How Can You Use Scripture to Discern False Doctrine?

The Bible calls Satan the Great Deceiver, and He knows the Devil lies to try to ensure that people continue to remain dead in their sins, or to create problems amongst believers. Some of those lies are easier for people who have a relationship with God to spot than others. Because God knows that even those who love Him can be led astray, or be led to worry about their salvation unnecessarily, He ensured there were ways for those who love Him, or even for those seeking truth but who have not yet begun a saving relationship with Him, to sift falsehood and see it for what it is.

One of those ways is observation. Sometimes lies and false doctrine can be seen as false in the world through the senses. Some religions make scientific claims that can be verified as false, such as the idea that the earth is in the center of the universe, or that the sun sets in a pool of water.

Another important way to discern the truth is through the Bible. God ensured that His Word and will were preserved through time so that anyone who wanted to know Him could. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6). Knowing what Jesus said and having a relationship with Him, as the embodiment of the truth, is important to identifying good doctrine.

For more complex issues, God came to indwell in each believer through the person of the Holy Spirit, who convicts the believer of sin, provides council, wisdom, peace, comfort and guidance. The Holy Spirit also endows discernment, and to some, He endows it greatly. This spiritual gift is the gift which enables someone, “to separate, to distinguish; to see the difference between two or more things; to discover; to see; to distinguish by the eye, to discover by the intellect; to distinguish; hence, to have knowledge of; to judge, to see or understand the difference; to make distinction; as, to discern between good and evil, truth and falsehood, to have judicial cognizance.”

This ability to distinguish can relate to the character of a person, to the facts of a situation, to find solutions to complex issues, to determine what is right and wrong, and to identify spiritual concerns.

Through a combination of discernment, the power of the Holy Spirit, observation, and a reliance on the Bible, God does make it possible for someone to identify His truth and reject false doctrine.

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Because God is good and holy, the truth matters greatly to Him. He is truth. As the Creator, everything He says is the truth. Anything that stands in opposition to God is a lie. When God said something should exist, it did, because God only speaks truth. If God were not who He says He is, it would be impossible to trust in anything, and all things would be relative and subjective, even salvation.

There are many verses in Scripture which emphasize the importance of knowing and discerning the truth, which is why discerning false doctrine is so important.

Some of these verses include:

Psalm 25:5 - “Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.”

Psalm 145:18 - “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.”

Proverbs 12:22 - “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.”

John 8:31-32 – “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”

Romans 12:2 - “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 - “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”

Ephesians 6:14 - “Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,        “

1 Thessalonians 5:21 - “But test everything; hold fast what is good.”

Hebrews 5:14 - “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”

1 John 4:1 - “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

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When confronted with a doctrine or truth claim from a person or group that seems confusing, may be true, or is a claim to secret knowledge, Christians have several avenues for determining its truth.

First, can this claim be verified or debunked by looking at the world around me or doing a quick search in a book or on the internet? Start there. If a claim is scientific or historical, and can be demonstrated as true or false, that can demonstrate a person or religion is making a false claim. Examples include the claim that the earth rests on the back of a large creature, that a person claiming to be a prophet taught one thing but behaved differently, or if a prophet made a closed-date prophecy - meaning that it had a verified end point - that did not come to pass. 

For other questions, including about things like salvation, the nature of God, and morality, the Bible encourages believers to pray and to study the Scriptures. Luke recorded in the Book of Acts an example of this type of discernment with the account of the Bereans. In Berea, there were Jews who were waiting for the Messiah. When Paul and Silas came and presented to them the good news that Jesus Christ had come and fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah and what He accomplished through His death and resurrection, “...they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men” (Acts 17:11b-12).

Not only did the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob rightly discern the truth through prayer and studying the Scriptures, but gentiles did as well. This testimony affirms the sufficiency of the Bible to know the truth of God’s Word, and that claims stating the Bible is not the complete Word of God, and that it has been misunderstood or mistranslated, are false.

If the Bible can be trusted to reveal the truth, a nonbeliever can study it to learn about how to have a relationship with God. If someone is a believer, they have both the Bible and the guidance of the Holy Spirit through prayer to find the truth.

Some questions that someone can ask the Holy Spirit for guidance on and consult the Bible for include:

- Does this description of God match the way He describes Himself or His behavioral patterns as demonstrated in the Bible?

- Does this claim exalt God? Does it diminish God?

- Does this claim contradict the teachings of Jesus, of the Apostles, or the Prophets?

- Does this claim exalt and illuminate who Jesus is and what He did, or does it diminish Him and what He did?

- Does this add works to God’s plan for salvation?

- Does this minimize sin?

- Does this add to the prophecies about the End of Days in the Book of Revelation, supplemented by prophecies in Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah, and some of the other prophetic passages?

- Does this claim lessen man’s wickedness?

- Does this claim change the way the afterlife is understood?

- Does this claim make Satan seem less evil or change the way he could be perceived?

Truth will always match God’s claims about Himself, about Jesus and about the Holy Spirit. Their behavior will always be consistent. It will always uplift and exalt God, rather than diminish Him. It will always illuminate and elevate Jesus as the only source of salvation. It will not add or subtract from the completeness of salvation. It will not diminish the severity of sin. It will not contradict prophecy, or add to it in a contradictory way. It will not change the depiction of Heaven and Hell. It will not minimize Satan’s evil.

A word of warning, many false teachings will take what the Bible says, even Jesus’ teachings, and twist them. When tempting Jesus in the desert, Satan quotes Scripture, manipulating its meaning, and using it in a way that did not match what God said in other parts of what would become the Old Testament. Jesus used Scripture to respond, but Jesus used it in a way that was in alignment with the rest of the Scriptures. For this reason, it is important to compare what is being claimed to what the Bible says in its entirety on a topic.

It is also good to do research to see what trusted pastors and theologians say. Turn to the mature believers in the church, and ask them for guidance. Lean on the Holy Spirit and the other Christians to help clarify things in the Bible that may be confusing.

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It is possible to know God, and to be confident that what is known about Him is true. In Proverbs, it is written, “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me” (Proverbs 8:17). Those who seek to know God will know Him, that’s a promise He makes, and He always keeps His Word. Satan has many lies and many ways to cause confusion, disruption, and uncertainty, but there is only one Truth - the truth from the one, true God.

When confronted with doctrine, statements, someone claiming to be a prophet, or any truth claim that is confusing, start by seeing if it aligns with reality. Then examine the Scriptures carefully and thoroughly, and pray to the Holy Spirit for discernment and wisdom. Finally, confirm by seeing what trusted Christian preachers, theologians, and mature Christians believe through research and conversation. God will always prove Himself true.

“For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4).

Sources

Challis, Tim. The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2007.

Ligionier Ministries. A Field Guide on False Teachings. 2020.

Lutzer, Erwin. Seven Reasons Why You Can Trust the Bible. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2008.

Ryrie, Charles. Basic Theology A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1999.

KJV Dictionary Definition: discern

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