At my Christian high school, I was assigned to read a book by a false teacher. Not knowing the Bible well and lacking familiarity with sound doctrine, I was eager to read it. Years later, a college class assignment included writing a paper comparing and contrasting two people. I chose to compare Esther from the Bible with the false teacher whose book I’d read.
My research for that paper revealed troubling things about the false teacher’s ministry I hadn’t known about. A few years passed before I even knew what a false teacher was. Growing up as a Christian in America in the 90s, much of my reading life centered on books that lacked theological depth and hermeneutical value. They also tended to be self-centered, rather than Christ-centered, and typically only addressed modern cultural issues.
My 90s childhood also included indulgence in snacks like Gushers, Dunkaroos, and Fruit by the Foot. These staple snacks, while fun to eat, offered no nutritional benefit. As I matured, my understanding of which foods were beneficial to my health (and which were not) improved. It’s not sinful to grub on Gushers, but knowing their ingredients has (mostly) motivated me to choose fruit over fruit snacks. Likewise, drawing spiritual sustenance from the Bible has matured my soul and reading diet.
With little Bible knowledge, I once devoured popular Christian books, unable to discern which ones accurately handled Scripture. I wanted to know how the Bible and Christianity related to me. God does care deeply about me, and He also cares about so much more. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible centers on God’s glory in the person and work of Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Learning this has grown me spiritually and changed many things about me, including the books I now read and my view of Christian books in general.
For a time, I grew in head knowledge of the gospel, but my heart knowledge was lacking (despite increasing my intake of “solid” Christian books!). I was fearful of bad theology books and found a false sense of security in reading what others deemed “good” while avoiding what others deemed “bad.” I inadvertently believed I was right with God by doing so. Since then, I’ve grown in both head and heart knowledge of the Bible. I’ve learned that Christian growth isn’t so much about avoiding bad theology books and reading good ones, as much as it is about treasuring the Best Book. Because I love God, I want love, not fear, to motivate every choice I make, even my reading selections. In His perfect love that casts out fear (1 John 4:18), I’ve found freedom.
Living in that freedom has taught me that there are at least three things bad theology books cannot do. I’m sharing them here, hoping to direct your heart heavenward to behold Christ’s beauty and increase your love for Him. As the embers of that love’s fire are stoked, desires for lesser things, including bad theology in all forms, decrease. Here are three things that reading bad theology books can’t do:
Separate You from God’s Love
Romans 8:38-39 states, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord,” (emphasis is mine). I’m grateful for Paul’s encouragement here. These verses are a lovely reminder that how God views His children is based on what Christ has done, not on what we’ve read or haven’t. This should motivate us to read to God’s glory, enjoying books that include biblical themes and magnify the beauty of Jesus.
It’s important to remember that there’s no condemnation for those in Christ (Romans 8:1), even those who’ve read bad theology books, like I once did. I know that the Lord has grown me, and I’m confident that He’s growing His other children, too. Reading books with false teaching and weak theology wasn’t powerful enough to stop God’s work in conforming me to Christ. This alleviates the panic I once felt about certain books. I’ve also learned that different theological perspectives (especially on nonessential issues) don’t always equate to bad theology. False teaching is harmful, and we must expend every effort to guard against it (Matthew 7:15) and work toward growing in discernment (Hebrews 5:14, Ephesians 5:10). I’ve found it best to do this motivated by love for God and His word, rather than fear of what a book or teaching might do, since books, regardless of their kind, are no threat to God’s power.
Stop Your Sanctification
When it comes to growing more like Jesus, books can be helpful, but the only one you truly need, you already have in the Bible. God is going to finish the good work He’s begun in His children (Philippians 1:6), and nothing, not even bad theology books, can stop Him. No book and its teachings are more powerful than He is. In Philippians 1:15, Paul acknowledged that there will be some who preach (and write/publish) with sinful motives. Yet he declared, “. . . Christ is proclaimed, and in that, I rejoice,” (Philippians 1:18). God’s word always accomplishes what God plans (Isaiah 55:11). It is so powerful that Hebrews 4:12 deems it living and active!
Steal Your Salvation
Whoever comes to Jesus in repentance and faith, He will never cast out (John 6:37). As reading good theology books can’t save you, reading bad ones can’t unsave you. The gospel isn’t that if you read good theology books and avoid bad ones, you will be saved. It is, “. . . if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved,” (Romans 10:9). At the time the events of the Bible occurred, books (and Bibles) as we know them today didn’t exist. This should free us to enjoy books characterized by the virtues in Philippians 4:8, which find their culmination in Christ.
It should also encourage us to forsake books with false teachings as we grow in our love for God and desire to glorify Him in every area, including our reading. May it foster confidence in us that no book is ultimately powerful, save one: The Bible. Like Jeremiah, may it become to us a joy and the delight of our hearts (Jeremiah 15:16). Like Ezra, may we seek to study it, obey it, and teach it (Ezra 7:10). May its words lead us to worship the Word of God (Revelation 19:13), help us behold His beauty, and cause us to love Him with all our heart, soul, might (Deuteronomy 6:5), and reading selections.
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