f, and hinder all who desire to see the work of God advance, and to
advance with it. Many who have no real faith in God or in His word, assent
to some principles of truth, and pass as Christians; and thus they are
enabled to introduce their errors as scriptural doctrines.

The position that it is of no consequence what men believe, is one of
Satan's most successful deceptions. He knows that the truth, received in
the love of it, sanctifies the soul of the receiver; therefore he is
constantly seeking to substitute false theories, fables, another gospel.
From the beginning, the servants of God have contended against false
teachers, not merely as vicious men, but as inculcators of falsehoods that
were fatal to the soul. Elijah, Jeremiah, Paul, firmly and fearlessly
opposed those who were turning men from the word of God. That liberality
which regards a correct religious faith as unimportant, found no favor
with these holy defenders of the truth.

The vague and fanciful interpretations of Scripture, and the many
conflicting theories concerning religious faith, that are found in the
Christian world, are the work of our great adversary, to confuse minds so
that they shall not discern the truth. And the discord and division which
exist among the churches of Christendom are in a great measure due to the
prevailing custom of wresting the Scriptures to support a favorite theory.
Instead of carefully studying God's word with humility of heart to obtain
a knowledge of His will, many seek only to discover something odd or
original.

In order to sustain erroneous doctrines or unchristian practices, some
will seize upon passages of Scripture separated from the context, perhaps
quoting half of a single verse as proving their point, when the remaining
portion would show the meaning to be quite the opposite. With the cunning
of the serpent, they entrench themselves behind disconnected utterances
construed to suit their carnal desires. Thus do many wilfully pervert the
word of God. Others, who have an active imagination, seize upon the
figures and symbols of Holy Writ, interpret them to suit their fancy, with
little regard to the testimony of Scripture as its own interpreter, and
then they present their vagaries as the teachings of the Bible.

Whenever the study of the Scriptures is entered upon without a prayerful,
humble, teachable spirit, the plainest and simplest as well as the most
difficult passages will be wrested from their true