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God in his mercy and wisdom has seen fit to provide mankind with a User Manual. The Word of God is that manual and the book is called the Bible. I can recall, before I got saved, the Bible was a book of mystery to me. That was because the Bible was written by the Holy Spirit as He instructed its writers. 2 Timothy 3:16: “All Scripture is inspired by God.” 2 Peter 1:20-21: “no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”
Since the Bible was written by the Holy Spirit, as He moved men, it makes sense that the Bible is also taught by the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:14: “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” Once we have the Holy Spirit, He will open our understanding as we read the Bible.
Every born-again believer has a responsibility to read the bible for themself. Once you have read/studied the Bible for yourself, if someone says or writes something that is contrary to the Word, the Holy Spirit will bring to mind the scripture that shows you are being exposed to false hood. Some people spend a lot of time in church listening to the preacher, but never take time out to read the Word for themselves. Leaving themselves open to the possibility of being misled.
How will we recognize false prophets: I know someone who right now believes he is attending a church where Jesus is pastoring the church. This can only happen when a person does not read the Bible for themselves. In fact, many religious cults are successful because the members do not read/study the Bible and have been led astray by cunning, power hungry, individuals. Jesus said in the end times certain individuals will claim to be Christ and deceive many. Matthew 24:5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.” This is also a sign of Jesus’ imminent return.
We have no excuse for not studying the bible, today. We have so many tools at our disposal to help us find pertinent scriptures on an array of subjects. The best way to not be misled while following Jesus, is to hear instructions directly from the word of God, the Bible.
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