Heresies are born from misconceptions of God; believing God to be other than He is, heretics follow after something thereby unlike God, an idol constructed of imagination. Such misconceptions in the secular world are often based on arrogant speculation (sometimes idle, oftentimes malicious), which fails to anchor itself to what God has revealed of Himself in both His creation and His Word (Romans 1:22-23). It is for this reason that the Church must rely primarily upon the Bible for her understanding, lest she be led astray; through it, God provides us with clarification and guidance by which we come to know Him better. All else is secondary, either lacking in verification or too susceptible to falsification. Even for those who acknowledge this truth, however, a more imminent risk of errant interpretation persists from within the Body.
When God’s Word leaves details unclear, there is a temptation for the reader to induct answers for himself. While often motivated by seemingly authentic zeal, it is all too common for unwary believers to speculate beyond what God has granted them, leading to unintentional but nonetheless dangerous deception. The Jewish traditions propagated by the Pharisees, as recounted in the New Testament, may potentially be traced back to just such reasoning. In desire to reinforce their righteousness before God, the ancient religious leaders sought to more exhaustively define the requirements of righteous living, adding to the Law their observations and experiences, as though to “improve” upon perceived deficiencies therein. The folly of this endeavor was manifest in the legalistic mindset that developed from it; with such focus upon outward expression of self-righteousness, respect to the loving heart of God’s character was lacking.
Guarding against such tendencies requires strict discipline in study, and is best ensured by communal accountability thereof. This is part of why the fellowship of the Body is so important; believers are meant to assist each other in guarding against error, For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! (Ecclesiastes 4:10) As we are fully capable of deceiving ourselves (Jeremiah 17:9), we all may benefit from the oversight of others in shared service of God. He has provided us with the help we need, should we be pleased to faithfully rely upon it, and be prepared to offer it up in return.
This is not to say that inductive study can yield no benefit; as Paul drew out a parallel of truth from Grecian poetry (Acts 17:28), so truth may be discerned within speculative devotional. But this ought not to be our primary goal in Bible study, lest we develop habits of eisegesis and thus fall into heresy. We ought to beware of hasty interpretation and instead rely upon what is clear, trusting that God has delivered His Word to us according to His infinite wisdom, and having faith in His Spirit to guide us therein.
Hold fast to the Word and will of God. TTT
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