Have you ever succumbed to bad doctrine?

Tweet

William Gurnell, Anglican clergyman during the 1600s, stated, "Error is not such an innocent thing as many think it to be. As unwholesome food is to the body, so unwholesome doctrine poisons the spirits; it seldom passes away without breaking into sores. As the knowledge of Christ carries a soul above the pollutions of the world, so error entangles and betrays it to those lusts, whose hands it had escaped." This is a powerful truth! Recently, I have been made aware of some unwholesome doctrine that I bought into in the past. It had far reaching negative effects. I was easily fooled because I grabbed hold of doctrine that was put out by teachers/preachers I admired. It sounded good. It made me feel happy. I aligned with human reasoning. AND IT WAS CRAP, because I never took the time to make sure it aligned with God's Word. Never, ever should we spend more time studying someone's interpretation of Scripture than we do, actually, studying Scripture. Never should we embrace doctrine or philosophy because of the person spouting it. If we take time to read it, then we should take just as much time to measure it against Scripture.