HANDLE THE TRUTH WITH UTMOST CARE


By Akin Ojumu

With exponentially increasing vehemence, the Word of God is under relentless assault. An avalanche of error is polluting the well of God’s Truth. As towering waves of the Tsunami of false teachings and erroneous doctrines blanket the Church with destructive force and devastating fury, the Light of Truth is getting extinguished in the Household of faith.

That the sewer of falsehood will rupture and contaminate the purity of the Gospel with the putrid waste of the doctrine of demons shouldn’t surprise anyone. In numerous Epistles to various Christian congregations, Apostle Paul never ceased to warn them to be vigilant of the teachers of error who will rise up even from amongst them to distort the truth in order to draw a following. One of such letters was to Timothy, the leader of the Church at Ephesus.

As it’s often the case, the Church at Ephesus started well. Consumed by the zeal of the Lord, they were fervent in faith and eschewed all evil. But soon, false teachers crept into their midst with their false teachings and false doctrines. Out of the soil of falsehoods sprang up all manners of ungodly living among the erstwhile godly people. So, Paul wrote Timothy to encourage him to hold the line of Truth against the barrage of falsehood.

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15).

Because he understood the destructiveness of falsehood, Paul first enjoined Timothy to remind the people under his care of the truth. Then, he asked him to warn the people to abstain from false teachings. To convey the importance of this, Paul asked Timothy to “solemnly charge the people in the presence of God.” 

In essence, Timothy was to instill the fear of God in the heart of the people about getting themselves immersed in false teachings. False teaching, Paul warned, damns the soul of those who are under its influence. The end of the road of false teachings is ruin.

Unsavory lifestyles are byproducts of false teachings. Ungodly conduct is the fruit of ungodly doctrine. False teachings are incubators of unrighteousness. When erroneous doctrine matures, it proliferates into ungodly living. Where there is error, ungodliness abounds. It’s only a matter of time, consumers of erroneous sermons will soon conceive unfruitful works of darkness. Prolonged exposure to error will eventually produce spiritual stillbirth instead of new birth. 

False teachings are like rapidly spreading gangrene. They eat up neighboring tissues and rapidly spread their corrupting disease to infect other people. Just as metastasizing malignant cells destroy every tissue they seed, so do widespread erroneous doctrines. Such corrupted gospel is incapable of transforming sinful hearts and cannot restrain the flesh.

Peddlers of false teachings prey on ignorance. The reason charlatans succeed is because the church is uninformed about God and His Word. Rampart ignorance has turned the assembly of the believers into a fertile ground for error. The guardrail against error is an understanding of God’s truth. Savviness in the Word of God must be a priority in 2023.

Above and beyond all that you wish for yourself in 2023, I want you to pray that you may be exceedingly terrified. In this new year, your utmost desire must be that you may be immensely petrified.

As you go about your life’s pursuits in the days, weeks, and months ahead, a foreboding dread must characterize your handling the Word of Truth. You must be supremely afraid to trifle with the Word of God. Because when it comes to upholding the Truth of God’s Word, the consequences are too dire to play fast and loose with it. 

“Let your heart hold fast my Words; keep my Commandments, and live. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get Wisdom: and with all thy getting get Understanding. Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4).

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

FACT CHECK: DID BOLA TINUBU CALL FOR REDUCTION OF NIGERIANS’ PURCHASING POWER?

YOU CAN’T LOVE NIGERIA & WANT BOLA TINUBU AS ITS PRESIDENT

BECAUSE JOB DIDN’T TITHE, HIS LIFE BECAME TIGHT