Twisting the Scriptures

Commentary

It is interesting to know that cults and false teachers rarely try to lead lost sinners into their group. Instead, they spend most of their time trying to convert professing Christians and church members to their counterfeit doctrines. We have been warned that this would happen: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and teachings of demons” (I Tim. 4:1). We should never accept everything a person tells us simply because he claims to believe the Bible. Many twist the Scriptures to make it mean all kinds of things (II Corinthians 4:1,2). False teachers pick (out of context) only what they want. If you ignore or neglect any part of the Bible, you invite trouble. We must read and study the whole Bible, and be able to “rightly divide” it (II Tim. 2:15).
Satan is a counterfeit. He imitates the work of God.. For example, Satan has counterfeit “ministers” (II Cor. 11:13-15) who preach a counterfeit Gospel (Gal. 1:6-12) that produces counterfeit Christians  (John 8:43-44) who depend on a counterfeit righteousness (Rom. 10:1-10). The point John is making  is simply that the source for understanding Scriptural truth is found in the Holy Spirit who is our teacher. If every Christian practiced the teaching given in this chapter, no true believer would be led astray by a false teacher. In verse 29 John comes back to a thought which is never far from his mind. The only way in which a man can prove that he is abiding in Christ is by the righteousness of his life. The profession a man makes will always be proved or disproved by his practice.

Application

I know that Satan is in the counterfeit business so must stick close to the Word of God and not men.