suspicion in the minds of the inexperienced . In every conceivable manner they will seek to cause that which is pure and righteous to be regarded as foul and deceptive .
But none need be deceived concerning them . It may be readily seen whose children they are , whose example they follow , and whose work they do . " Ye shall know them by their fruits ." Matthew 7:16 . Their course resembles that of Satan , the envenomed slanderer , " the accuser of our brethren ." Revelation 12:10 . The great deceiver has many agents ready to present any and every kind of error to ensnare souls-heresies prepared to suit the varied tastes and capacities of those whom he would ruin . It is his plan to bring into the church insincere , unregenerate elements that will encourage doubt and unbelief , and hinder all who desire to see the work of God advance and to advance with it . Many who have no real faith in God or in His word assent to some principles of truth and pass as Christians , and thus they are enabled to introduce their errors as Scriptural doctrines .
The position that it is of no consequence what men believe is one of Satan ' s most successful deceptions . He knows that the truth , received in the love of it , sanctifies the soul of the receiver ; therefore he is constantly seeking to substitute false theories , fables , another gospel . From the beginning the servants of God have contended against false teachers , not merely as vicious men , but as inculcators of falsehoods that were fatal to the soul . Elijah , Jeremiah , Paul , firmly and fearlessly opposed those who were turning men from the word of God . That liberality which regards a correct religious faith as unimportant found no favour with these holy defenders of the truth .
The vague and fanciful interpretations of Scripture , and the many conflicting theories concerning religious faith , that are found in the Christian world are the work of our great adversary to confuse minds so that they shall not discern the truth . And the discord and division which exist among the churches of Christendom are in a great measure due to the prevailing custom of wresting the Scriptures to support a favourite theory . Instead of carefully studying God ' s word with humility of heart to obtain a knowledge of His will , many seek only to discover something odd or original .
In order to sustain erroneous doctrines or unchristian practices , some will seize upon passages of Scripture separated from the context , perhaps quoting half of a single verse as proving their point , when the remaining portion would show the meaning to be quite the opposite . With the cunning of the serpent they entrench themselves behind disconnected utterances construed to suit their carnal desires . Thus do many willfully pervert the word of God . Others , who have an active imagination , seize upon the figures and symbols of Holy Writ , interpret them to suit their fancy , with little regard to the testimony of Scripture as its own interpreter , and then they present their vagaries as the teachings of the Bible .
Whenever the study of the Scriptures is entered upon without a prayerful , humble , teachable spirit , the plainest and simplest as well as the most difficult passages will be wrested from their true
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