Throughout the years I have noticed more and more new believers who fall prey to the folly of leaning on their own understanding. The Devil wants you to be alone and to have you believe that all you need is God and your Bible and you’re all set. You have to remember that just because you are Christian and the Bible is infallible, doesn’t mean that YOU are therefore infallible. Even Adam and Eve in the perfect Garden managed to mess it all up. If you lean on your own understanding, you will eventually believe doctrines from twisted Scriptures and insane ideas that when put under fire, are destroyed. You will be lead down rabbit holes and further and further away from fellowship with the other believers.
You must ask, what does leaning on one’s own understanding look like?
You will find excuses to not fellowship with more seasoned believers.
You will think you don’t need to be discipled or mentored.
You won’t listen to or learn from God fearing Theologians and Apologists. God-fearing means they believe Scripture is Inerrant and Infallible…the supreme source of truth.
You will stay away from commentaries.
You become the main authority of correct Biblical interpretation.
You will interpret certain things in Scripture in such away that faith is not necessary.
Visualize if you will a large circular table. Around the table are multiple chairs. Each chair should be filled with seasoned individuals of the faith. Kinda like King Arthur and the Knights of the Round. The people sitting at the table should be sound (orthodox/correct) in their doctrine (refer to the Essentials here). They should be more mature in the faith than you are. Think about it for a moment. Growing up, I had quite a few people at my table and still have them. My father, Dr. Walter Martin (even though he had already passed), Norman Geisler, Rev. Ray Vander Laan, my father-in-law, and a couple others. Who's at your table?
Many non-Christian cults, both in the past and present, began when someone was leaning on their own understanding. For example, both Charles Taze Russell and Joseph Smith (the founders of the two biggest non-Christian cults) didn’t understand the Trinity so they got rid of it by twisting the Scriptures to fit their understanding. Some things in Scripture are hard to understand and you need to be ok with that. One of the best ways to protect yourself from leaning on your own understanding is through fellowship and being mentored. As a new believer, you need to understand that you need to learn how to walk and how to talk all over again so now is not the time to think you know everything. This is why it is very important that you are discipled/mentored by someone who is more mature in the faith. Please refer to the Mentorship section here.
