STAY WITHIN WHAT IS WRITTEN

1 Corinthians 4:6 (NET)

I have applied these things to myself and Apollos because of you, brothers and sisters, so that through us you may learn “not to go beyond what is written,” so that none of you will be puffed up in favor of the one against the other.

Some time ago, I was studying about how some of the biggest cults and sects in the world started and I learned that many of them were started by people who were once in the church, but who at some point started interpreting scripture beyond what was written, and ignoring portions of scripture that they did not like. As a result, many such sect leaders were exposed to evil spirits that facilitated the movements they spearheaded.

One of the biggest mistakes a minister of God can make is to go beyond what is written in scripture. Any encounter, revelation or insight that cannot be backed by scripture, or is contradicted by scripture, is dangerous for the believer, even though it may make a lot of logical and common sense.

In 2 Cor 12:2-4, Apostle Paul talked about encounters in Paradise and the third heaven, but he said the things heard there were unlawful to be uttered. What does this (unlawful to be uttered) mean?

We know that the law of life is encoded in the scripture. Any truth, encounter or teaching that cannot be properly supported with existing scripture will be unlawful for a servant of God to teach. When things cannot be expressed within the ambit of scripture, they are not lawful to be uttered within the framework of ministry.

Go into today remembering that God has graciously given us the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures to keep us in His will and guide us through this dark, murky world where it is so easy for people to lose their way (Psalm 119:105).