Listening to His Still Small Voice

By Patrick Hawthorne

I was reading a post from blogger friend, Pastor Jim, of “Domain for Truth” concerning growing deeper in Biblical doctrine.  Biblical doctrine, for those who are new to the Christian walk, simply means instruction or teaching.  The main point Pastor Jim wanted us to glean from his post was that we, as individuals, are just as responsible for learning and adhering to sound Biblical doctrine as those who teach it.  To put my country boy spin on it, “Ya ain’t gonna grow healthy vegetables unless you tend the soil.”  Simply put, it is not your Pastor’s responsibility to learn for you.

While reading some of the comments, I found one really interesting one concerning Christian’s being “duped” by false teachers.  This got my wheels to turning as I thought about what this individual had written.  The question I asked myself was, “Are they being duped because they don’t know sound doctrine? Or, are they being duped because the teacher is a really smooth talking con-artist who puts a shiny spin on a truth in such a way that it sounds right but is totally wrong?

In some cases – not all mind you – Christian’s are duped not because of the teachings of the false teacher but because they fail to heed the voice of the Holy Spirit inside of them telling them, “This sounds good but really stinks.”  Just recently, I was listening to a message on the internet.  Without going into details, the speaker said all the right things yet I had a feeling, kind of like a nauseated feeling, that I needed to turn it off.  As soon as I obeyed the unction to turn it off the feeling went away.  This was nothing mystical but was simply the Holy Spirit providing me with discernment.

So, do we need to grow deeper in sound Biblical doctrine, as Pastor Jim teaches?  The answer is an emphatic yes and amen.  However, in addition to growth in Biblical doctrine, we also need to be aware that there are some really solid smooth talkers out there who may be able to pull the wool over our eyes if we are not in tune with the Holy Spirit.  As is written in Matthew 24:24 KJV, “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”  Don’t be deceived.  Listen and learn.  Be blessed.

To see Pastor Jim’s post, please click on the following Link:  (https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/431324/posts/19258).