Heresy is Any Error that Deviates from the Truth who is Jesus Christ, and Comes in Many Guises and Forms, which ultimate Purpose is to Destroy the Church
Many think that heresies refers to only those professing Christian groups who call themselves Christians but who deviate from fundamental truths about Jesus, such as, Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons. However, the definition of heresy in the true sense is much broader and all-encompassing than that. It refers to any error whatsoever.
The question then is, what is error? Error has tragically and infuriatingly being defined by different people in different ways, its definition complicated by people for their own purposes. But with the Word, Jesus Christ, who is the Truth: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6). All error is to be measured by whether it deviates from the Word (logos) who is Jesus Christ.
The Word of God is Jesus Christ, not the Scripture, for as Scriptures testify:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
(John 1:1-5)
The Word in John 1:1 refers to Jesus Himself, the Person. Jesus is a Person, the second Person of the Trinity, of God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It does not refer to the Bible itself, or the Scriptures, which are only a record of the revelations of God's truths. The idea that the Word is the Scripture itself, as opposed to Jesus, leads to the heresy of "sola scriptura", a very subtle heresy that does not explicitly oppose the Apostles' Creed or Nicene Creed which lay out the fundamental truths of the true Christian faith - but is nevertheless a heresy as it purports the people can interpret Scripture in whatever way they want, or that Scripture is debatable. This is heresy because it diametrically oppose the idea that no Scripture is of private interpretation:
And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
(2 Peter 1:19-21)
Since no Scripture is of private interpretation, all Scripture is to be understood rightly. It is not to be interpreted. Interpretation inevitably leads to error, but real understanding leads to truth. Interpretation claims to be real understanding, but it is anything but true understanding. It always bends or twists Scripture to justify one's own desired understanding. Any person with such a heart to seek his own desired understanding, as opposed to true understanding, interprets Scripture with his own private interpretation. With such people, there is always heresy!
There is only one right way to understand Scripture, and that is the way as determined by the Church, more specifically those called by God to be ordained in the clergy. Only the Church instituted by Jesus Christ is the true Church:
Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
(Matthew 16:17-19)
What gives a Church real authority to claim that its understanding of Scripture is right and true is the authority vested in it, and not because it uses Scripture. Anyone can use Scripture for anything. 'Scripture' can even become corrupted such as the Masoric text, a corruption of true Scripture.
Thus, the only real authoritative understanding of Scripture can come first and foremost by true revelation. That such revelation is not actually recorded in the Bible/Scriptures does not make it any less authoritative than that which is recorded in Scripture. Jesus said and did many things that are not recorded in Scripture, but that does not in any way make them any less authoritative than those recorded in Scripture. What makes any purported record of Scripture authoritative is that it is revealed by the Holy Spirit. It requires much discernment, wisdom and understanding to judge whether this is the case in each instance.
Where most heresies originate is in false revelation. The founder of many a heretical sect or group thought that he or she received a true revelation from God, but such revelation was devilish, be it Joseph Smith, Ellen G White, Helena Blavatsky, Mohammed, or Charles Russell Taze, and numerous other people.
The reason such people came under such a serious and outrageous error is because they were not submitted under the authority of the Church, the true Church. They have no respect for Church authority. Rather, they were people who loved their own "independence" from Church authority, and arrogantly believed that they need not submit to any Church authority. They believed they could "interpret Scripture for themselves". The result is serious spiritual error that has led and will lead many to eternal Damnation.
People have a tendency to focus on one truth, and neglect or ignore another. It is precisely this mindset that leads to being deceived by heresy, without realising the heresy one is under. The irony is that people can see the heresy of others very clearly, but not their own, because the heresy they can see and constantly rebuke is obvious to them because of their focus on one truth. But their own heresy they cannot see because of their neglect or ignorance of another truth. This itself leads a person to coming under a heresy, or even, starting a heretical sect or group, if the person builds an entire theology on it, and has quite literally a cult following of his or her doctrines.
Many heresies, particularly the more subtle ones, emphasise one truth, but neglect another to the point of denying it. The most common one is "oneness pentacostalism". People under this heresy claim to believe in Jesus, and even believe that Jesus is God, but yet deny the Trinity. This is heresy! How can you believe in the true Jesus if you do not acknowledge the Trinity, the most fundamental truth about who God truly is?
It is one thing to believe in Jesus' existence, and that Jesus is God, but another to truly acknowledge Him and serve Him as Lord. Even the demons believe in Jesus' existence and know that He is God, and tremble! Yet, human beings dare blaspheme Jesus Christ by denying the Trinity, denying that He is the resurrected Christ, denying the Second Person of the Trinity, denying that He was begotten, not made! Even the demons tremble knowing who Jesus is! Demons are evil, but humans are more evil and bold in their evil, daring to even build entire cults or sects based on an entire theology built on their wicked heresies!
There are all kinds of heresies, appearing in all kinds of faces, be they religious or secular. All secular ideologies are heresies. All false religions are heresies. That is simply obvious, but what is more subtle are those that masquerade as Christian, that is, Christian heresies.
Most Christian heresies, such as the Arian and Albigensian heresies affirm many, if not most truths of Christian orthodoxy, that is, the creeds of the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. However, they fail on at least one creed, often in a way subtle way, claiming to affirm it, but weaving its way out of fully and properly affirming it, amounting to effective denial. For example, denial of the physical resurrection but affirmation of the spiritual resurrection of Jesus is denial of the Resurrection. Another is the belief in Jesus, but denial that He is both fully God and fully Man.
Of all types of heresies, Christian heresies which affirm some truths of Christian orthodoxy, but reject some, often just one, are the most subtle, for they are a mixture of truths and half-truths. Most under such heresies do not even realise for a moment that there is something wrong with their doctrine.
