In his subsequent letters, John makes reference to deceivers who enter the church – people who teach wrong doctrines. The problem is that, as much as true doctrines and life go together, wrong doctrines and wrong living also go together. Our beliefs and our behavior are dependent on one another. People can behave themselves away from God, and they can believe themselves away from God. That’s why it is so important that those who are teaching and leading in the church are doing so with proper motives and with a humble heart before God. It is also why constant vigilance must be given to protecting the church and the people within it. We must teach what is true and right and that which comes from Scripture rather than from man. If anything does not fit that, then it must be weeded out immediately before it leads people away from God.
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