Wherever you find true doctrine. You’ll soon find it challenged by false doctrine. The question is, how do you tell the two apart?

The five tests of true and false doctrine.

These are five tests. We can apply to any doctrine at all to learn whether it’s genuine or whether it’s fraudulent.

And the first test is the test of origin.

Sound doctrine originates with God. False doctrine originates with someone or something created by God.

So when Paul wrote to the church in Galatia, he said for, “I would have, you know, brothers that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel for, I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.” Galatians 1:11-12

John 7:16 “Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.”

Both Paul and Jesus insisted that what they taught had its origin with God himself. On the other hand, false doctrine always originates outside of God, outside of the mind of God.

So when Paul wrote to the Colossian church, he told them that they needed to avoid doctrine that is according to human precepts and teachings. (Colossians 2:22)

When he wrote to Timothy, he warned Timothy some would depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.

Sound doctrine comes from the mind of God. False doctrine comes from the mind of some being that was created by God.

So here’s your test: Does this doctrine originate with God or has this doctrine been fabricated by someone or something else?

It’s a good question, but a question still remains. How can we know the origin of a doctrine?

Test number two, the test of authority.

Sound doctrine grounds its authority within the Bible, false doctrine grounds its authority outside the Bible. We believe as Christians that the Bible is God’s inerrant, infallible, complete authoritative revelation of himself to humanity.

Any doctrine that originates in the mind of God is recorded in the word of God. The Bible has ultimate authority because of its ultimate origin.

The church in Berea was commended in the Book of Acts. Why? Because they received the word with all eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so, so they heard the apostles teach.

Then they went straight to the Bible is ultimate source of authority to compare what the apostle said with the word of God.

So here’s your test? Does this doctrine appeal to the Bible for its authority or does it appeal to another scripture or appeal to another mind for its authority?

It’s a good test, but even here a concern remains because two teachers may both claim that their doctrine originates with God and they may both claim that it holds the authority of the Bible and yet they might teach very different things.

So how then can we know whose interpretation is the correct one?

The Third Test is the test of consistency.

Sound doctrine is consistent with the whole of scripture. False doctrine is inconsistent with at least some parts of scripture.

See, there’s, there’s a sameness, there’s a familiarity to true doctrine and there’s a strangeness or there’s an unfamiliarity to false doctrine.

So the author of the letter to the Hebrews, when he wrote to his congregation, he warned them about diverse and strange teachings. Paul wrote to Timothy and he warned him about accepting any different doctrine. (Hebrews 13:9; 1 Timothy 1:3, 6:3)

Both of them meant to say that doctrine must always be compared to the established and accepted body of truth, which means that those who know what is true, they’re the ones who are best able to identify what is false. So we say that scripture interprets scripture, and that makes sense.

The Bible is the revelation of God’s perfect mind. So it won’t be, it can’t be inconsistent or contradictory. If something contradicts the rest of the Bible, it’s false.

If something complements the rest of the Bible, it’s true. So here’s test number three. Is this doctrine established or is it refuted by the entirety of scripture?

Now we’ve got two more tests we need to consider. And these ones are related to what the doctrine does in us. What the doctrine does for us.

Test number four is the test of spiritual growth.

Sound doctrine leads to spiritual health, false doctrine leads to spiritual weakness. Paul when he wrote to Timothy said, “If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.” 1 Timothy 4:6.

Paul was saying that the Bible had nourished Timothy. It had made him spiritually strong and had given him spiritual health.

So here’s your test? Does this doctrine lead to spiritually healthy, spiritually mature, spiritually knowledgeable Christians, or does it lead to spiritually unhealthy, immature, ignorant Christians who, who really may be no Christians at all.

Test number five is the test of godly living.

Sound doctrine leads to godly living. False doctrine leads to ungodly living. You see truth never stands on its own. Does it?

• Truth always has implications in our lives.
• Doctrine is always meant to lead to worship.
• Doctrine is always meant to lead us to live in ways that express love to God and that express love to our fellow man.

The Bible says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” 2 Timothy 3:16

God doesn’t mean for us just to know the facts of the Bible though. That’s very good. We’re also to meditate on the Bible and to apply it to our lives.

The Bible is meant to go from our heads to our hearts and then to work itself out through our hands. We don’t just know doctrine as Christians. We live our doctrine.

Test number five. Does this doctrine lead us to live in a way that pleases God or does it lead us to live in a way that dishonors God?

The five tests:

• Sound doctrine originates with God
• Is recorded in the word of God
• Is consistent with the entire revelation of God
• Leads to both spiritual health and to godly living.

On the other hand, false doctrine originates with men or with demons, it’s foreign to the word of God.

It’s inconsistent with the entire revelation of God. And it leads to spiritual weakness and it leads to ungodly living.

For doctrine to be true. It must pass each one of these five tests. If it fails, one of them, it fails it all my Christian friend.

Here’s your responsibility, accept and hold fast to what is true, deny and reject. What is false.