KEEP PRACTICING THE THINGS YOU HAVE LEARNED

Reject "False Stories"

Satan tries to break our integrity through the sowing of doubts about what we have been taught. Today, as in the first century, apostates and others seek to destroy the faith of guileless ones. (Galatians 2:4; 5:7, 8) Sometimes they use the media to spread distorted information or even outright lies about the methods and motives of Jehovah's people. Paul warned that some would be turned away from the truth. "There will be a period of time," he wrote, "when they will not put up with the healthful teaching, but, in accord with their own desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves to have their ears tickled; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, whereas they will be turned aside to false stories ." -2Timothy 4:3, 4.

Instead of holding to the pattern of healthful words, some were intrigued by "false stories." What were these false stories? Perhaps Paul had in mind fanciful legends, such as those found in the apocryphal book of Tobit. False stories may also have included sensational and speculative rumors. Then, too, some-"in accord with their own desires" -may have been intellectually seduced by those who endorsed a permissive view of God's standards or who were critical of those taking the lead in the congregation. (2 John 9, 10; Jude 4) Whatever stumbling blocks were involved, some evidently preferred falsehoods over the truths of God's Word. Soon they stopped practicing the things they had learned, and this was to their own spiritual detriment. - Peter 3:15, 16.

We can avoid turning aside to false stories today if we scrutinize and are selective about what we listen to and what we read. For example, the media often promote immorality . May people encourage agnosticism or outright atheism. Higher critics ridicule the Bible's claim to divine inspiration. And modern-day apostates keep on trying to sow seeds of doubt in order to subvert the faith of Christians. Regarding a comparable danger posed by false prophets in the first century, the apostle John warned: "Beloved ones, do not believe every inspired expression, but test the inspired expression to see whether they originate with God, because may false prophets have gone forth into the world." (1 John 4:1) So we need to be careful.

Next time: Conclusion of Reject "False Stories"

Watchtower, 2002