The ultimate purpose of Christian heresy is to destroy the Church, and deceive as many as possible into thinking that they are true Christians when they are not, leading to their eternal Damnation. Its purpose is to destroy the Church from within.
The question then is, what is error? Error has tragically and infuriatingly being defined by different people in different ways, its definition complicated by people for their own purposes. But with the Word, Jesus Christ, who is the Truth: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6). All error is to be measured by whether it deviates from the Word (logos) who is Jesus Christ.
The Word of God is Jesus Christ, not the Scripture, for as Scriptures testify:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
(John 1:1-5)
The Word in John 1:1 refers to Jesus Himself, the Person. Jesus is a Person, the second Person of the Trinity, of God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It does not refer to the Bible itself, or the Scriptures, which are only a record of the revelations of God's truths. The idea that the Word is the Scripture itself, as opposed to Jesus, leads to the heresy of "sola scriptura", a very subtle heresy that does not explicitly oppose the Apostles' Creed or Nicene Creed which lay out the fundamental truths of the true Christian faith - but is nevertheless a heresy as it purports the people can interpret Scripture in whatever way they want, or that Scripture is debatable. This is heresy because it diametrically oppose the idea that no Scripture is of private interpretation:
And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
(2 Peter 1:19-21)
Since no Scripture is of private interpretation, all Scripture is to be understood rightly. It is not to be interpreted. Interpretation inevitably leads to error, but real understanding leads to truth. Interpretation claims to be real understanding, but it is anything but true understanding. It always bends or twists Scripture to justify one's own desired understanding. Any person with such a heart to seek his own desired understanding, as opposed to true understanding, interprets Scripture with his own private interpretation. With such people, there is always heresy!
There is only one right way to understand Scripture, and that is the way as determined by the Church, more specifically those called by God to be ordained in the clergy. Only the Church instituted by Jesus Christ is the true Church:
Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
(Matthew 16:17-19)
What gives a Church real authority to claim that its understanding of Scripture is right and true is the authority vested in it, and not because it uses Scripture. Anyone can use Scripture for anything. 'Scripture' can even become corrupted such as the Masoric text, a corruption of true Scripture.
Thus, the only real authoritative understanding of Scripture can come first and foremost by true revelation. That such revelation is not actually recorded in the Bible/Scriptures does not make it any less authoritative than that which is recorded in Scripture. Jesus said and did many things that are not recorded in Scripture, but that does not in any way make them any less authoritative than those recorded in Scripture. What makes any purported record of Scripture authoritative is that it is revealed by the Holy Spirit. It requires much discernment, wisdom and understanding to judge whether this is the case in each instance.
Where most heresies originate is in false revelation. The founder of many a heretical sect or group thought that he or she received a true revelation from God, but such revelation was devilish, be it Joseph Smith, Ellen G White, Helena Blavatsky, Mohammed, or Charles Russell Taze, and numerous other people.
The reason such people came under such a serious and outrageous error is because they were not submitted under the authority of the Church, the true Church. They have no respect for Church authority. Rather, they were people who loved their own "independence" from Church authority, and arrogantly believed that they need not submit to any Church authority. They believed they could "interpret Scripture for themselves". The result is serious spiritual error that has led and will lead many to eternal Damnation.
People have a tendency to focus on one truth, and neglect or ignore another. It is precisely this mindset that leads to being deceived by heresy, without realising the heresy one is under. The irony is that people can see the heresy of others very clearly, but not their own, because the heresy they can see and constantly rebuke is obvious to them because of their focus on one truth. But their own heresy they cannot see because of their neglect or ignorance of another truth. This itself leads a person to coming under a heresy, or even, starting a heretical sect or group, if the person builds an entire theology on it, and has quite literally a cult following of his or her doctrines.
Many heresies, particularly the more subtle ones, emphasise one truth, but neglect another to the point of denying it. The most common one is "oneness pentacostalism". People under this heresy claim to believe in Jesus, and even believe that Jesus is God, but yet deny the Trinity. This is heresy! How can you believe in the true Jesus if you do not acknowledge the Trinity, the most fundamental truth about who God truly is?
It is one thing to believe in Jesus' existence, and that Jesus is God, but another to truly acknowledge Him and serve Him as Lord. Even the demons believe in Jesus' existence and know that He is God, and tremble! Yet, human beings dare blaspheme Jesus Christ by denying the Trinity, denying that He is the resurrected Christ, denying the Second Person of the Trinity, denying that He was begotten, not made! Even the demons tremble knowing who Jesus is! Demons are evil, but humans are more evil and bold in their evil, daring to even build entire cults or sects based on an entire theology built on their wicked heresies!
There are all kinds of heresies, appearing in all kinds of faces, be they religious or secular. All secular ideologies are heresies. All false religions are heresies. That is simply obvious, but what is more subtle are those that masquerade as Christian, that is, Christian heresies.
Most Christian heresies, such as the Arian and Albigensian heresies affirm many, if not most truths of Christian orthodoxy, that is, the creeds of the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. However, they fail on at least one creed, often in a way subtle way, claiming to affirm it, but weaving its way out of fully and properly affirming it, amounting to effective denial. For example, denial of the physical resurrection but affirmation of the spiritual resurrection of Jesus is denial of the Resurrection. Another is the belief in Jesus, but denial that He is both fully God and fully Man.
Of all types of heresies, Christian heresies which affirm some truths of Christian orthodoxy, but reject some, often just one, are the most subtle, for they are a mixture of truths and half-truths. Most under such heresies do not even realise for a moment that there is something wrong with their doctrine.
The ultimate purpose of Christian heresy is to destroy the Church, and deceive as many as possible into thinking that they are true Christians when they are not, leading to their eternal Damnation. Its purpose is to destroy the Church from within.
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