How to Defeat Satan
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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
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Scriptural doctrines.
Beware of False Teachers
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 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
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.
Some Willfully Pervert God’s Word
In order to sustain erroneous doctrines or unchristian practices,
some will seize upon passages of Scripture separated from the con-
text, 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