Reliable Sources

Sunday, May 05, 2019

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

2 Timothy 3:12–15

As the Allies prepared to invade Sicily in 1943, they wanted a way to divert Italian and German attention away from their intended target. British intelligence set up Operation Mincemeat, and Captain William Martin was “born.” Agents took the body of an unidentified man who had recently died and dressed it in full military uniform of the Royal Marines. Correspondence between two British generals was placed in his clothing, indicating that while a diversionary attack would be aimed at Sicily, the real targets were Greece and Sardinia.

The body was released from a British submarine near the coast of Spain. Though Spain was officially neutral, when fisherman brought the body to shore, Spanish authorities passed the military intelligence along to German officials, leading them to believe Sicily was safe. Because the information came from what appeared to be a reliable source, it was trusted, even though it was completely counterfeit.

There are many popular preachers and teachers in our day who are peddling doctrine that often sounds good, but upon close examination is not in line with the Word of God. Paul told Timothy that he could trust what he had been taught because he knew who his teachers were, and that what they said lined up with the Scriptures. The Bible is the only reliable standard to assess the validity of the information imparted to us, and we must trust what it says rather than how the message is presented to us.

Today's Growth Principle: 

Not everyone who wears the “uniform” is a reliable source of truth; all teaching must be evaluated by the Bible.