ARE WE WILLING TO BE CORRECTED?

Most of us believe what we believe because someone taught it to us.

It may have been a parent, pastor, church, teacher, or trusted friend. We heard it, accepted it, and carried it with us for years. After a while, it became more than something we believed. It became something we were certain could not be wrong.

But sincere people can be wrong.

There is no shame in discovering that we misunderstood something in Scripture. Every believer is still learning. The danger begins when we become unwilling to examine what we believe.

We should never be more loyal to what we have been taught than we are to what Scripture actually says.

The people of Berea listened carefully to the apostle Paul, but they did not accept his words without examination.

“Now these people were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11).

They wanted truth, not merely teaching that sounded right.

That should be our attitude.

Pastors can be wrong. Churches can be wrong. Teachers can be wrong. Study notes can be wrong. Religious traditions can be wrong.

Only the Word of God is without error.

The problem is that we often read Scripture through the filter of what we already believe. Instead of asking, “What does this passage say?” we ask, “How can I make this passage agree with what I have already been taught?”

When we do that, we are no longer allowing Scripture to correct us. We are using Scripture to protect our position.

Jesus warned about people who placed human teaching above God’s Word.

“Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men” (Mark 7:8).

Tradition is not always wrong. Much of what we have been taught may be true. But no tradition should be protected from examination.

That applies to what we believe about salvation, the church, spiritual gifts, baptism, the return of Christ, money, marriage, judgment, or any other doctrine.

The question is not whether a belief is popular. The question is not whether our church teaches it. The question is not whether someone we respect believes it.

The question is whether it agrees with Scripture.

“Examine everything; hold firmly to that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

We are not told to doubt everything. We are told to examine everything.

That requires humility. It requires us to open the Bible willing to be corrected. We must be able to pray, “Lord, if I am wrong, show me.”

That can be difficult because truth may require change. We may have to admit that something we believed for years was not true. We may even have to admit that we taught it to others.

But truth is more important than pride, tradition, or comfort.

A person who only wants God to confirm what he already believes is not really seeking truth. He is seeking agreement.

The question is not whether we have ever been wrong.

The question is whether we are willing to be corrected.

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“What I write is not for everyone, but what I write is meant for someone.” – Dean Butler

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