: for were they in the Presbyterian Church, or any other, I should have no more hopes for their success; but it is owing to their manner of preaching and behavior. This thought, my lord, is so far from being agreeable to me that it at times racks me with agonies of compassion and zeal intermingled: and could I entertain that unlimited charity which lulls so many of my neighbors into serene stupidity, it would secure me from many a melancholy hour, and make my life below a kind of anticipation of heaven. I can boast of no high attainments, my lord; I am as mean and insignificant a creature as your lordship can well conceive me to be: but I dare confess I cannot be an unconcerned spectator of the ruin of my dear fellow mortals: I dare avow my heart at times is set upon nothing more than to snatch the brands out of the burning, before they catch fire and burn unquenchably. And hence, my lord, it is, I consume my strength and life in such great fatigues in this jangling ungrateful colony. (5)

Inasmuch as a man’s heart aches with compassion over the grief of a parents loss of a child, or over any number of sorrows which are common to life, how much more so should the Christian sorrow over vital error in the Church causing multitudes to die, not a mere physical death, but an eternal death with no hope of recovery. We call a child molester the most wicked of men, yet because of our fear of being divisive, we allow the molestation of our children’s souls. Jesus warns "… whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble , it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea." (Mark 9:42).

David Wells, in his book, "No Place For Truth," writes:

...we need reformation rather than revival. The habits of the modern world, now so ubiquitous in the evangelical world, need to be put to death, not given new life. They need to be rooted out, not simply papered over with fresh religious enthusiasm. And they are at this point so invincible that nothing less than the intrusion of God in His grace, nothing less than a full recovery of his truth will suffice(6) (italics added).

Men’s perception of the holiness of God has diminished so severely that the fear of God has become relatively non-existent. The face of God has been marred, the character of God perverted, the body of Christ crippled, and the multitudes have been deluded into believing a false gospel. A. W. Pink saw these same atrocities beginning in his day. He writes:

Never were there so many millions of nominal Christians on the earth as there are today, and never were there such a small percentage of real ones. Not since before the days of Luther and Calvin, when the great Reformation effected such a grand change for the better, has Christendom been so crowded with those who have ‘a form of godliness’ but who are strangers to its transforming power. We seriously doubt whether there has ever been a time in the history of this Christian era when there were such multitudes of deceived souls within the churches, who verily believe that all is well with their souls when in fact the wrath of God abideth on them.(7)

As one has well said, "Satan blinds one eye and self love closes the other, and the deceitfulness of sin seals both, and thus they assure themselves that they are on the way to heaven when they are on the high road to hell. Doubtless a number of such will read this very article and be quite unsearched by it, sure that it pertains not to their case."(8)