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Snares of Satan
229
principles of truth, and pass as Christians; and thus they are enabled
to introduce their errors as scriptural doctrines.
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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 favor 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 so confuse
minds that they shall not discern the truth. And the discord and
division which exists among the churches of Christendom is in a
great measure due to the prevailing custom of wresting the Scriptures
to support a favorite 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,
they 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
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do many willfully pervert the word of God. Others, who have an
active imagination, seize upon the figures and symbols of Holy Writ,
interpret 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 God’s word.
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
meaning. The papal leaders select such portions of Scripture as best
serve their purpose, interpret to suit themselves, and then present