It seems to be a near-daily occurrence that I bump up against one heresy or another in the course of conversations with other Christians. Most of the time, the people I speak with have no idea that some of the phrases or statements they make actually stem from a heretical theological framework. Of course, we know that there are an immense amount of bad and erroneous ideas out there, but people’s understandings of things are still yet influenced by them albeit unwittingly. We have need to be more cautious about the things we see and hear. We know that we should test everything by the Word, but so many ideas seem to just fly under our radar because they seem to be logical, or they come from a respected person, or they are even supported with a passage of Scripture. Most of these heretical ideas can be seen for what they are if you trace them back to their original source. But most of us aren’t familiar with church history, and furthermore, there are so many heresies that no one could hope to become an expert in all of them. So then, what is a Christian to do?
Well, certainly, there is no substitute for your own personal study of the Word of God. Without knowing the truth, you will never be able to consistently spot counterfeit ideas. The pervasive amount of damning falsehoods in the world ought to be a powerful motivator to give ourselves over to the serious study of the truth. And that personal study must then be coupled with a devotion to attend the preaching and teaching of the Word. God has so gifted certain men in the church (namely: pastors, teachers, and evangelists) to prepare the saints to discern truth from error. Eph. 4:11-12a says – “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints…” And Eph. 4:14 adds – “That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.” So then, these two components of personal and corporate attentiveness to the Word of God are our best initial preparation to be able to identify and withstand heretical ideas.
Now, I thought it might be helpful to actually point you to a few resources to reinforce you in your preparedness to identify falsehoods, to debunk them, and to better understand where those falsehoods originated. But, I need to issue this warning: Do not think you can skip over the first necessities of personal Bible study, and attendance to sound preaching, and just rely on these forthcoming resources to tell you what to think. The Word is your true authority, and you still yet need the ability to test even good resources. Furthermore, while these may be helpful, it is the God-ordained responsibility of your local pastors and teachers to watch out for your soul as ones who must give an account. (Heb. 13:17). Nonetheless, with so many bad resources out there, it is helpful to know some good places to turn. So without further delay, here are a handful of resources you may want to be familiar with:
1) Monergism: www.monergism.com
- Monergism is a fantastic resource – There are countless ministries that claim to stand for the truth and against error, but sadly, many of them have themselves actually bought into various errors. Monergism is a rare exception that provides resources on a wide range of issues from a thoroughly theologically sound perspective
- You can literally just type the name of a heresy into their search bar, and instantly you will have numerous articles, videos, etc. from truly sound scholars and ministers from every era of church history
- I can’t recommend this ministry highly enough
2) Ligonier Ministries: www.ligonier.org
- Founded by the late pastor and Bible scholar Dr. R.C. Sproul, this ministry is a wonderful tool
- There are countless articles that speak on every theological issue imaginable
- Almost any heresy I’ve ever wanted to study into, I’ve found a helpful article on their site addressing it
- And it is also a great resource for theologically sound books, teaching, and other media
3) Grace to You: www.gty.org
- The ministry of Pastor John MacArthur
- This ministry has a massive collection of resources, ranging from articles and books, to every one of MacArthur’s own sermons through every single verse of the New Testament (in written, audio, and video formats)
- You can search the site by topic, or by specific Bible verse, and find resources that will be helpful on any issue
4) Justin Peters: www.justinpeters.org
- If you are looking for a ministry to help specifically with thinking rightly about various heresies, then Justin Peters is a name you will want to be familiar with
- Justin Peters is a sound scholar who has devoted his life to a right understanding of the Gospel, and to confronting the false versions of the Gospel in their various forms
- His main website has numerous helpful articles, and access to his podcast, but it is really through his other resources that he has a broader impact
- For instance, if you “follow” him on Facebook you will regularly see great articles that confront new heresies, and current problematic “Christian” trends on a daily basis
- And his site: www.so4j.com is a powerful resource that refutes the false Prosperity Gospel
5) Answers in Genesis: www.answersingenesis.org
- This last one might seem a little off-topic, but it is a great ministry
- Answers in Genesis is an apologetics ministry that primarily focuses on a right view of creation and the refutation of evolutionary theory – But they have so much more
- They have done so much incredible research, and produced such great resources that I really think every Christian would benefit from familiarizing themselves with the tools they offer
Well, I could list several others, but this will have to suffice for now. I pray that you will be blessed and edified as you become familiar with these resources, and that you will grow in your ability to discern truth from error.
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