To understand and learn the truth and to avoid error or deception we must take care with three things: the doctrine, the teachers and our own obedience.
Childlike faith and obedience is an important pre-requisite for understanding the Scriptures, as it is only God who can reveal spiritual truths and give understanding. Jesus said: I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. (Matthew 11:25) To His apostle Peter who learned that Jesus was the Christ, Jesus said: flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 16:17) Only spiritual blindness keeps a man from trusting in Christ and only God the Father can remove this blindness. Christ said: Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. (John 6:45)
God will not reveal the Scriptures to those who are disobedient, just as He did not to the Israelites at the time of Isaiah, of whom God testified: this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me. (Isaiah 29:13). As a result they had no understanding of the Scriptures. It was written: the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets . . . hath he covered. And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed. (Isaiah 29:10,11) Human wisdom cannot reveal what God conceals. God says: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. (Isaiah 29:14)
To understand the bible we must obey Jesus' words and the rest of the bible, as interpreted by Him. Jesus said: If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:31)
To gain understanding of the Scriptures it is necessary for us to highly value it: if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. (Proverbs 2:3-5)
To avoid error it is important that we examine the bible to see whether what we are taught is scriptural. Acts 17:11 commends the Bereans for this, saying: These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether these things were so.
When examining the Scriptures it is important to find the correct interpretation. One way that God reveals this is written in 1 Corinthians 2:13: the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. So to gain the correct understanding of a verse it may be necessary to shine the light of all the Scriptures about that subject.
An example of incorrectly interpreting the Scripture, which I will now examine, is that of the Pharisees finding fault with Jesus for allegedly breaking the Sabbath. Jesus told the Pharisees that praying for someone's healing on the Sabbath constituted work no more than did some of their the priestly duties. He told them: If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day? (John 7:23) So Jesus is telling the Jews to interpret the Sabbath commandment in the light of other Scriptures, instead of superficially.
Interpretation of a commandment of Scripture is aided by an understanding of its purpose. For this reason Jesus told the Pharisees: The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath. (Mark 2:27)
We also learn the need to use our common sense when interpreting the Scriptures when on another occasion Jesus was accused of breaking the Sabbath. He answered: doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day? (Luke 13:15) So there is a place for using our logical faculties when interpreting Scripture. This is why Jesus said: why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right? (Luke 12:57) But we must be careful that the logic used is not overly superficial and literal. This is why Jesus told the Pharisees: Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgement. (John 7:24)
Many false cults today also follow the same error of the Pharisees in using an overly literal interpretation of some verse taken out of context. When we feel within ourselves that some interpretation given to us cannot be right we should consider whether the Holy Spirit is warning us of error, according to the promise of God in 1 John 2:27: But the anointing (Holy Spirit) which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. John is not here telling the church that they do not need any teachers, but rather that they should examine any teaching, rather than blindly accept it, because the Holy Spirit is the ultimate teacher.
However before John said this, he and the other apostles had first grounded them in the truth, by teaching them in words, by which the Holy Spirit gave them understanding and assurance. Before a person can fully recognise error he must be fully grounded in the truth. The truth of the word of God is a light to enable us to understand all things: The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. (Psalm 119:130) Jesus, by His life, and His words, is the crowning glory for it is written of Him that He is: the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. (John 1:9)
When Christians are young in the faith they are more vulnerable, but the purpose of the various ministries of the word of God is that we might become knowledgeable and Christlike and so be kept from deception. As Paul writes: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. (Ephesians 4:13,14) Paul speaks of the unity of the faith. By seeking doctrinal unity with the church, present and past we can minimise errors, although we cannot elevate past traditions to the authority of the Scriptures.
To avoid deception and misery, it is important not to accept every one who claims to be a prophet. Jesus said: Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? (Matthew 7:15-17) The fruits of the false prophets, by which Jesus says we may recognise them are their sins and also the people whom they destroy.
When Jesus said: wisdom is justified of her children (Matthew 11:19), we can see how the destruction of the ‘children’ of the wisdom of the false prophets bears testimony to the error of their teachings. Those who obey God's doctrine have the promise of God: the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. (Isaiah 32:17) If this quietness, peace and assurance is not experienced then one should study the bible and seek God by prayer on one's knees for His help. It is possible that the cause of a person's lack of peace is a belief in false doctrine.
The evil sins of false prophets are described in the chapter of 2 Peter 2. Fundamentally it is written of them: While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption. (2 Peter 2:19) While it may not be possible to find out all the evil they do, one thing often stands out, which is their love of money. In this respect false prophets are likened to: Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness. (2 Peter 2:15) We read of this false prophet Balaam, that he: taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. (Revelation 2:14 NKJV)
Whether or not we are in a good church, we should not think that there will be no false teachers among us, because Peter warned even the true church of his day: But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you. (2 Peter 2:1) Hopefully, if we cannot recognise a false prophet by their doctrines we will be able to recognise them by their fruits.
There are degrees of error. Not every preacher who is mistaken about a doctrine fits the category of false prophets just described. Most are probably merely mistaken. If so, their teachings will do some good and some harm. Sometimes the little good they do may obscure from their followers the greater harm they cause. In any church or group the followers must weigh the net effect and accuracy of the teachings. If it is unsatisfactory they should leave that church and join another.
It is better to join a church with correct doctrine than to join a church with incorrect doctrine in the hope of reforming it. Regarding this Jesus' taught: Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. (Matthew 15:14) While there may be a time to teach such correct doctrine, one should not overly concentrate on this, as it is often only when they fall into the ditch that they realise they are wrong.