Articles
The Right Directions to the Wrong Destination
Recently, I had an appointment in an unfamiliar town and wanted to know the fastest way to a particular chain restaurant. I had glimpsed the restaurant before so I had an idea what part of town it was in, but from where I had stopped, I didn’t know the best way to get back there. Naturally, I pulled out my phone, input the restaurant’s name, and started following the directions. I followed them faithfully, turn for turn, not thinking about which direction I was going. I didn’t have any sense of where I was, but I trusted my phone. It knew the town better than I did, after all.
However, after a while, things started to feel off. Instead of approaching wide roads with bustling retail, I came upon historically old buildings and narrow roads. I was clearly in the wrong part of town, but my phone said I was really close. Then I realized my mistake. Apparently, there was more than one restaurant with the same name, and one of them was located inside a school cafeteria. That wasn’t what I wanted at all. Once I got my bearings, I realized I’d gone entirely the wrong direction and ended up much farther from my desired destination than when I had begun.
Had my phone betrayed me? No. The error was mine. In my ignorance, I had selected the closest restaurant but had not looked closely enough. The phone got me to where I had asked to go. I just didn’t like where I ended up.
When you follow someone, you end up where they end up. Or, put biblically, “if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit” (Mt. 15:14).
Before following directions, it is critically important that you know where you are getting directions to. I firmly believe that the Bible is God’s word and gives us accurate directions to heaven. The word, after all, was confirmed by God through miracles long ago. But most people don’t follow the Bible; they follow what preachers say. That might work. It might not. It depends on whether the preacher is going to the right place, doesn’t it?
Personally, I’ve heard men claiming to be teachers of truth make very interesting claims. One said that Jesus sinned many times. Another said, the book of James is just flat out wrong and doesn’t understand Jesus. Still another said, that it is wrong to command people to repent because that would be a works-based salvation. I heard all those things just this past week. Bible teachers like those abound. What happens if you decide to let one of them give you directions?
Peter warned about those who distort the Scriptures, that they do so “to their own destruction” (II Pet. 3:16). What do you suppose happens to those who unwittingly mistake such men as teachers of truth and follow them?
There sure are a lot of false teachers out there, just like we were told there would be (II Pet. 2:1). You definitely don’t want to follow them because they give great directions, but to the wrong destination.
Obviously, I’m not one of those false teachers, right? Right? Then again, perhaps you should be dedicated to following the Bible rather than me, just to make certain you get to the right destination. “Be diligent to you present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (II Tim. 2:15).
